REVIEWED AND RECOMMENDED
This is the definitive book about working in Hollywood. Long-time screenwriter William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Princess Bride) writes as both an outsider and an insider, covering his many years in Hollywood. This book is the origin of the frequently quoted only “law” of Hollywood: “Nobody knows anything.”
My copy was printed in 1984 and I still pick it up and leaf through it, and I always get pulled into the book. Originally I would read stories and think “So that’s what it’s really like.” Now I turn to a page and think “Oh yeah, I’ve been there - it is like that.” Goldman is one of the best writers both in Hollywood and about Hollywood. I also recommend his sequel – Which Lie Did I Tell? More Adventures in the Screen Trade.
An excellent tell-all book on the making of Natural Born Killers. The author goes from a film school grad to a producer dealing with major writers, directors and actors in a matter of months – mostly by having optioned a script by a then unknown wannabe screenwriter named Quentin Tarantino. The book is so honest that I fear the author was kissing Hollywood good-bye. (And indeed she was. Jane Hamsher has left Hollywood and become a political blogger on www. firedoglake.com.)
Two books on writing, by two guys who know a little bit about writing successfully. All movies begin with the written word - the script - but these books are about more than the mechanics of good screenwriting. These books touch on the inspirations, the instinct and the need for good writing. Interestingly, they both seem to emphasize the instinctive, creative approach, on finding an inner voice rather than copying some accepted method or format to storytelling. Indeed, these books encourage breaking the rules, that stories serve the idea behind them, rather than trying to force your ideas into somebody else’s standard. A great confidence builder, and an inspiration source for all.
This excellent book is not just for storyboard artists.It is a terrific guide to visualizing a story, a how-to of camera techniques and the reasons behind them.If you want to know how to tell your story from the camera, this book is a great place to start.
This is a fun DVD documentary about the early days of fandom and amateur filmmaking, back when it was actually hard. 16 mm film was edited by splicing, there was no synced sound, and CGI was not even a dream yet. Don Glut was a hero to many of the Famous Monsters of Filmland readership, and it’s hard not to enjoy the enthusiasm he still brings to the work he did in his youth.
This DVD actually includes all of the short films he made throughout the 60’s and 70’s, with – ahem – unauthorized adaptations of characters like Superman, Spiderman and the Frankenstein Monster.
This issue is on newsstands now and will remain on sale for some time. It gives a good overview of the current state of independent filmmaking with articles and interviews ranging across a spectrum of subjects. A good read, full of useful tips and perspectives.