Grindhouse: The Sleaze-filled Saga of an Exploitation Double Feature

Customer Reviews:

Explotation Goodness.......2007-09-14

This book is an excellent companion piece to the two movies that were part of the in theater double feature collectively known as Grindhouse.

The book treats us to plenty of pictures of not just the lovely ladies, of which there are many, but of everything from the movie. Included is the script for Planet Terror along with plenty of commentary about the filmaking process and the support network of both Robert and Quentin.
Unlike other film related books this one is not a fluff piece, there is a lot of material between the covers and this book is definately worth reading more than once.

Awesome.......2007-08-24

It's everything I expected and more! Loads of pictures and information. Even QT's AMI playlist. I love it XD

What a Ride.......2007-06-27

Talking about the movie, the girl riding on the hood of the challenger was quite a stunt and I have to admit that it was original and very edgy.
The girls in this movie were well cast and Cherry is hot.I can't wait to buy the DVD, hurry up and release it!

Not sleazy at all.......2007-05-25

Great transaction! No SLEAZY here! The book is great. The shipping was super fast. Thanks a whole bunch!

Grindhouse: The Sleaze-filled Saga of an Exploitation Double Feature.......2007-05-18

fantastic book with interviews, heaps of behind the scenes info and photos, screenplay for Planet terror and the trailers a very comprehensive book for any movie lover

Film Directing: Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen (Michael Wiese Productions)

Average customer rating:

Chicken scratches vs. Detailed Storyboards
of moderate interest to readers of video magazines
Mind-opening, even if you aren't interested in directing
Useful, pleasurable
Learning the Rules Before You Break Them

Film Directing: Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen (Michael Wiese Productions)
Steven Katz
Manufacturer: Michael Wiese Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0941188108

Amazon.com

Film Directing Shot by Shot offers a good introduction to the rudiments of film production. Steven D. Katz walks his readers through the various stages of moviemaking, advising them at every turn to visualize the films they wish to produce. Katz believes that one of the chief tasks of filmmaking is to negotiate between our three-dimensional reality and the two-dimensionality of the screen. He covers the number of technical options filmmakers can use to create a satisfying flow of shots, a continuity that will make sense to viewers and aptly tell the film's story. Katz provides in-depth coverage of production design, storyboarding, spatial connections, editing, scene staging, depth of frame, camera angles, point of view, and the various types of stable compositions and moving camera shots.

Book Description

A complete catalogue of motion picture techniques for filmmakers. It concentrates on the 'storytelling' school of filmmaking, utilizing the work of the great stylists who established the versatile vocabulary of technique that has dominated the movies
since 1915. This graphic approach includes comparisons of style by interpreting a 'model script', created for the book, in storyboard form.

Customer Reviews:

Chicken scratches vs. Detailed Storyboards.......2007-08-19

I have used this book numerous times for my teachings in which students go through the process of making a short film with certain limitations being imposed. It is part of a process that I call "fast filmmaking". I like the examples that Katz presents, specifically that it is not the quality of the drawing, but how the drawing communicates the director's vision to the rest of the crew. I will usually have a student "explain" their storyboard to the class, and it is amazing how a few chicken scratches can give as much details as a fully detailed storyboard. Kudos to Katz for explaining the creative aspect of directing, and Michael Weise Productions for publishing these types of books.

of moderate interest to readers of video magazines.......2007-08-13

as a long-time reader of videographer's magazines, I didn't find much of interest in this book. If I were new to the trade, I'd probably have found it more useful. For that reason, I gave it a rather high rating of 4 stars

Mind-opening, even if you aren't interested in directing.......2007-06-30

I've worked in the graphics design business for years, but more recently I've grown interested in working with video, primarily shorts and documentary work. I was looking for a book that could help teach me the "language" of motion and visual storytelling, and this book fit the bill. In fact, I found it to be incredibly inspiring as a student of art in general. It's extremely well-written, chock full of practical examples, and contains numerous time-worn techniques as well as cutting-edge experimentation. One funny thing: since it was written a few years before the desktop digital video revolution began, it talks about some of the difficult aspects of shooting which are now in many ways moot. But it's good to hear about the history of the craft.

If you have any interest in all in shooting, directing, or producing any kind of motion picture, show, or short, you'll definitely want to buy this book. However, be forewarned: you'll never be able to watch movies the same way again. You'll begin to pick up all the subtle nuances of filmmaking without even realizing it, so don't feel bad if you have to force yourself to re-engage with the actual story as you're watching!

Useful, pleasurable.......2007-05-07

I'm a college student, not at film school, who makes videos as a serious hobby. I thought this book was much better than other titles in the same market, because it's so specific. Instead of telling you what anyone with common sense knows, like "keep continuity" and "composition can affect the mood of a scene," this film lays it all out in detail. I recommend this for everyone who wants to improve. Even if you're not particularly interested in storyboarding, you'll learn how to think about your sequences in advance much better.

