Editing Alex Cox (section)

===Hollywood and major studio period (1978–1987)===
[[Michael Nesmith]] agreed to produce ''Repo Man'', and convinced [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]] to back the project with a budget of over a million dollars. During the course of the film's production, the studio's management changed, and the new management had far less faith in the project. The initial cinema release was limited to Chicago, followed by Los Angeles, and was short-lived.

After the success of the soundtrack album (notable for featuring many popular [[LA punk band]]s), there was enough interest in the film to earn a re-release in a single cinema in New York City, but only after becoming available on video and cable. Nevertheless, it ran for 18 months, and eventually earned $4,000,000.

Continuing his fascination with [[punk music]], Cox's next film was an independent feature shot in London and Los Angeles, following the career and death of bassist [[Sid Vicious]] and his girlfriend [[Nancy Spungen]], initially titled ''Love Kills'' and later renamed ''[[Sid and Nancy]]''. It was met warmly by critics and fans, though heavily criticised by some, including Pistols' frontman [[John Lydon]], for its inaccuracies. The production of this film also sparked a relationship with [[Joe Strummer]] of [[the Clash]], who would continue to collaborate with the director on his next two films.

Cox had long been interested in [[Nicaragua]] and the [[Sandinistas]] (both ''Repo Man'' and ''Edge City'' made references to Nicaragua and/or Latin American revolution), and visited in 1984. The following year, he hoped to shoot a concert film there featuring [[the Clash]], [[the Pogues]] and [[Elvis Costello]]. When he could not get backing, he decided instead to write a film that they would all act in. The film became ''[[Straight to Hell (film)|Straight to Hell]]''. Collaborating with [[Dick Rude]] (who also co-starred beside Strummer, [[Sy Richardson]] and [[Courtney Love]]), he imagined the film as a spoof of the [[Spaghetti Western]] genre, filmed in [[Almería]], Spain, where many classic Italian westerns were shot. ''[[Straight to Hell (film)|Straight to Hell]]'' was widely panned critically, but successful in Japan and retains a cult following. On 1 June 2012, Cox wrote an article in ''[[The New York Times]]'' about his long-standing interest in spaghetti westerns.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/movies/a-spaghetti-western-roundup-at-film-forum.html?hpw | work=The New York Times | first=Alex | last=Cox | title=A Spaghetti Western Roundup at Film Forum | date=1 June 2012}}</ref>

Continuing his interest in Nicaragua, Cox took on a more overtly political project, with the intention of filming it there. He asked [[Rudy Wurlitzer]] to pen the screenplay, which followed the life of [[William Walker (filibuster)|William Walker]], set against a backdrop of anachronisms that drew parallels between the story and modern [[Sandinistas#Sandinistas vs. Contras|American intervention in the area]]. The $6,000,000 production was backed by [[Universal Pictures|Universal]], but the completed film was too political and too violent for the studio's tastes, and the film went without promotion. When ''[[Walker (film)|Walker]]'' failed to perform at the box office, it ended the director's involvement with [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] studios, and led to a period of several years in which Cox would not direct a single film. Despite this, Cox and some critics maintain that it is his best film.