Breaking Through, Selling Out, Dropping Dead

Breaking Through, Selling Out, Dropping Dead
Author: William Bayer
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation
Total Pages: 244
Release: 1989
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 9780879101237

(Limelight). "A hip compendium of cinema savvy ... perhaps the most practical battle manual available to the young filmmaker." Newsweek

The Popcorn Principles

The Popcorn Principles
Author: John Gaspard
Publisher: Albert's Bridge Books
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2023-02-01
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

Take your novel to the next level. Unlock the power of the silver screen with The Popcorn Principles, a guide to fiction and novel writing. It will help you: • Craft unforgettable characters • Write compelling scenes • Hide exposition • Structure powerful endings With this book (and the movies it draws on), you'll learn the tools and techniques used by screenwriters, which you can apply to your own writing. Craft your next novel and become a better writer with The Popcorn Principles. (Popcorn not included.) Includes interviews and tips from Roger Corman, Jon Favreau, Steven Soderbergh, George Romero, Bob Odenkirk, Stuart Gordon, Miranda July, Academy-Award winner Kenneth Lonergan, editor Carol Littleton (“The Big Chill”), Dan O’Bannon (“Alien”), Tom DiCillo (“Living in Oblivion), Academy-Award nominees Whit Stillman (“Metropolitan”) and Dan Futterman (“Capote”), and Alex Cox (“Repo Man”).

Making Your Film for Less Outside the U.S.

Making Your Film for Less Outside the U.S.
Author: Mark Dewayne
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 162
Release: 2006-03-02
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1621532003

At last, here is a definitive step-by-step guide that explains everything needed to successfully produce and distribute films overseas. Following the advice found here, filmmakers will learn to make films in foreign countries that cost less money and allow the artists greater creative control. Chapters include: scheduling and budgeting, foreign censors, accommodations and office rental, scams to avoid, foreign film festivals, working with digital equipment, and more. An in-depth study compares production costs between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, England, France, Bulgaria, South Africa, the Philippine Islands, Hong Kong, Australia, and Thailand. The author offers a sample budget for an overseas film shoot and offers tips for cutting costs on transportation, location fees, wardrobe, hair and makeup, catering, and equipment. Interviews with nine entertainment industry veterans reveal marketing and distribution trends in the American film market for foreign-made projects. And special chapters are included on writing for overseas production and on new technology as it relates to digital film and video provide essential insight to today’s filmmaker. Directors, producers, screenwriters, and actors will learn how to turn their film projects from a dream to reality.

The Dream of the Broken Horses

The Dream of the Broken Horses
Author: William Bayer
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 394
Release: 2002-02-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0743403363

"One hot summer afternoon a quarter century ago, a wealthy socialite and her young lover, a private-school teacher, were gunned down in a cheap motel room on the outskirts of the Midwestern city of Calista. Now, forensic sketch artist David Weiss has returned to his hometown to cover a routine celebrity murder trial for ABC."--Jacket.

Fast, Cheap & Written That Way: Top Screenwriters on Writing for Low-Budget Movies