Learning the Rules Before You Break Them.......2007-01-13

Even though many of the great filmmakers may have not utilized storyboards, every one of them has pre-visualized their films.

Pre-visualization is the essence of what it means to be a director. A director can only be effective if he/she properly prepares for each scene. Even if one does not have every shot precisely planned out, they will still have an idea of the look and the flow of the process.

There are certainly many people who feel directing should be intuitive, that there should be no structure to the process or else creativity is stifled. This is a valid point from the perspective of the artist.

What is wonderful about this book is that it gives extensive insight into WHY one should cover a scene in a certain way. Directing as a profession requires a certain amount of preparation and PROOF that you have a handle on the film. Producers want reassurance that you have a vision worth pouring tens of millions of dollars into. Armed with the ability to properly express yourself in regard to your vision, you will have a much easier time convincing others to follow you.

So, in the end, if you are interested in studying the language of film and the methodology behind classic film composition and editing, then this book and the accompanying Film Directing: Cinematic Motion are essential.

Average customer rating:

Film: A Critical Introduction
A Superior, Well-Developed, Introductory Text . . .
Fabulous introduction!
As Reference & Textbook for "Intro to Film"

Film: A Critical Introduction
Maria T. Pramaggiore , and Tom Wallis
Manufacturer: Allyn & Bacon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0205433480

Customer Reviews:

Film: A Critical Introduction.......2007-09-12

Great book for a humanities class! I recommend it.
Great into to Cinema! Delivery quick and good condition.

A Superior, Well-Developed, Introductory Text . . ........2007-01-29

Whether you are a student or professor, there are a wide range of introductory film texts from which to choose -- it can be a bit overwhelming and a mistake is costly! This is especially true if you are the professor who is selecting an expensive text for your students (and they are all expensive) . . . you want provide them with a text worthy of the expense AND you do not want to invest additional hours photocopying material from other texts to compensate for less-than-fantastic chapters.

With this in mind, allow me to say that Pramaggoire and Wallis' text is the best I have ever encountered . . . bar none. I have used this text for over a year now, and the response has been extremely positive. It may initially seem irrelevant, but this text is extraordinary aesthetically appealing. Why is this important? Because we are talking about professors and students who have an interest in a VISUAL art. This text presents large, lush examples to compliment the text: not all texts invest this effort or expense. Moreover, the selected examples are spot-on . . . they are not randomly chosen BUT are the quintessential example of any given technique.

What makes this text great is both the organization (which others have mentioned) and the accessibility. Let's say you are not taking a formal class in film, you would have no problem reading this text solo. It is that understandable . . . and, let's face it, if an author cannot clearly explain an idea to a lay-person then he/she really do not know the subject. Pramaggoire and Wallis KNOW their subject.

And while there are several "well-written" texts on the market, not all incorporate contemporary examples. While Orson Wells and Ingmar Bergman are key to understanding film, one cannot successful base an introductory text on "The Greats." It simply does not engage the new student. Luckily, this text includes essential examples from film history as well as contemporary examples (like "Super Size Me," "Waking Life," "The Piano" and "Requiem for a Dream"). I am especially fond of the short analysis of Harron's "American Psycho" (an oft overlooked, cinematic masterpiece).

One final reason to select this text: while other writers are rehashing old critical approaches to film, Pramaggoire and Wallis select the most relevant and contemporary ones. They instruct readers on how to view a film in the context of race, gender, sexuality, class, and national identity: all of which are crucial to understanding film! Likewise, they address "film authorship" which is equally as valuable. The text is never bogged-down by jargon (many are) . . . nor is it heavy-handed in its approach. Unlike most texts, this one wants to be understood.

You will find texts with DVD-ROMs, texts with "writing" supplements, texts with online-course access, and other "bells and whistles" . . . but this text does not NEED any of that. (It seems the others are trying to compensate for their short-comings by including "bonus" material . . . but it just becomes MESSY!). I plan to continue using this text as a tool for teaching film . . . it is, BY FAR, the best on the market. It is "smart," beautiful, and completely accessible. Whether you are a professor seeking a new text or a lay-person looking to enhance your knowledge of film, you cannot go wrong with this work. Trust me, it is worth the price!!

Fabulous introduction!.......2006-01-19

This is not only the best introduction to film studies that I've found, it's also a model of how a textbook should be organized and written. After an opening chapter on plot structure and thematic analysis, it goes in-depth into the elements of film form, with chapters on narrative form, mise en scene, cinematography, editing, and sound. The final section includes chapters on documentary and avant-garde film, writing about film, social context, ideology, stardom, genre, film authorship, and the economics of the film industry. Everything is covered very in-depth and in detail, with lots of excellent examples and photos. There is also a helpful film glossary in back. The writing is model of clarity and organization. This textbook is notable for the way that writing instruction is integrated into the text. Each chapter concludes with brief essay which exemplifies the concepts and terms used in the chapter, and includes margin notes which discuss the formal and rhetorical features of a college essay, including organization, research, thesis statement, and so on. There is also a concise chapter devoted entirely to writing about film, including the different kinds of essays typically assigned by professors. Students who read carefully will be well prepared to write film analysis papers for their college classes. Since this is an introductory text, it doesn't try to give complete coverage to film history and film theory, although these topics are introduced. Film history and theory really need to be covered in separate books and classes, as the authors recognize.

