The Film Book

Product Information

Mark Kermode has done a trilogy of books thus far that are his broader takes on cinema (as opposed to, for his instance, his excellent BFI tome on Silent Running). I’ve enjoyed the other two – Hatchet Job and The Good, The Bad & The Multiplex– a lot. But It’s Only A Movie just about edges them for me.

Best Movies Based on Books of 2021 | Book-to-Film 29 Best Movies Based on Books of 2021 | Book-to-Film

We often spend so much time focusing on the Hollywood perspective that we forget other directors out there doing amazing things. Kurosawa's autobiography lets you into the master's mind. You can see the decisions he made, how painting influences him, and why and how he left an indelible mark on filmmaking. There have been many conversations about just how close to the mark the many stories that Peter Biskind explores in Easy Rides Raging Bulls are. But one thing is fairly certain: that by the time you get to the end of his gossip-y book, you’ll have a list of films to watch that’s comfortably in double figures (assuming you’ve not seen them before, of course). A wonderfully-researched tale of Hollywood horror, that, of course, is also true. The Battle Of Brazilis the story of how Terry Gilliam and Universal Pictures came to butt heads over the director’s richly acclaimed 1985 movie, Brazil. As with many memoirs on this list, Huston’s latest book, Watch Me, talks around the movies as much as about them. Yet there are real gems in here, not least her working with her father, John Huston, on his last film.

How to Vote

The astonishing era at Paramount Pictures in the 1970s has been richly covered in film books, but there’s room in producer and eventual Sony studio head Peter Guber for a few more tales. The film writing of Richard E Grant is something to be cherished, not least because he published his outstanding movie diaries – With Nails– whilst very much at his most in-demand. Everyone knows that filmmaking is a collaborative industry and you can’t make a film alone so finding your crew is so important. You can have hundreds of great ideas, but if you don’t know any DPs or art directors or gaffersーit is extremely hard to get anything made.

10 Best Filmmaking Books to Read in 2020 - StudioBinder 10 Best Filmmaking Books to Read in 2020 - StudioBinder

And let's be honest: never let it be said that the people in the film industry aren’t a rum bunch. Rather than think of their own films to bring to the silver screen (does anybody still call it that?), they just let authors pen their finely crafted words and stories and then turn those into motion pictures (does anybody still call it that?). Like we said, a rum bunch. Not only may you find a new passion but you may also uncover a hidden talent that you weren’t even aware of. My classmate started the program thinking her main skills were as a journalist. After doing the casting process once, she discovered she had a great eye for spotting talent and really enjoyed communicating with the actors. Now, she is the go to casting director for all projects! There are lots of things that go into making an independent movie. It's not just money but personalities and structure. Also, so many books focus on Hollywood insiders that this one really shows what it would be like for YOU to make a movie. Editors are often the unsung heroes of the film. Walter Murch is one of the greatest editors of all time, so it's nice to hear Hollywood from his point of view. He details every step he's taken plus strategies he uses to control the edit. It's helped me learn to speak with editors and to trust them.Turns out, there are lots of legal forms that go into making a movie. Here's a lawyer's handbook so you know just what you can and cannot do on set. It's really useful if you're shooting without permits and if you need to save money.

Film Books That Are Well Worth Your Time | Den of Geek 63 Film Books That Are Well Worth Your Time | Den of Geek

The co-founder of Orion Pictures, and one-time head of TriStar, Mike Medavoy has had his fingers in an awful lot of film pies. Films greenlighted on his watch include The Terminator, The Silence Of The Lambs, Cliffhanger, and Sleepless In Seattle. While I tried to avoid screenplay books here, I did want to mention this masterful autobiography. Goldman is one of our greatest storytellers and he weaves an excellent tale detailing how it all happens. He doesn't shelter you from the ups and downs. This tete a tete has two of the greatest directors of all time chatting openly about their movies, style, substance, actors, and just the process. It's a revealing look at the master of suspense and the way his mind works.

The best book-to-film adaptations ever

The real gift of Julie Salamon’s superb telling of the making of the movie The Bonfire Of The Vanities is that she has you absolutely rooting for it. Accepting that the movie was a notorious early 90s Hollywood bomb (eclipsed in Bruce Willis’ career soon after when the knives came out for Hudson Hawk), Salamon is a patient, diligent observer. She charts how one of the most compelling books of its time was chewed up by the Hollywood system, with director Brian De Palma desperately trying to shape a worthwhile picture at the end of it all.

The Film Book: A Complete Guide to the World of Cinema

About half way through movie stunt legend Vic Armstrong’s memoir, I found myself wondering if it’d been a better book were it a biography rather than an autobiography. Yet I still enjoyed it, and Armstrong offers an angle on the movies that’s not often discussed. Inevitably covering Henson’s early work, experimental shorts and television breakthrough with the likes of The Muppets and Sesame Street, there’s also no shortage of material here for movie nerds to feast on. I’ve a real soft spot for books that go into forensic detail about the making of just one film. But even without that, David Itzkoff’s superb dissection about the making of Sidney Lumet’s classic Networkwould be a must-read. Marshall, the director of films such as Pretty Woman and Beaches, has written two memoirs, but I confess I’ve only read this one. It was worth it, though. The book explores his rise to prominence through his work writing, producing and directing on the liks of Happy Daysand Mork & Mindy. It then takes in his movie career (albeit, given when the book was written, stopping in the 1990s). How far would you go to get your first feature funded? In the case of Robert Rodriguez – now best known, of course, for the likes of Spy Kids and the Sin City films – he’d sell his body to medical science.When I undertake creating something, I like to delve into every job on set. I want to know why certain choices are made, and I need to be able to fill every role if the budget is small. This book really taught me so much about editing. I learned much better communication with the people I work with as well.