I'd be an Alexander Payne fan even if we didn't share a Nebraska upbringing: he is a masterly, menschy, singular storyteller whose movies are both serious and unpretentious, delightfully funny and deeply moving. And he's fortunate indeed to have such a thoughtful and insightful chronicler as Leo Biga. --Kurt Andersen, Host of Studio 360. Long before Alexander Payne arrived as a world-renowned filmmaker, Leo Adam Biga spotted his talent, even screening his thesis project, The Passion of Martin, at an art cinema. By the time Payne completed Citizen Ruth and prepped Election Biga made him a special focus of his journalism. Interviewing and profiling and Payne became a highlight of the writer’s work. Feeling a rapport and trust with Biga, Payne granted exclusive access to his creative process, including a week-long visit to one of his sets. Now that Payne has moved from emerging to established cinema force through a succession of critically acclaimed and popular projects—About Schmidt, Sideways, and The Descendants—Biga has compiled his years of reporting into this book. It is the first comprehensive look anywhere at one of cinema’s most important figures. Go behind-the-scenes with the author to glimpse privileged aspects of the filmmaker at work and in private moments. The book takes the measure of Payne through Biga’s analysis, the filmmaker’s own words, and insights from some of the writer-director’s key collaborators. This must read for any casual fan or serious student of Payne provides in one volume the arc of a remarkable filmmaking journey.

Alexander Payne: His Journey in Film: A Reporter's Perspective, 1998 - 2012

Biographies & Memoirs

Biga, Leo Adam

Arts & Literature

Inside Stories LLC

Leo Biga has reported on the career of filmmaker Alexander Payne for 20 years. In this updated collection of essays, the author-journalist-blogger offers the only comprehensive look at Payne’s career and creative process. Based in Payne’s hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, Biga has been granted access to location shooting for Nebraska and Sideways, the latter filmed in California’s wine country. Biga has also been given many exclusive interviews by Payne and his creative collaborators. His insightful analysis of Payne’s films and personal journey has been praised by Payne for its “honesty, thoughtfulness, and accuracy.” The two-time Oscar-winner calls Biga’s articles, “the most complete and perceptive of any journalist’s anywhere.” Payne’s films are celebrated for their blend of humor and honest look at human relationships. Members of Hollywood’s A-List, including George Clooney (The Descendants), Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt), Reese Witherspoon (Election), Paul Giamatti (Sideways), Laura Dern (Citizen Ruth), and Bruce Dern (Nebraska), have starred in his films.

Alexander Payne: His Journey in Film

River Junction Press, LLC

Triumph After Trauma: How a Scrappy Battle-Scarred Refugee Insured His Own Success and Can Inspire Yours

Jaffery, Cyrus

Professionals & Academics

Win the Day Press

In people or in art, according to Dr. Mark Manhart, "You may not like nor understand everything you see, but at least you will have a truer view of all that went into making the man or the artwork." This biographical memoir takes the reader through all of his different lives – his "open life" and his "secret life". Manhart's professional side finds him a highly trained dentist who is actively engaged in developing new treatments and therapies. His inner passion, which keeps him charged, is his involvement in theatre as a playwright, director, and sometimes an actor.

Open Wide: Dr. Mark Manhart's Journey in Dentistry, Theatre, Education, Family, and Life

Manhart, Dr. Mark

Concierge Marketing, Incorporated

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Biga, Leo Adam. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Biga, Leo Adam