As Reference & Textbook for "Intro to Film".......2005-08-26

As a current user of Giannetti's "Understanding Movies", I find this new text to be a breath of fresh air. First impressions: the initial page prior to the content is a splash-page still from Visconti's "The Leopard", a film that perhaps has seen recent resurgence of interest in the film community. Overall, the text tries to convey the thesis of "Film as Art & Cultural Phenomenon" with thorough examples & concise explanations. Also appreciated is the brief desc of "persistence of vision & the phi phenomenon" & other more operational/technical aspects of film, filming & projection equipment.

The book features examples of what could be student film analysis papers. It also goes about analyzing the road to writing essays with an adequate thesis statement.

The book's highlight is the Chapter on "Writing about Film", which will likely help students in their film journal writing & paper thesis formulation. There won't be an intro book to tell the entire "story" of film, but Prammagiore & Wallis's book provides a commendable "structure" with film stills that ties closely to their text.

If you're looking for a summary of general film history in intro film studies, I don't think you'll find it here. Still a highly recommended book for students of film.

Average customer rating:

Great guide to film analysis
amazon never delivered!
good seller
EXCEPTIONALLY INFORMATIVE TEXT -- Although Some Movies Don't Require Explanation (*A Haiku Review)
An incredible introduction to film.

Understanding Movies
Louis Giannetti
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Reel Baseball: Essays and Interviews on the National Pastime, Hollywood, and American Culture

ASIN: 0131890980

Book Description

Helps readers understand how the many languages of film work together to create meaning. Louis Giannetti organizes Understanding Movies around the key elements of filmmaking, including cintematography, Mise en ScÃ¨ne, movement, editing, sound, acting, drama, casting, story, screenwriting, ideology, and theory. He synthesizes every element through a complete case study: Citizen Kane. This book's ideas are illuminated with hundreds of high-quality still photos, more than 70 in full color, taken from movies such as The Matrix, Almost Famous, jackass the movie, Chicago, Lord of the Rings, Mystic River, and Traffic. New in this edition: a full section on contemporary special effects and computer generated imagery (CGI); up-to-the-minute information on new developments in film technology; more coverage of recent films and filmmakers; more ethnic diversity (including new material on the Islamic cinema); and more lavish use of color and high-quality paper. An updated Companion Website contains animations, video clips from interviews with movie professionals, and Research Navigator access to New York Times film reviews. For everyone who wants to understand the artistry and meaning of the movies.

Customer Reviews:

Great guide to film analysis.......2007-09-30

This is an essential book for students of cinema. It does one thing and it does it quite well: it introduces you to the language of film analysis, the categories that critics use to analyze a film. It doesn't try to cover film technology or history.

I totally agree with the other reviewer that the new editions are completely unnecessary, and serve only to destroy the market for used copies. Buy one of the older editions unless it's for a college class and you need the same edition as the class.

amazon never delivered!.......2007-09-24

This is a great book although, amazon never delivered. I had ordered this book 2 weeks before school(along with 2 other books for school), it never came. Amazon said that i have an "undeliverable" address, but when i ordered it from ebay i got it in 3 dAys! Then i had to wait forever for a refund!

good seller.......2007-09-10

great seller and i would buy from this seller again. the book was new just like it stated.

EXCEPTIONALLY INFORMATIVE TEXT -- Although Some Movies Don't Require Explanation (*A Haiku Review).......2007-05-10

So now when I watch
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES,
I "get it" . . . and laugh.

~ Stephen T. McCarthy
[This goofy review is dedicated to the goofy MARTIN BRUMER (Feb. 15, 1960 to July 18, 1989),
a doggoned good actor and even better friend whose copy of this fine book was presented to me
by his Mother after he left for "That Great Sound Stage In The Sky."
Thanks, Marty & Miriam!]

An incredible introduction to film........2006-04-03

Gianetti continues to produce the ultimate in introductory film texts. He seemlessly introduces us to the history of cinema while teaching us everything we need to know to fully understand film. After finishing this text you will no longer look at films the same way.
The end of the book was by far the most intriguing. Gianetti devotes a whole chapter to what is arguably the greatest film in history, Citizen Kane. His synopsis allows the reader to truly understand the beauty of the movie as well as cinema as a whole.
A must buy for anyone truly interested film.

