Nobody forgets their first time--and film directors are no exception. In these vivid and revealing interviews, a collection of filmmakers as diverse as the Coen brothers and Ken Loach, Ang Lee and Kevin Smith, Anthony Minghella and Gary Oldman, Neil Jordan and Mira Nair talk in extraordinary detail and with amazing candor about making their first films. Each chapter focuses on a director's celebrated debut--be it Angel or Blood Simple, Clerks or Diner, Muriel's Wedding or Truly, Madly, Deeply--and tells the inside story: from writing the script to raising the money, from casting the actors to assembling the crew, from shooting to editing, from selling the movie to screening it. Along the way, every aspect of the movie industry is explored: from dealing with agents and moguls for the first time to pitching your movie as a debutante director, from languishing in development hell to confronting test audiences from hell. The questions have been posed by Stephen Lowenstein, a young director with two acclaimed short films to his credit. Remembering the struggle to launch their careers, the directors have opened up about their first films and themselves to an unprecedented degree. Each chapter is not only a memoir of a particular movie, but also an emotional journey in which the director relives the pain and elation, the comedy and tragedy, of making a first feature. For anyone who wants to direct movies, these tales of triumph and disaster, of sleepless nights and nail-biting days, will be enthralling and terrifying in equal measure. For all other film fans, the interviews provide fascinating and entertaining insights into filmmakers who have become household names.

My First Movie: Twenty Celebrated Directors Talk About Their First Film

Humor & Entertainment

Lowenstein, Stephen

Movies

Pantheon

NOBODY FORGETS THEIR FIRST TIME--AND FILM DIRECTORS ARE NO EXCEPTION. In these strikingly candid interviews, ten internationally acclaimed directors--Richard Linklater, Richard Kelly, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Takeshi Kitano, Shekhar Kapur, Émir Kusturica, Agnès Jaoui, Lukas Moodysson, Terry Gilliam, and Sam Mendes--talk about the struggles and rewards of making their first film. Each chapter is devoted to a particular director and his or her debut--Slacker, Donnie Darko, Amores Perros, Jabberwocky, and American Beauty among them--and reveals telling details about the inside story of the film-making process: from writing the script to raising the money, from casting actors to gathering the crew, from shooting to editing, and, finally, screening the film. From these very different directors, working in many different countries, we get glimpses of a rich variety of filmmaking worlds--from Bollywood to Hollywood, no-budget to low-budget, studio-financed to self-financed. In each case, the directors relive the sometimes comic, sometimes tragic struggle to launch their careers, unself-consciously opening up about one of the most grueling experiences imaginable. Stephen Lowenstein, a young director himself, with two short films to his credit, has posed the questions that reveal their tales of triumph and disaster. For anyone who wants to direct, these stories will be enlightening and inspiring. For all other film fans, these interviews are an entertaining look at the raw beginnings of directors whose names are now familiar to cinema audiences around the world.

My First Movie: Take Two: Ten Celebrated Directors Talk About Their First Film

A sequel to the critically acclaimed My First Movie, Stephen Lowenstein once again talks to some of our most celebrated filmmakers about their debut films. Lowenstein interviews ten directors about their career-launching film and how they got the movie off the ground: how they raised the finance, found actors, searched for locations, worked with the crew and saw the project through to completion. Filmmakers interviewed include Richard Linklater on Slacker; Alejandro González Iñárritu on Amores Perros; Terry Gilliam on Jabberwocky; and Sam Mendes on American Beauty. A wonderfully rich compendium that is lively, informative, funny, and often surprising.

My First Movie, Take Two: Ten Celebrated Directors TAlk About Their First Film

Literature & Fiction

Dramas & Plays

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

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