TOP TO BOTTOM: Hugh Grant, Chow Yun-Fat, Julia Stiles, Ben Stiller, Terry Zwigoff

Astronomers tell us that a star is on one of two courses: it’s either growing brighter all the time or it’s beginning to fizzle and fade. With the career of an actor, director or even a writer, the analogy is pretty clear. A decade after we started giving ink to promising young moviemakers, we thought it might be fun to take another look at several who delivered.

Eric Bross, director (August, 1996)

THEN: The 32-year-old director's first film, Nothing to Lose, starring Adrien Brody, was picked up for distribution right before its Sundance premiere. “I'm a finisher, and I always said to myself ‘I'm going to make this happen.' It's a combination of luck, resourcefulness and faith in my talent and capabilities.”

NOW: Bross has been keeping busy since his debut, with projects for both the small and big screens, including 2001's On the Line and the “Traffic” mini-series for USA.

Troy Duffy, writer-director (April, 1998)

THEN: With a ton of buzz surrounding his script for The Boondock Saints, the 25-year-old writer quickly signed a $1 million deal with Miramax that would allow him “casting approval, the right to create the soundtrack and control of the project in case things fell through”—which they did.

NOW: After successfully completing the film, and serving as director, Duffy is currently in pre-production on the sequel, Boondock II: All Saints Day.

Hugh Grant, actor (April, 1994)

THEN: With three films (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bitter Moon and Sirens) about to hit screens, the relatively unknown actor said that Hollywood “has always been polite to me, but never ecstatic.”

NOW: One of Hollywood's most recognizable faces, Grant has since appeared in more than a dozen films, earned three Golden Globe nominations (with one win), had a true Hollywood-style run-in with the law and routinely earns more than $12 million per film.

Matthew Harrison, director (November, 1995)

THEN: After attracting the attention of Martin Scorsese with his $11,000 feature Rhythm Thief, Harrison was signed to direct two $3 million projects, Code 99 and Kicked in the Head.

NOW: Kicked in the Head was produced in 1997, with Kevin Corrigan, Lili Taylor and James Woods. Harrison has also kept busy on TV, directing an episode of “Sex and the City.”

Baz Luhrmann, director (December, 1996)

THEN: After his rock ‘n' roll update of Romeo + Juliet, Luhrmann was quoted as saying “After Ballroom, I could have taken a book of hymns and had them made into a film.”

NOW: Widely hailed as one of modern cinema's true visionaries, Luhrmann is currently at work on an untitled Alexander the Great project with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Jim McKay, writer-director-producer-editor (October, 1996)

THEN: After October Films snatched up his debut, Girls Town, at Sundance, McKay remarked that “the proliferation of independent cinema is now making room for more films like Walking & Talking, Manny & Lo and Welcome to the Dollhouse.”

NOW: With his latest film, Everyday People, making its Sundance premiere in 2004, McKay has also found success as a producer, most notably with such films as American Movie, Spring Forward and The Sleepy Time Gal.

Dave McKenna, writer (April, 1998)

THEN: Hot off the successful sale of his spec, American History X, McKenna quickly sold his next script Body Shots, signed to do the screen adaptation of Blow and agreed to a two-picture deal with Warner Brothers.

NOW: In addition to having all of the aforementioned projects produced, McKenna has also seen both Get Carter and S.W.A.T. get the big screen treatment.

Brett Ratner, director (January, 1998)

THEN: After the success of his directorial debut, Money Talks, and about to embark on his next film, Rush Hour, the 27-year-old director advised that “You gotta be relentless.”

NOW: Ratner has continued his winning streak, finding phenomenal success with his Rush Hour series (the third will be released this year) and Red Dragon.

Julia Stiles, actress (April, 1998)

THEN: The 16-year-old thespian had already worked with the likes of Alan Pakula (The Devil's Own), declaring “I'd much rather do a risky, groundbreaking movie than one that's ambivalent. The key is to first shock people, then make them like it.”

NOW: The Columbia student continues to be one of Hollywood's most bankable young actors, with recent projects like Mike Newell's Mona Lisa Smile and Charles Dutton's Against the Ropes to her credit.

Ben Stiller, actor-director (March, 1994)

THEN: Having just directed his first film, Reality Bites, Stiller claimed that “For me, directing is the most important thing. It's what I want to be able to do... And while I'd love to act in other people's projects if the work is there, for me, directing is really the focus.”

NOW: Of the more than 20 films Stiller has worked on since then, only twice has it been as director—1996's
The Cable Guy and 2001's Zoolander.

George Wing, writer (March, 1994)

THEN: The full-time, Seattle-based legal assistant, part-time writer (at lunch, night and on weekends) and longtime MM contributor advised other budding scribes: “Don't get discouraged. There's a lot of competition, but it's all crap. The industry is not the enemy. The industry is desperate. The only secret is to write a good story.”

NOW: With Wing's script, 50 First Dates, starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, set for release this spring, it's safe to say George has “made it.”

Chow Yun-Fat, actor (June, 1996)

THEN: Already a household name in Hong Kong, the actor was about to become a Hollywood commodity with three films in development racing toward the finish line—The Replacement Killers, Anna and the King and (“perhaps the most promising of all”) The Burning Pit.

NOW: The Replacement Killers and Anna and the King may have made Yun-Fat a familiar face, but Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon made him a star.

Terry Zwigoff, director (June, 1995)

THEN: Even with Crumb winning accolades at festivals and with audiences, Zwigoff remarked that “I'm not happy being stuck in the group of documentary filmmakers.”

NOW: These days Zwigoff is widely recognized as one of indie cinema's most hilarious and ironic directors, Zwigoff has found tremendous feature film success with 2000's Ghost World and 2003's Bad Santa. MM