The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film (Star Wars)

Average customer rating:

30th Anniversary - a new definitive work.
Wait, you mean there's stuff I didn't already know?!
Wonderful
A wonderful piece to celebrate this film's 30th anniversary!!
Exhaustively complete, excellently thorough

The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film (Star Wars)
J.W. Rinzler
Manufacturer: Del Rey
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Complete Visual Dictionary of Star Wars: The Ultimate Guide to Characters and Creatures from the Entire Star Wars Saga

ASIN: 0345494768
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Book Description

After the 1973 success of American Graffiti, filmmaker George Lucas made the fateful decision to pursue a longtime dream project: a space fantasy movie unlike any ever produced. Lucas envisioned a swashbuckling SF saga inspired by the Flash Gordon serials classic American westerns, the epic cinema of Japanese auteur Akira Kurosawa, and mythological heroes. Its original title: The Star Wars. The rest is history, and how it was made is a story as entertaining and exciting as the movie that has enthralled millions for thirty years–a story that has never been told as it was meant to be. Until now.

Using his unprecedented access to the Lucasfilm Archives and its trove of never-before-published “lost” interviews, photos, production notes, factoids, and anecdotes, Star Wars scholar J. W. Rinzler hurtles readers back in time for a one-of-a-kind behind-the-scenes look at the nearly decade-long quest of George Lucas and his key collaborators to make the “little” movie that became a phenomenon. For the first time, it’s all here:

• the evolution of the now-classic story and characters–including “Annikin Starkiller” and “a huge green-skinned monster with no nose and large gills” named Han Solo
• excerpts from George Lucas’s numerous, ever-morphing script drafts
• the birth of Industrial Light & Magic, the special-effects company that revolutionized Hollywood filmmaking
• the studio-hopping and budget battles that nearly scuttled the entire project
• the director’s early casting saga, which might have led to a film spoken mostly in Japanese–including the intensive auditions that won the cast members their roles and made them legends
• the grueling, nearly catastrophic location shoot in Tunisia and the subsequent breakneck dash at Elstree Studios in London
• the who’s who of young film rebels who pitched in to help–including Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, and Brian DePalma

But perhaps most exciting, and rarest of all, are the interviews conducted before and during production and immediately after the release of Star Wars–in which George Lucas, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Sir Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, composer John Williams, effects masters Dennis Muren, Richard Edlund, and John Dykstra, Phil Tippett, Rick Baker, legendary production designer John Barry, and a host of others share their fascinating tales from the trenches and candid opinions of the film that would ultimately change their lives.

No matter how you view the spectrum of this thirty-year phenomenon, The Making of Star Wars stands as a crucial document–rich in fascination and revelation–of a genuine cinematic and cultural touchstone.

Customer Reviews:

30th Anniversary - a new definitive work........2007-10-12

2007 is the 30th anniversary of Star Wars. Of course, if you were any type of Star Wars fan, you'd already know this. You might also know quite a bit of the backstory that's in this book, but I doubt you'll know it all. As a longtime fan, I learned more than a few things, and I got a better understanding.

Wait, you mean there's stuff I didn't already know?!.......2007-09-30

The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film (Star Wars)

I was four years old when the original "Star Wars" was released, and like so many kids of that generation, that film and its two sequels defined an enormous part of my childhood. Even though I didn't know it at the time, it introduced me to the "best bits" of classical mythology, while being a visual catalyst for my imagination (and years of subsequent role-play, particularly in Upstate New York, where re-enacting ice planet Hoth after "Empire" came out was all too easy...).

As I grew older (I hesitate to use the phrase "grew up," as I'm not sure it's happened yet), I came to appreciate more than just the adventure and dynamic visuals that "Star Wars" represented; it was my "gateway drug" into wanting to learn more about how movies were made. I remember all of the TV specials of that era that pulled back the curtain on the filmmaking process, particularly with regard to the original "Star Wars" trilogy, and I couldn't get enough information. That hunger became the same kind of obsession that's typically associated with "Star Wars" fans, and I absorbed every scrap of detail I could find, from Ralph McQuarrie's concept art, to model photos, to script pages, and even before the Internet made it only a matter of a few clicks to access such information, there was a wealth of it, when it came to "Star Wars."

Fast forward to 2007; "Star Wars" is 30 years old, a whole separate trilogy has come and gone, and my own children are budding "Star Wars" fans for their own reasons. I figured I knew pretty much all there was to know about this film. I darn well should have, for as much time as I had spent (and continue to spend) over the years actively seeking out new details about it. Then came this book; I didn't know anything.

This is dense, dense reading, covering every minute detail about every aspect of production of the original "Star Wars," from drafting the script, to getting it taken seriously by Hollywood, to assembling the team that would revolutionize filmmaking as we came to know it. This is a wonderful thing. I find myself poring over every word, every image, every caption and footnote, just as I did as a child who was learning about film for the first time. It is an amazing tribute, an insanely detailed reference volume, and most incredible of all, a unique representation of a film that has been covered in so many ways by so many authors, that finding anything new to talk about seemed impossible.

