Direction & Production

A memoir of leadership and success: The executive chairman of Disney, Time’s 2019 businessperson of the year, shares the ideas and values he embraced during his 15 years as CEO while reinventing one of the world’s most beloved companies....

The co-founder and longtime president of Pixar updates and expands upon his New York Times bestseller on creative leadership, reflecting on the management principles used to build Pixar's singularly successful culture, including what he got wrong—and how he made it right....

This heartfelt and wry career memoir from the director of Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall, About Last Night, and Glory gives a dishy, behind-the-scenes look at working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood....

Who made the phone call that got HBO to launch The Sopranos? What’s the significance of all those eggs? And, what the hell ever happened to the Russian? Michael Imperioli, Steve Schirripa, and the entire cast and crew of The Sopranos have all the answers....

Beloved culture writers Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards share the unauthorized, behind-the-scenes story of the stunning rise and suddenly uncertain reign of the most transformative cultural phenomenon of our time: the Marvel Cinematic Universe....

In this essential guide to acting, internationally renowned directing coach Judith Weston demonstrates what constitutes a good performance, what actors want from a director, and what directors do wrong....

Award-winning playwright, screenwriter, and director David Mamet shares scandalous and laugh-out-loud tales from his four decades in Hollywood where he worked with some of the biggest names in movies....

A full-speed-ahead oral history of the nearly two-decade making of the cultural phenomenon Mad Max: Fury Road....

A gripping short biography of the extraordinary Alfred Hitchock, the master of suspense....

The definitive, behind-the-scenes look at the most popular sitcom of the last decade, The Big Bang Theory, packed with all-new, exclusive interviews with the producers and entire cast....

Here is the story of Jerry Weintraub: the self-made, Brooklyn-born, Bronx-raised impresario, Hollywood producer, legendary deal maker, and friend of politicians and stars....

When she died in 1977, Joan Crawford was remembered as an icon of Hollywood's Golden Age—until publication the following year of her daughter's memoir, Mommie Dearest.

This book is an invaluable and inspirational material for the film, television and theater professional. It helps directors, actors, writers, designers, producers and executives tap into their imagination and instincts, in turn helping them create the films they’ve always dreamed of creating.

This is a comprehensive bible to low-budget film production for emerging and professional producers. Structured to guide the listener through production meetings, every aspect of the film-production process is outlined in detail. Invaluable checklists are included....

It’s harder today than ever before for independent filmmakers to make money with their films. From predatory film distributors ripping them off to huckster film aggregators who prey upon them, the odds are stacked against the indie filmmaker....

From such cult hits as Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski to major critical darlings Fargo, No Country for Old Men, and Inside Llewyn Davis, Ethan and Joel Coen have cultivated a bleakly comical, instantly recognizable voice in modern American cinema....

Legendary sitcom director James Burrows has spent five decades making America laugh. Here listeners will find never-revealed stories behind the casting of the dozens of great sitcoms he directed....

A fascinating look at Hollywood’s most turbulent decade and the demise of the studio system—set against the boom of the post-WW II years, the Cold War, and the atomic age—and the movies that reflected the seismic shifts....

In 1985, Stanley Kubrick encouraged Matthew Modine to keep a journal and take photographs while playing the lead role of Pvt. Joker on the set of Full Metal Jacket....

An oral history, with the full participation of cast and crew, of one of the most popular sitcoms in television history....

Roberta walks you through the minefield of mistakes that an aspiring filmmaker can make - so that you don't have to make them yourself....

Critically acclaimed when published in 1992 as Round Up the Usual Suspects, The Making of Casablanca offers the ultimate insider's look at the politics and personalities behind the most celebrated movie of all time - Casablanca....

Norman Lear remade our television culture - while leading a life of unparalleled political, civic, and social involvement....

Still Laughing features never-before-told stories from the creation of one of the most groundbreaking shows in television history....

This honest, vibrant, and often hilarious memoir reveals a man whose career was defined by his drive to make people laugh and whose personal philosophy—despite his tremendous achievements—was always that life is more important than show business....