Fast, Cheap & Written That Way: Top Screenwriters on Writing for Low-Budget Movies
Author: John Gaspard
Publisher: Albert's Bridge Books
Total Pages: 390
Release: 2023-05-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Write Your Screenplay with the Help of Top Screenwriters! It’s like taking a Master Class in screenwriting … all in one book! Discover the pitfalls of writing to fit a budget from screenwriters who have successfully navigated these waters already. Learn from their mistakes and improve your script with their expert advice. "I wish I'd read this book before I made Re-Animator." Stuart Gordon, Director, Re-Animator, Castle Freak, From Beyond John Gaspard has directed half a dozen low-budget features, as well as written for TV, movies, novels and the stage. The book covers (among other topics): Academy-Award Winner Dan Futterman (“Capote”) on writing real stories Tom DiCillio (“Living In Oblivion”) on turning a short into a feature Kasi Lemmons (“Eve’s Bayou”) on writing for a different time period George Romero (“Martin”) on writing horror on a budget Rebecca Miller (“Personal Velocity”) on adapting short stories Stuart Gordon (“Re-Animator”) on adaptations Academy-Award Nominee Whit Stillman (“Metropolitan”) on cheap ways to make it look expensive Miranda July (“Me and You and Everyone We Know”) on making your writing spontaneous Alex Cox (“Repo Man”) on scaling the script to meet a budget Joan Micklin Silver (“Hester Street”) on writing history on a budget Bob Clark (“Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things”) on mixing humor and horror Amy Holden Jones (“Love Letters”) on writing romance on a budget Henry Jaglom (“Venice/Venice”) on mixing improvisation with scripting L.M. Kit Carson (“Paris, Texas”) on re-writing while shooting Academy-Award Winner Kenneth Lonergan (“You Can Count on Me”) on script editing Roger Nygard (“Suckers”) on mixing genres This is the book for anyone who’s serious about writing a screenplay that can get produced! Grab it today! ★★★★★ "A perfect read for anyone who wants to write a film script or for anyone who just enjoys watching movies." Fred Willard, Actor, A Mighty Wind, Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman "This volume is packed full of useful little nuggets of information." Jonathan Lynn, Director, My Cousin Vinny, Clue, Nuns on the Run, The Whole Nine Yards “Packed with war stories and savvy advice for beginning screenwriters.” Larry Gross, Screenwriter, 48 hrs., Streets of Fire, True Crime

Patterns of Bias in Hollywood Movies

Patterns of Bias in Hollywood Movies
Author: John W. Cones
Publisher: Algora Publishing
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2012
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0875869599

It's pretty broadly recognized that Hollywood movies contain patterns of bias, but it's not just people of color or women who are hurt by this. Many groups within America's multicultural society have complained over the years about negative and stereotypical portrayals of their own group members in motion pictures produced or released through the Hollywood-based studios. Yet, as an expert on the U.S. film industry points out, such complaints have had little impact on consistent patterns of bias in movies. This book takes a broader look at the nature of negative and stereotypical movie portrayals and tracks patterns of such one-sided depictions over a longer period time. As a result, the patterns of bias — and the source the problem — become more clear. The problem appears be that most of the people who have green-light authority in the U.S. film industry — for either the production and/or distribution of a motion picture — share a common ethnic/religious/cultural background. Thus, the stories of their cohort and those of all other ethnic, religious and/or cultural groups (whose members seldom achieve positions of power Hollywood) are being filtered through the cultural sensibilities of a single group. John Cones suggests that the solution could lie in increasing diversity at the highest levels in the U.S. film industry. This work grew out of the observed frustration of film industry critics who have pointed out examples of bias and stereotyping in specific movies over the years only to be rebuffed by the simplistic studio arguments that such films reflect the real world and that moviegoers vote with their pocket books. It can be shown that there is a consistent pattern to the choices Hollywood studio executives make with respect to the movies produced and released and the specific content of those movies, and it becomes obvious that Hollywood is selectively portraying reality. Movie goers only have limited options among all of the possibilities that could be portrayed on the silver screen. This book differs from other studies touching on bias in motion pictures. Most such books focus on the treatment of a single ethnic, religious, cultural, racial or other readily identifiable interest group, but this study attempts to provide an overview and to identify patterns over time. When the patterns of bias in motion picture content are sufficiently demonstrated and documented, it becomes easier to identify the source of the bias and to explain why such bias exists.

The Everything Filmmaking Book

The Everything Filmmaking Book
Author: Barb Karg
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2007-01-19
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1605502898

Filmmaking is a notoriously difficult field to break into—a script’s chance of making it to production is a staggering 1 in every 140,000. But the millions of aspiring filmmakers can up their odds with The Everything Filmmaking Book. This engaging, easy-to-follow guide takes readers step-by-step through the filmmaking process, including: -Writing a marketable script -Understanding all aspects of pre-production -Shooting on location -Working with the cast -Editing and post-production -Distributing the finished film The Everything Filmmaking Book is the perfect guide for future Spielbergs everywhere!