The aspect of this book I personally find most exciting is that all of the interviews that comprise it are taken from the period immediately surrounding the production and release of the original film. There is none of the revisionist hindsight pertaining to the film that has come about as a result of the films that came after; every word spoken by the people involved is "of the moment," and as such, is refreshingly candid about what was going on while the film was in the throes of its conception and execution.

The hardcover volume is worth the extra cost, because of its additional supplemental material, not found in the softcover edition. There are 45 pages of storyboard reproductions, as well as Lucas' first-ever references to the larger world beyond what was shown in the original film, in the form of interview excerpts taken in 1977, which involve Lucas describing character and environmental background information. As author J.W. Rinzler explains in the opening to the section, "Many of these ideas...[have since been] modified to a greater or lesser degree. They are presented here...[as] an idea of how he first began [the process of expanding the "Star Wars" universe]." Given the amount of tweaking that the backstory has undergone in the decades following "Star Wars," the inclusion of Lucas' first impressions of it in this volume are incredibly valuable to anyone who, like me, has wondered if the second trilogy of films was truly borne from his original ideas, or was more a product of his later experiences.

This book is exactly what its title promises: the definitive history behind the original film. And for someone who has spent most of his life feeling like there was nothing new under the suns (not a typo) when it came to the story of how "Star Wars" was made, that's saying something.

Wonderful.......2007-09-22

I think I've been waiting 30 years for this book. It is excellent and packed with really cool behind the scene photos and notes. It is exactly as it should be given the lack of "marketing" tools of movies back in the late 70's. It has a lot of information and will add nicely to any Star Wars collection for years to come.

A wonderful piece to celebrate this film's 30th anniversary!!.......2007-08-24

Before this book came out, the greatest making of book in star wars lore was Once Upon A Galaxy. Now it has a partner!!! This book is amazing; truly a magnificent look at what it took to get this film on the screen. Not only do you get hundreds of never before seen and priceless photos, the sheer amount of text is incredibly impressive. This was very hard work to put together. There isnt much more I can add about this book. So.......go buy it; and Happy 30th Star Wars!!!

Exhaustively complete, excellently thorough.......2007-08-23

This book goes into more detail than anyone but a die-hard fan would want to know, in all honesty; but as it's one of the greatest movies ever filmed, Star Wars has more than its fair share of die-hards. The book is thoroughly researched and excellently presented and covers every aspect of the film's genesis from the very first words scribbled on George Lucas' yellow legal pads to the opening day. This book is, as the title states, the definitive story behind the making of Star Wars. Again, fascinating for the die-hard, but may be a bit detailed for the casual fan.

Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business

Average customer rating:

It rambled a little here and there
Vintage Mamet with a twist
War Stories A Plenty
Disappointed
David Mamet on the movie business? Please?!

Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business
David Mamet
Manufacturer: Pantheon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0375422536
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Book Description

In Bambi vs. Godzilla, David Mamet, the award-winning playwright and screenwriter, gives us an exhilaratingly subversive inside look at Hollywood from the perspective of a filmmaker who has always played the game his own way.

Who really reads the scripts at the film studios? How is a screenplay like a personals ad? Whose opinion matters when revising a screenplay? Why are there so many producers listed in movie credits? And what the hell do those producers do, anyway? Refreshingly unafraid to offend, Mamet provides hilarious, surprising, and bracingly forthright answers to these and other questions about virtually every aspect of filmmaking, from concept to script to screen.

He covers topics ranging from “How Scripts Got So Bad” to the oxymoron of “Manners in Hollywood.” He takes us step-by-step through some of his favorite movie stunts and directorial tricks, and demonstrates that it is craft and crew, not stars and producers, that make great films. He tells us who his favorite actors and what his favorite movies are, who he thinks is the most perfect actor to grace the screen, and who he thinks should never have appeared there.

Demigods and sacred cows of the movie business–beware! But for the rest of us, Mamet speaking truth to Hollywood makes for searingly enjoyable reading.

Customer Reviews:

It rambled a little here and there.......2007-10-10

Overall I liked the book. It had some great stories and advice, but at times he would ramble on and on about stuff and then the point would be in one sentence. I guess if he didn't ramble it wouldn't be a long book. The chapters were short so it's an easy read, and if you want to know what the business is like then it's a good read. I will recommend for people who want to get into the business, I don't recommend this book for those who are just movie buffs.

Vintage Mamet with a twist.......2007-09-09

This is vintage Mamet; sharp, insightful, renegade, taking potshots at sacred cows. Unlike earlier collections like 'Writing in Restaurants' there is a new ingredient running through most pieces- a knifetip of something angry and bitter.
That's made more noticeable by a chapter that starts with a genial, witty quote from 'Richard Weisz'... Richard Weisz being one of Mamet's alter egos. The world -and specifically that world- needs all the Mamet it can get.

