Remember Quentin Tarantino?
The enfant terrible of American independent cinema made a splashy debut with 1992's "Reservoir Dogs." And "Pulp Fiction" (1994) cemented his reputation as a favorite for hip young moviegoers.And then, as quickly as it started, it was all over.
First, the anthology "Four Rooms," for which he directed one segment, tanked, and his 1997 follow-up, "Jackie Brown," was a box-office disappointment.
Since then, he's pretty much vanished from sight, though he has kept busy by producing the direct-to-video sequels to "From Dusk Till Dawn" and appearing in other people's movies -- such as the upcoming Adam Sandler comedy "Little Nicky."
Tarantino was also rumored to be making a movie version of the Marvel Comics character "Iron Man," as well as a film about the Vega brothers, the characters played by actors Michael Madsen and John Travolta (in "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction," respectively).
But now it appears that he's set to resurface as a director with "40 Lashes," a dark comic thriller based on the novel by Elmore Leonard.
He's not the only filmmaker or star to have disappeared from the radar, though. Here's what some other "lost" celebrities have been up to:
STEVEN SPIELBERG: After making "Saving Private Ryan," this generation's Frank Capra has been biding his time before selecting another movie project.
For awhile, Spielberg toyed with an adaptation of the best-seller "Memoirs of a Geisha," as well as the sci-fi-thriller "Minority Report." And he was on the short list of filmmakers Warner Bros. was courting for the "Harry Potter" movie.
Instead, however, he's opted to make the science-fiction film "A.I.," a project begun by his friend and mentor, Stanley Kubrick, who died before he could actually start shooting the movie.
Haley Joel Osment, from "The Sixth Sense," will star in this "Pinocchio"-like tale as a robot boy, while Jude Law and Frances O'Connor will co-star as his human "parents."
WARREN BEATTY: This jack-of-all-trades has been busy with a new child (with his wife, actress Annette Bening), the Oscars (he received this year's Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award) and politics (he threatened to run for president). But it's been two years since he appeared in "Bulworth."
A big reason for that has been the forever-mired-in-production comedy "Town and Country," in which he stars with Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn and Andie MacDowell.
However, that film may actually see the light of day -- or theater, as it were. New Line Cinema has submitted the movie to the Motion Picture Association of America's CARA board for rating, which means it might really be finished.
JACK NICHOLSON: Beatty's best bud has been absent from movie screens even longer -- since his Oscar-winning performance in 1997's "As Good as it Gets," to be exact.
And though he's been seen nearly everywhere with his too-young-for-him girlfriend, Lara Flynn Boyle (from TV's "The Practice"), he hasn't committed to any movie projects.
That is, until he took "The Pledge," which re-teams him with actor-turned-filmmaker Sean Penn (who directed Nicholson in 1995's "The Crossing Guard").
Maybe he's retired and hasn't told anyone.
EMMA THOMPSON: Now here's someone people would probably welcome back with open arms.
Kenneth Branagh's ex-wife starred in several of his films, and in such old-fashioned fare as "Sense and Sensibility" (which she also scripted -- and won an Oscar for her efforts).
But she has been conspicuously absent since 1998's "Primary Colors."
In that time, she did have a daughter, Gaia Romilly Wise, with boyfriend Greg Wise, and her appearance as an FBI agent in "Judas Kiss" is probably best forgotten.
She's set to resurface in the British comedy "Maybe Baby" for writer/director Ben Elton (co-creator of the BBC comedy "The Black Adder"). But that film doesn't have U.S. distribution at this point.
MICHELLE YEOH: Unlike some other, former Hong Kong superstars, this one-time Malaysian beauty queen seems to have rejected stardom in the United States.
Though she nearly stole "Tomorrow Never Dies" out from under 007 Pierce Brosnan, she returned to her homeland to make movies, including "Butterfly Effects," "Moonlight Express" and "Mint Condition."
However, she did make an exception for Taiwanese-born director Ang Lee, who paired her with another Hong Kong alum, Chow Yun-Fat, in the upcoming martial-arts film "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," which will be distributed in the states.
Deseret News movie critic Jeff Vice can be reached by e-mail at jeff@desnews.com