Editing Steven Soderbergh (section)

=== 1990–1997: critical and commercial downturn ===
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| source = – Soderbergh's introduction to ''[[Schizopolis]]'' (1996)<ref name="Tobias">{{Cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/schizopolis-1798226095|title=Schizopolis|last=Tobias|first=Scott|work=Film|access-date=April 16, 2018}}</ref>
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Soderbergh's directorial debut was followed by a series of low-budget box-office disappointments.<ref name="Tobias">{{Cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/schizopolis-1798226095|title=Schizopolis|last=Tobias|first=Scott|work=Film|access-date=April 16, 2018}}</ref><ref name="COLLINS">{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-02-16-tm-29124-story.html |title=The Funk of Steven Soderbergh |last=Collins |first=Scott |date=February 16, 1997 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=April 16, 2018 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In 1991, he directed ''[[Kafka (film)|Kafka]],'' a biographical film of [[Franz Kafka]] written by [[Lem Dobbs]] and starring [[Jeremy Irons]]. The film returned one tenth of its budget and received mixed reviews from critics.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/kafka/review/|title=Kafka|last=Newman|first=Kim|date=January 1, 2000|website=Empire |access-date=April 13, 2018}}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]]'s review stated: "Soderbergh does demonstrate again here that he's a gifted director, however unwise in his choice of project".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/kafka-1992|title=Kafka Movie Review & Film Summary (1992) |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=February 7, 1992 |website=www.rogerebert.com}}</ref> Two years later, he directed the drama ''[[King of the Hill (1993 film)|King of the Hill]]'' (1993), which again underperformed commercially, but fared well with critics.<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/steven_soderbergh|title=Steven Soderbergh|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=April 12, 2018}}</ref> Based on the memoir of writer [[A. E. Hotchner]], the film is set during the [[Great Depression]] and follows a young boy (played by [[Jesse Bradford]]) struggling to survive on his own in a hotel in [[St. Louis]] after his mother falls ill and his father is away on business trips.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/20/movies/king-of-the-hill-a-boy-of-the-30-s-with-grit-and-wit.html |title=King of the Hill; A Boy of the 30s With Grit and Wit |last=Maslin |first=Janet |author-link=Janet Maslin |date=January 1, 1993 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 14, 2018 |archive-date=December 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212231304/https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9905E5DD1E3AF933A1575BC0A965958260 |url-status=live}}</ref> Also in 1995, he directed a remake of [[Robert Siodmak]]'s 1949 film noir ''[[Criss Cross (1949 film)|Criss Cross]]'', titled ''[[The Underneath (film)|The Underneath]]'', which grossed $536,020 on a $6.5&nbsp;million budget and was widely panned by critics.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/steven-soderbergh-s-the-underneath-plays-like-a-dry-run-1798240927|title=Steven Soderbergh's The Underneath plays like a dry run to later triumphs|last=Hassenger|first=Jesse|date=November 30, 2013|work=Film|language=en-US}}</ref> Soderbergh has since called the film "dead on arrival" and described the making of it as his bottoming out.<ref name="Perez">{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2014/03/steven-soderbergh-throws-himself-under-the-bus-for-the-underneath-talks-criterion-king-of-the-hill-88388/|title=Steven Soderbergh Throws Himself Under The Bus For 'The Underneath'; Talks Criterion 'King of The Hill'|last=Perez|first=Rodrigo|date=March 11, 2014|work=IndieWire|access-date=April 13, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>

Soderbergh, formerly a member of [[Writers Guild of America West]], left and maintained [[financial core]] status in 1995.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WGAW Financial Core List |url=https://www.wga.org/members/membership-information/wgaw-financial-core-list |access-date=December 8, 2023 |website=www.wga.org}}</ref>

Soderbergh directed ''[[Schizopolis]]'' in 1996, a comedy which he starred in, wrote, composed and shot as well as directed. The film was submitted to the [[Cannes Film Festival]] to such a "chilly response" that he reworked the entire introduction and conclusion before releasing it commercially.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/schizopolis-1798226095|title=Schizopolis|last=Tobias|first=Scott|date=June 16, 2011|work=Film|access-date=April 16, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104402/https://film.avclub.com/schizopolis-1798226095|url-status=live}}</ref> In the movie's introduction, he said: "In the event that you find certain sequences or events confusing, please bear in mind this is your fault, not ours. You will need to see the picture again and again until you understand everything".<ref name=":02">{{Cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/schizopolis-1798226095|title=Schizopolis|last=Tobias|first=Scott|date=June 16, 2011|work=Film|access-date=April 13, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104405/https://film.avclub.com/schizopolis-1798226095|url-status=live}}</ref> He starred in ''Schizopolis'' as Fletcher Munson, a spokesman for a [[Scientology]]-esque lifestyle cult, and again as Dr. Jeffrey Korchek, a dentist having an affair with Munson's wife.<ref name=":02" /> The film switched languages multiple times mid-scene without subtitles, leaving large parts of it incomprehensible.<ref name=":02" /> It was viewed by a critic as a "directorial palate cleanse" for Soderbergh.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-02-16-tm-29124-story.html |title=The Funk of Steven Soderbergh |last=Collins |first=Scott |date=May 16, 1996 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 14, 2018 |language=en-US |issn=0458-3035 |archive-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104421/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-02-16-tm-29124-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref> During the months following his debut of ''Schizopolis'', he released a small, edited version of the [[Spalding Gray]] monologue film ''[[Gray's Anatomy (film)|Gray's Anatomy]].'' Soderbergh would later refer to ''Schizopolis'' as his "artistic wake-up call".<ref name=":02" /> Soderbergh co-wrote the script for the 1997 horror-thriller ''[[Nightwatch (1997 film)|Nightwatch]]'' with Danish filmmaker [[Ole Bornedal]]. ''Nightwatch'' is an English-language remake of Bornedal's own [[Nightwatch (1994 film)|film of the same name]], which was produced three years earlier in Denmark.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hornaday|first1=Ann|title='Nightwatch': morbid, bloody, yet ordinary|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1998/04/17/nightwatch-morbid-bloody-yet-ordinary/|website=[[The Baltimore Sun]]|access-date=May 13, 2018|date=April 17, 1998}}</ref>