War Stories A Plenty.......2007-07-29

As the title suggests, this is not a book that glorifies the movie business. Through stories from the trenches Mamet paints a vivid and realistic picture of what it's like trying to negotiate the turbulent rapids of Hollywood. I was a little afraid of this book at first, because I really thought the author, whom I respect very much, was going to trash the business, that I love so very much. But I was pleasantly surprised that he was able to present a balanced picture. Yes, there are some people that he hates (actors be ware), but you can tell that he has a true love for the business. Mamet also uses his humor to offset some of the more acidic anecdotes. All in all, a good book. A quick read. And his insights are very unique.

Disappointed.......2007-07-24

I love David Mamet's plays. He's an excellent writer. So I was enthusiastic about getting the chance to read his personal views of Hollywood. And while I agree with him that the studio machinery is all about profits and very little about art or craft - when was it ever different? - I was ultimately disappointed by his book. There were times when I just didn't know what he was talking about. I think his writing here is often inaccessible. I may not be the most erudite reader, but Mamet left me cold. I just couldn't get into the style of his writing. I felt distanced rather than drawn in. When I read a book like this, I want to devour it, not pick at its little pieces. You may feel differently, that's fine. The book didn't pull me in the way I'd hoped it would.

David Mamet on the movie business? Please?!.......2007-06-01

This book was so wonderful, I took it out from the library, read it, and then had to buy it. I never do that. It's a book you'll want to read over and over, have other people read (at least certain essays) and refer to the filmography repeatedly. Mamet is so amazingly astute about everything, but particularly about things relating to theater and the movie business. If you are a movie buff at all, read this book.

Rebel without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player

Average customer rating:

Great Read
Rebel Withou A Crew
Great read, inspiring
Excellent!
Interesting insight into a very talented man

Rebel without a Crew: Or How a 23-Year-Old Filmmaker With $7,000 Became a Hollywood Player
Robert Rodriguez
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Film Directing: Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen (Michael Wiese Productions)

ASIN: 0452271878

Customer Reviews:

Great Read.......2007-10-15

I have to admit I just got this book a couple of days ago and have not finished. What I have read though is great. His book in not just a how to book. Its entertaining and very inspiring. I really enjoyed reading about Rodriguiz spend 30 days as a medical experiement to make $3000 to help pay for his movie.

Rebel Withou A Crew.......2007-09-28

This book is very good. It is encouraging and helpful to any young film maker like myself. I highly recommend it. It's worth the money.

Great read, inspiring.......2007-09-23

Tells the story of how Rodriguez got to where he is. Everyone's road is very different but this is definitely an inspiring book. Hone your skills!

Excellent!.......2007-08-14

I bought this thinking it would be more of a guide then the journal it ended up being, and I couldnt have been happier. It was an interesting and easy read that I couldnt put down! I would definitely recommend this book to any young filmmakers or anyone interested in the independent process. Rodriguez really does a great job of showing how a lot of hard work, dedication and some luck can jump start a career. I felt inspired to go out and start working on films again, but I'm still reluctant to join any medical experiments to finance it.

Interesting insight into a very talented man.......2007-08-06

A great tale, but not so well written that I could recommend on its literary quality alone. I admire Rodriguez - even more, knowing what he went through to make this film (and I'm a fan El Mariachi more than the overly-produced Once Upon a Time in Mexico). The story-telling reflects his jagged style. At the very least, it should inspire you to make a few sacrifices in favor of pursuing one of your own dreams.

Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need

Average customer rating:

A great picture of a cat, and a How-To for predictable screenplays
re-name the book
Ignore the Haters; they didn't get it
simple good advice and nothing more
Friends close, Enemies closer

Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need
Blake Snyder
Manufacturer: Michael Wiese Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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How to Write a Movie in 21 Days

ASIN: 1932907009

Book Description

This ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a show biz Veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat!

Customer Reviews:

A great picture of a cat, and a How-To for predictable screenplays.......2007-10-13

There is one major problem I have with this book: The author uses examples that are Hollywood's greatest films like Miss Congeniality and Blank Check and avoids the trivial commercial garbage like Chinatown or Apocalypse Now. There is even a great blurb about Momento that ultimately says that 'if the suits don't understand it, then it must be garbage.'

Bad examples aside, here are the two points I agree with: today's Hollywood is concerned with two things, the log line and the poster. The current thought is that if they can get butts into seats on opening weekend they will have ripped off most of the suckers before bad word of mouth can spread.

So maybe the title should read 'How to Make More of the Same.' The problem is that these types of books get into inexperienced hands and are taken as gospel truth killing anything that doesn't follow the model. Script readers in this town are full of the same soundbytes taken from the three gospels of McKee, Field & Snyder.

Okay, so I liked the book and suggest that any serious screenplay writer out there read it along with all the others. But don't read this one first! And don't bother reading it twice. You may end up thinking that hit films are due to formula instead of MASSIVE advertising campaigns. On that note, a must read is Marketing to Moviegoers by Robert Marich.

