Scarecrow Press
Pages: 240
•
978-1-4616-0189-0 • eBook • October 2004 • $59.50 • (£46.00)
Jack Rothman is Professor Emeritus at UCLA, School of Public Policy and Social Research. He is the author of more than twenty books applying social science.
Chapter 1 An Excerpt at the Coffee Table: Encounter with Director Gil Cates
Chapter 2 Preview: The Ivy Tower Meets the Silver Screen
Chapter 3 Chapter 1: Troubles in Mind
Chapter 4 Chapter 2: Directors in Close-Up
Chapter 5 Chapter 3: The Actor Factor
Chapter 6 Chapter 4: Digital Rising—Independents' Day
Chapter 7 Chapter 5: Stalking Creative Freedom
Chapter 8 Chapter 6: Women and Minorities in the Director's Chair
Chapter 9 Chapter 7: Writers in the Scene?
Chapter 10 Chapter 8: A New Take
Chapter 11 Chapter 9: Mapping Planet Hollywood (Not the Restaurant)
Chapter 12 Appendix A: Directors' Credits
Chapter 13 Appendix B: Supplementary Interviews and Information
Chapter 14 Notes
Chapter 15 Index
Chapter 16 About the Author
This is an insightful look at how films are made (or not made) in the wonderful land of Oz, i.e. Hollywood, and the answers come straight from those who are, probably, the most important person in the filmmaking process insofar as production is concerned.
— Book Notes
Basing his discussion on anonymity-guaranteed interviews with some 30 film directors, Rothman…offers candid insider takes on the current Hollywood film-making environment and an analysis of the sociological forces that facilitate and limit creative processes. E.g. he examines the specials challenges that women and minorities face in the director's chair. Also included are directors' awards and nominations, supplementary sources, and photos.
— Reference and Research Book News
Those who want to understand, and really get a grip on how films are made should read this book. Those reading it from the standpoint of attending film schools, or whatever, should read it not once, twice, but three or four times to really understand what really goes on in the front office of film studios. You might want to change your mind.
— Hollywood Inside Syndicate
...there is a wealth of information here that probably never could have been obtained without the veil of secrecy. Recommended for all performing arts libraries and libraries with extensive film collections.
— Library Journal
Wide Angle approaches a familiar subject with new, and often surprising, insight.
— Filmmaker Magazine
This is a film textbook that reads like a novel, and is more exciting than a lot of novels....It's an absolute page turner and should be in every filmmakers library, and required reading for every film student in America.
— Florida Blue Sheet
Rothman's objective work is a highly informed and very well researched survey that will prove informative for aspiring filmmakers, documentarians and cinema historians alike.
— Ray Zone; International Documentary
The most honest book on directing and the industry I've read. It's invaluable for people interested in the business.
— Sandy Tung, Writer/Film Director
I LOVE THIS BOOK!...VERY INSIGHTFUL...WELL DONE...BRAVO!
— George Hickenlooper, Film Director
The clear value of the study lies in the commentary on working with conglomerates, runaway productions, the high cost of actors, the high risk of contemporary motion picture producing, underemployment of women and people of color, and the rise of the independent films, to name just a few hot topics discussed....This timely study provides interesting insights into the film industry. Recommended.
— Choice
...a fascinating, insightful, and at times very blunt view of the ins and outs of the film trade specifically from the view of more than thirty directors, all interviewed by social scientist Jack Rothman with the guarantee their responses would remain anonymous....Fascinating for the lay reader, and an absolute must-read for anyone interested in getting into the director trade - there is no better place to learn about the hard knocks of directing short of interviewing 30 directors personally.
— The Bookwatch