Thought this could be an interesting thread. I love reading books on filmmaking - the high's and the low's and the in-between's - and you learn a shitload from them. That said, I know I'm always looking for a new recommendation, not so much filmmaker biographies, but books that aren't so much analysis as learning from example (which is why "Rebel Without a Crew" and "Spike, Mike, Slackers and Dykes" are probably in their umpteenth printings as I'm hardly alone).
Anyway, a few favorites of mine:
"A Siegel Film: An Autobiography" by Don Siegel. Yeah, it's an auto-bio, but Siegel really goes into detail about the bad times as well as the good. It's a real no-holds-barred, no bullshit book on moviemaking in the studio system. I give this out as a birthday present a lot.
"From Cowboy to Mogul to Monster: The Neverending Story of Film Pioneer Mark Damon" by Mark Damon. Takes a really good look at the emergence of foreign sales as a driving force in financing Hollywood films. If you can get past the pseudo-Robert Evans, over-the-top self-aggrandizing (he uses the same Cassian Elwes quote about himself in about ten different contexts - "That Damon really knew his shit," - Cassian Elwes), there's a lot of meat here.
"How I Made a Hundred Movies In Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime" by Roger Corman. Another no bullshit book except sometimes. While yes, it's an auto-bio like the other two, Corman really lays it out about how film finance has shifted over the years. Fun to read, too.
"The Big Picture: Money and Power in Hollywood" by Edward Jay Epstein. A little out of date now that the home video market has taken a shit, but another great book about how and why movies get financed.
"All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from the 'Toxic Avenger'" by Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn. A lot of funny stories - and it'll make you want to rent "Troma's War" immediately - but another one about stretching budgets and finding ways to pull off the impossible.
"Writing with Hitchcock: The Collaboration of Alfred Hitchcock and John Michael Hayes" by Steven DeRosa. This one just shows off Hitchcock's workmanlike approach to filmmaking, but goes into how Hayes was able to work with Hitch multiple times when most writers were kicked out or ran screaming to the hills after one experience. Really hits on the collaborative nature of film, of adaptation and how to deal with big egos.
"Making Movies" by Sidney Lumet. There are so many books by amateurs telling you to do what they say, not what they do (which is why the Ray Bradbury and J. Michael Straczynski books on writing are so great), that it's good when there's one by somebody who is successful in executing what they recommend. This is a lot like the Siegel book, but just another great book on the up's and down's of getting a movie up and running.
"By Any Means Necessary: The Trials and Tribulations of the Making of 'Malcolm X'"/"Do the Right Thing" both by Spike Lee. Just really great behind-the-scenes looks at those films published with the scripts. It's like that one published edition of "sex, lies and videotape" that comes with Soderbergh's diaries at the time - there's just a lot in these books about the mistakes made during the filmmaking and then the hard road to the release.
"The 'Jaws' Log" by Carl Gottlieb/"Spielberg, Truffaut and Me" by Bob Balaban. Just a couple of single-film specific books that really exemplify what I typed in the subject line of this thread.
Finally, "White Hunter, Black Heart" by Peter Viertel ("African Queen"), "Green Shadows, White Whale" by Ray Bradbury ("Moby Dick") and the notorious "Picture" by Lillian Ross ("The Red Badge of Courage") are all about working with John Huston and each one is utterly, utterly fascinating (though, shockingly, Bradbury's is the weak antelope of the trio). Just filled with great behind-the-scenes tales of how Huston worked at different points in his career. "Picture" is the most "Killer Instinct"/"Final Cut" of the three, but Viertel's is just great lit.
And so many others - "The Battle of 'Brazil,'" by Jack Mathews, "The Making of 'The Crow'" by Bridget Baiss, "The Devil's Candy" (about the making of "Bonfire of the Vanities") by Julie Salamon, etc. - all just give a great feel for how Hollywood works from the inside and, of course, who people blame when it goes bad.
What Are Your Favorites So That I Might Pursue Them On The Amazahn?
Anyway, a few favorites of mine:
"A Siegel Film: An Autobiography" by Don Siegel. Yeah, it's an auto-bio, but Siegel really goes into detail about the bad times as well as the good. It's a real no-holds-barred, no bullshit book on moviemaking in the studio system. I give this out as a birthday present a lot.
"From Cowboy to Mogul to Monster: The Neverending Story of Film Pioneer Mark Damon" by Mark Damon. Takes a really good look at the emergence of foreign sales as a driving force in financing Hollywood films. If you can get past the pseudo-Robert Evans, over-the-top self-aggrandizing (he uses the same Cassian Elwes quote about himself in about ten different contexts - "That Damon really knew his shit," - Cassian Elwes), there's a lot of meat here.
"How I Made a Hundred Movies In Hollywood and Never Lost a Dime" by Roger Corman. Another no bullshit book except sometimes. While yes, it's an auto-bio like the other two, Corman really lays it out about how film finance has shifted over the years. Fun to read, too.
"The Big Picture: Money and Power in Hollywood" by Edward Jay Epstein. A little out of date now that the home video market has taken a shit, but another great book about how and why movies get financed.
"All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from the 'Toxic Avenger'" by Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn. A lot of funny stories - and it'll make you want to rent "Troma's War" immediately - but another one about stretching budgets and finding ways to pull off the impossible.
"Writing with Hitchcock: The Collaboration of Alfred Hitchcock and John Michael Hayes" by Steven DeRosa. This one just shows off Hitchcock's workmanlike approach to filmmaking, but goes into how Hayes was able to work with Hitch multiple times when most writers were kicked out or ran screaming to the hills after one experience. Really hits on the collaborative nature of film, of adaptation and how to deal with big egos.
"Making Movies" by Sidney Lumet. There are so many books by amateurs telling you to do what they say, not what they do (which is why the Ray Bradbury and J. Michael Straczynski books on writing are so great), that it's good when there's one by somebody who is successful in executing what they recommend. This is a lot like the Siegel book, but just another great book on the up's and down's of getting a movie up and running.
"By Any Means Necessary: The Trials and Tribulations of the Making of 'Malcolm X'"/"Do the Right Thing" both by Spike Lee. Just really great behind-the-scenes looks at those films published with the scripts. It's like that one published edition of "sex, lies and videotape" that comes with Soderbergh's diaries at the time - there's just a lot in these books about the mistakes made during the filmmaking and then the hard road to the release.
"The 'Jaws' Log" by Carl Gottlieb/"Spielberg, Truffaut and Me" by Bob Balaban. Just a couple of single-film specific books that really exemplify what I typed in the subject line of this thread.
Finally, "White Hunter, Black Heart" by Peter Viertel ("African Queen"), "Green Shadows, White Whale" by Ray Bradbury ("Moby Dick") and the notorious "Picture" by Lillian Ross ("The Red Badge of Courage") are all about working with John Huston and each one is utterly, utterly fascinating (though, shockingly, Bradbury's is the weak antelope of the trio). Just filled with great behind-the-scenes tales of how Huston worked at different points in his career. "Picture" is the most "Killer Instinct"/"Final Cut" of the three, but Viertel's is just great lit.
And so many others - "The Battle of 'Brazil,'" by Jack Mathews, "The Making of 'The Crow'" by Bridget Baiss, "The Devil's Candy" (about the making of "Bonfire of the Vanities") by Julie Salamon, etc. - all just give a great feel for how Hollywood works from the inside and, of course, who people blame when it goes bad.
What Are Your Favorites So That I Might Pursue Them On The Amazahn?