Much of the information is opinion that could have been in an article of a screenwriter's magazine. In essence it could have been a pamphlet that accompanied Syd Field's Screenwriter's Handbook and I wouldn't have noticed a difference. I would give this book away after my first read, but you might have to pry the Screenwriter's Handbook from my cold, dead hands.

Just like my review, it's long-winded and full of contradiction, but might be of some use to somebody.

re-name the book.......2007-10-03

The book should've been named "How to take the joy out of screenwriting."

Although Blake Snyder is at the top of the screenwriting industry (he has had two spec scripts that have been made into movies), it is fortunate that he wasn't born during the Renaissance and wound up teaching artists how to precisely paint.

Perhaps everything he states in the book may be the absolute gospel in Hollywood (ala Syd Field/Robert McKee at al), but Blake Snyder believes all screenplays must be severely structured:
- The script must have precisely 40 scenes for some unknown reason
- the theme of the script must be made by page 5
- the catalyst (a life-changing event) must occur precisely on page 12
- the hero finally making the decision to act must be on page 25 (end of act one)
- the B story of a script must begin around page 30
- there must be an identifiable midpoint (exactly on page 55 of a 110-page script) where the hero peaks or the world collapses all around the hero or vice-a-versa
- the hero's "All is lost" scene must be on page 75
- and so on.

True, he reveals previously unknown industry secrets such as all scripts must have a terrific logline, a great title, a likeable hero (thus the title of the book), and must have conflict.

On the plus side, the book is certainly well organized and extremely well written. Is it worth shelling out 3 bucks on E-bay? Check your public library.

Ignore the Haters; they didn't get it.......2007-10-03

If you think this book is just for family-film-oriented writers, you missed the big picture. Blake Snyder has hit the ball way, way, way, WAY out of the park with this one. Take the analytical tools he provides and unleash them on any mainstream movie from any genre from JAWS and SAW to E.T. and BACK TO THE FUTURE. I guarantee that the ones that follow his structure most closely are the ones that not only struck a chord with viewers, but laughed all the way to the bank.

Want to write a nice indy flick that you and your twenty closest friends can watch in someone's basement? Ignore Blake Snyder. Want to write a loud, crash-and-bang, content-missing movie people will forget in five years except to laugh? Ignore Blake Snyder. Want a movie you won't be able to pitch in five HOURS, let alone the five minutes you'll really have? Ignore Blake Snyder.

But if you want to write/direct/produce a film that satisfies on every level from the superficial to the sublime, then this is the book for you.

I never had a single offer on my work until I followed his advice.

SAVE THE CAT. Live it. Love it. Learn from it. Buy extra copies, 'cause if you're smart, you'll wear out the first one.

simple good advice and nothing more.......2007-09-30

This book contains alot of good advice for screenplay writing. however, the book is really aimed towards making "family films". all the movies he references are family films, and sometimes his own. It is a good book to get yourself in the right mindset for writing a screenplay but you can't rely on it to much or you might find yourself writing really dumb kids movies like "Blank Check". The process he gives you is very formulaic and his approach is more toward making money. but overall good read and good information. and who knows, maybe if you follow his advice to the point you could sell a screenplay to Spielberg for a million dollars too!

Friends close, Enemies closer.......2007-09-29

This IS a book about writing incredibly formulaic screenplays period. For my likes and dislikes, I would refer to Blake's movie ideas as groaners. That said, I find this book to be INCREDIBLY HELPFUL, amazing, on laying out that Hollywood 'movie' formula. It's great for creating structure. I'm not expecting this book to make me a more intersting storyteller. But I've worked with a number of hugely successful film producers / directors, and for the most part, they comletely rely on formula. Now, it's YOUR job to make that intersting. It's your job to know HOW breaking that formula makes your idea work better. It's all really valuable information. Do other books cover this same subject? Probably. But since I don't want to waste too much of my time reading screenplay books, I found this one to give me exactly what I needed. And I'll make it interesting.

Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2007 (Plume Paperback)

Average customer rating:

Great resource
Reviews are fine, but it's not alphabetized correctly!
A Neccessary Reference
The Best Overall guide to movies (mostly mainstream)
All the info on your movies

Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2007 (Plume Paperback)
Leonard Maltin
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0452287561

Book Description

The 2007 edition of Leonard MaltinÂ's definitive bestselling guide to the movies

Since its first edition decades ago, Leonard MaltinÂ's Movie Guide has been the standard bearer for cinematic reference books. The 2007 edition of this essential movieloverÂ's companion includes hundreds of new entries, with capsule reviews and comprehensive information on date of release, running time, cast and crew, and MPAA ratings. Within this compact volume, youÂ'll find:

Â• Listings for over 17,000 movies, including more than 300 new entries
Â• Authoritative notations on format availability (DVD, video, and laser disc)
Â• Up-to-date indices of top directors and actors
Â• MaltinÂ's Â“Fifty Best Films on DVDÂ” and Â“Fifty More Films You May Have MissedÂ”

From the masterpieces of classic cinema, to cutting-edge independent films, to the latest summer blockbusters, Leonard MaltinÂ's 2007 Movie Guide is truly Â“the best organized . . . the most completeÂ” (Newsday).