Fast, Cheap & Under Control: Lessons Learned from the Greatest Low-Budget Movies of All Time

Fast, Cheap & Under Control: Lessons Learned from the Greatest Low-Budget Movies of All Time
Author: John Gaspard
Publisher: Albert's Bridge Books
Total Pages: 409
Release: 2023-05-29
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN:

Dying to make a feature? Learn from the pros! "We never put out an actual textbook for the Corman School of Filmmaking, but if we did, it would be Fast, Cheap and Under Control." Roger Corman, Producer ★★★★★ It’s like taking a Master Class in moviemaking…all in one book! Jonathan Demme: The value of cameos John Sayles: Writing to your resources Peter Bogdanovich: Long, continuous takes John Cassavetes: Re-Shoots Steven Soderbergh: Rehearsals George Romero: Casting Kevin Smith: Skipping film school Jon Favreau: Creating an emotional connection Richard Linklater: Poverty breeds creativity David Lynch: Kill your darlings Ron Howard: Pre-production planning John Carpenter: Going low-tech Robert Rodriguez: Sound thinking And more! Learn the tricks and pitfalls of low-budget filmmaking from 33 successful independent films and the filmmakers who created them. Includes never before published interviews with low-budget mavericks such as Steven Soderbergh, Roger Corman, Jon Favreau, Henry Jaglom, and many more. Learn the lessons from such classics as Clerks, Night of the Living Dead, Swingers, Open Water, El Mariachi, Slacker, sex, lies and videotape, The Blair Witch Project, Eraserhead, Monty Python & The Holy Grail, Dark Star, Return of the Secaucus Seven, The Little Shop of Horrors, Caged Heat and Targets. Are you dying to make a movie? This is the one book that can help you make it a reality. Grab it now! ★★★★★ Praise for the Fast, Cheap and Under Control: "This terrific little book explains how to make every penny count on the often-arduous journey from script to screen." John Carpenter, Director, Halloween, Starman, Escape from New York "A helpful and funny guide for beginners and professionals alike." Jonathan Demme, Director, Silence of the Lambs "This book is as good as film school, and a lot less expensive. It's required reading in Tromaville." Lloyd Kaufman, President, Troma Entertainment, Creator, Toxic Avenger "I wish I’d read this book before I made Re-Animator." Stuart Gordon, director, Re-Animator "This simple and sensible book injects reality into the process and helps any filmmaker prevent their film from becoming a money pit. Lessons like those in this book are cheap at ten times the price." John Badham, director, Saturday Night Fever, Dracula, Blue Thunder "For everyone who wants to make art without breaking the bank, John Gaspard’s book is worth every penny." Derek Pell, Editor, DingBat Magazine "A richly-detailed, highly readable and inspiring book jam-packed with information that will keep low-budget filmmakers from making costly mistakes. Filled with a ton-full (not a spoonful) of fascinating, insightful interviews, with a you-can-do-it approach." Dr. Linda Seger, consultant on over 2,000 screenplays, best-selling author of Making a Good Script Great and 7 other books

Dictionary of Film Finance and Distribution

Dictionary of Film Finance and Distribution
Author: John W. Cones
Publisher: Algora Publishing
Total Pages: 441
Release: 2013
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0875869955

This dictionary is an aid to anyone involved in seeking to finance a feature film project, especially independents. It covers terms used in film production and distribution, marketing, accounting, insurance, securities, corporate structures and general financial arenas. All of the principal forms of feature film finance are covered, including studio/distributors, production companies, lending institutions, co-financing, pre-sales, grants, foreign and passive investor financing involving the sale of a security.