This book is an invaluable and inspirational material for the film, television and theater professional. It helps directors, actors, writers, designers, producers and executives tap into their imagination and instincts, in turn helping them create the films they’ve always dreamed of creating.

Peter Cowie's book chronicles the life and the sixty-year film and stage career of Ingmar Bergman as he wrestles of themes of love, sex, and betrayal with the figure of Death hovering overhead. Blending biographical information with critical comment, Cowie presents a man whose life and work were intimately fused.

"Detailing step-by-step how one created a production board, shot-by-shot, day-by-day, set-by-set to turn a shooting schedule into a workable production schedule... For every film production student and most professionals." Los Angeles Times Includes: Complete four-color production board Full 41-day shooting schedule Sample breakdown sheets Script formats, and much more ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ralph S. Singleton is the Emmy winning producer of the critically acclaimed television series, Cagney & Lacey. He is a veteran producer/production manager/assistant director whose credits include: A Clear and...

Drawing from over three decades as an assistant director, McGiffert charts a revealing and informative journey through the making of many major films working with noted directors such as Robert Zemeckis, Tim Burton, Cameron Crowe, Sydney Pollack, Milos Forman, Peter Weir, Steve Zaillian, Jon Avnet, and Terry Gilliam. This behind-the-scenes book is a must-listen for casual moviegoers and committed film lovers alike.

Damn good coffee, cherry pie, and the “big bang of auteur television”―why Twin Peaks deserves to be a pop culture classic In 1990, avant garde filmmaker David Lynch (Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Dune, Blue Velvet) and acclaimed television writer Mark Frost (Hill Street Blues) teamed up to create a television show that would redefine what the medium could achieve in a one-hour drama.

Developed by Scott Shaw, the primary premise of Zen Filmmaking is that no screenplay should be used in the creation of a film. There are no rules and no definitions. The spontaneous creative energy of the filmmaker is the only defining factor. This allows for a spiritually pure source of immediate inspiration to be the only guide in the filmmaking process. Within the pages of this book, Scott Shaw leads the reader through all of the elements of Zen Filmmaking -- allowing one to emerge as a competent independent filmmaker, possessing all of the necessary skills to create a feature film, ...

In the follow-up book to his best selling text, Zen Filmmaking, prolific Independent Filmmaker Scott Shaw takes the reader behind the scenes of Indie Filmmaking and teaches the secrets of how to make a feature film, documentary, or music video in the most refined and expedient manner possible. He also teaches the reader the tricks of how to make a No to Low-Budget feature film look like it has a High-Budget price tag. Shaw leads the reader through all aspects of filmmaking, beginning with the screenplay, onto financing, casting, producing, directing, cinematography, and distribution. This ...

Directing movies promises vast rewards--but not for free. Traps and pitfalls await even the most talented, most skilled and hard-working director. "Darkest Secrets of Film Directing" by Tom Marcoux offers priceless knowledge. Knowledge of those traps lying ahead. More, he describes effective countermeasures with which to handle each one. Problems on set come in many forms. Directors need to spot them in advance and fix them as each arises. When the crew turns on you, a name actor goes through a breakdown mid-shoot, or the producer starts squeezing your budget--knowing all these and the rest...

Ready to be rich early? How I Got To The Person I Needed To Be is the most useful modern-day personal financial-advice book that has influenced trillions of successful executives, entrepreneurs, and pioneers the world over. Whether it's guiding you away from going paycheck to paycheck or revealing new ways that keeps wealth down the line in your family's generation, Williams' advice is based on life's lessons about money shared in a warm and motivating way.

2023 Readers' Favorite Awards Winner - Finalist in Sports Nonfiction Must Read -- Jennie Louwes - Reedsy Discovery "Nostalgic and reverential, beautifully written and rich in emotion." -- The Prairies Book Review "...a great story that deserves to be read." -- Astrid Lustulin - Readers Favorite Haunted for thirty years by a dream of a female friend's death eight years before she died in a skydiving accident, filmmaker Paul Gorman hopes to unlock the mystery of his dream by making a film about her. Gorman's memoir tells the remarkable story about the making of his 2014 award winning ...