Customer Reviews:

Great resource.......2007-09-21

I buy this book every few years to look up that odd movie title to see if it's worth watching on TV. I only wish there was more synopsis of the movie and a less lengthy list of actors.

Reviews are fine, but it's not alphabetized correctly!.......2007-08-13

The review and facts in this book are fine, but the editor should be fired. What good is movie review book if you can't find the reviews because they aren't alphabetized correctly?? Go ahead -- try to find "The Manchurian Candidate" in there. Let's see, that should be listed as "Manchurian Candidate, The" and that should come after all the titles that start with "Man" but NO -- it's in the middle of all the "Man" movies. What??

There is a standard method of alphabetizing that has been around for a long time and is well-accepted and understood. It's used in every phone book in the country and every other movie review guide that I've used, but for some reason this book decided to do something different. The standard method says that a space in a multi-word title is alphabetized before any letters. Thus "Man in the Iron Mask" comes before "Manchurian Candidate" because "man[space]" comes before "manc" at the beginning of the titles. This book decided to just ignore spaces and alphabetize only by the letters. It's almost like having a dictionary that's not in alphabetical order -- all the facts are in there, but they're kind of hard to find.

A Neccessary Reference.......2007-06-08

This is an excellent guide to the movies - an absuolutely necessary reference for any true movie buff

The Best Overall guide to movies (mostly mainstream).......2007-04-16

Leonard and his staff are movie lovers and experts, and this the most comprehensive guide of its kind. They are American movie historians at heart. They love the recognized classics and they seem to particularly appreciate film-making craft and professionalism. I think they implicitly favor Hollywood movies or better produced independent films over low-budget and many foreign films because of the often notable difference in production values, and I think they are usually correct.

I have personally used this guide for 20 years to find the gems I may have missed and weed out the forgettable and regretable films that often get the big promotional budgets and their accompanying gushing,albeit seemingly paid-for, over-appreciative reviews (Mr. Ebert???).

A guide like this, which focuses on quality first and foremost, is particularly useful if you go to a Blockbuster (they have that name for a reason) or use Netflix. The Netflix associative predictive rating system is really crude at best and does not filter out some seriously flawed recommendations.

One warning: Matlin's ratings reflect mainstream film history thought. If you like the really edgy, the impressionistics, or other things "arty" in film, you may find the coverage and the ratings too traditional. But I think they recognize quality in new films, not just old ones. Highly recommended to all but the bleeding edge cinema buffs.

All the info on your movies.......2007-03-19

A great reference for when you're checking out movies in the last 60 years or so. Ratings (his own-I don't necessarily agree with all of them and you might not either) for movies, data on when they were made, who starred in them, plot summary. etc. If you are a movie buff but just don't have room in your brain for all the data, don't sweat it--this can be a handy book to have when you have a question about a movie and you need simple answers.

43 Ways to Finance Your Feature Film, Updated Edition: A Comprehensive Analysis of Film Finance

Average customer rating:

A resource for producers new and old

43 Ways to Finance Your Feature Film, Updated Edition: A Comprehensive Analysis of Film Finance
John W. Cones
Manufacturer: Southern Illinois University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0809322021

Book Description

This updated edition of John W. Cones’s now classic guide to independent film financing includes a discussion of new federal laws. Focusing on feature films, the comprehensive guide is also relevant to projects such as short films, documentaries, videos, multimedia presentations, and theatrical endeavors.

Customer Reviews:

A resource for producers new and old.......2000-06-09

How helpful this book is depends on how "green" you are about the film industry. Those with little to no knowledge about film production will find the book resourceful, informative and very "to-the-point" about the different types of financing available. The advantage/disadvantage sections are especially concise--it's always good to see both sides when it comes to deals potentially worth millions. The "further reading" sections at the end of chapter are also handy, if you want to do extra research on your own.

For those who are experienced film producers (or even those who have finished rigorous film producing and/or entertainment business academic programs, such as myself), the information may repeat many things you already know. Many of the strategies in this book I've learned about in producing classes and film financing seminars--and I'm just starting my career. So I'm sure that some seasoned producers may think this book is reinventing the wheel. However, I did think that the sections dealing with the different securities and corporation options were very informative as far as how they impact your tax status, the difference between active and passive investors, how your autonomy as a filmmaker/producer may be affected, etc. It breaks down a lot of tax legalese into layman's terms.

Overall, I recommend the book--as a primer for new producers and students, and as a great reference guide to those with experience.

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