Moviemakers Master Class at DVinfo.net

Bob Costa · June 29th, 2005, 08:10 AM

I just started reading this, and it is a goldmine. Twenty interviews with directors, distilled down to a few pages of wisdom per director. I got five great insights into directing in the first five pages.

HONESTLY time the script, so you spend your production time $$ on what matters.

Only make films that you do not know what they are about when you start them.

A movie is like a dream or trance state, rather than realistic viewpoints. (This one will control all future blocking & camera placement decisions for me).

I paid $5 for my copy.

Richard Alvarez · June 29th, 2005, 08:32 AM

'Only make films that you do not know what they are about when you start them.'

Care to elaborate on that one? Not sure I follow it...

Bob Costa · June 30th, 2005, 12:34 AM

quoting from the book...

"It is the excitement of exploration which appeals to me, and the danger that's involved in that, and you always hope that it will lead you into something really new, fresh, and original."

Barry Gribble · June 30th, 2005, 04:54 AM

Yes, great book. I have it also.

Emre Safak · July 1st, 2005, 05:27 PM

I wish all books were as concise as this one.

Erik Vilinskas · July 4th, 2006, 05:08 AM

The author was really able to get the best out of the directors he interviewed. He also gathered a really good body of interviews - you can really compare the styles and insights from a wildly varied group of talent;

Wood Allen
Pedro Almodovar
Bernardo Bertolucci
Tim Burton
John Boorman
Joel and Ethan Coen
David Cronenberg
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Takeshi Kitano
Emir Kusturica
David Lynch
Sydney Pollack
Claude Sautet
Martin Scorcese
Oliver Stone
Lars Von Trier
Wim Wenders
Wong Kar Wai
John Woo

Each interview is about 8 pages long. I would have to agree with you that it's a good book worth reading for narrative video/film directors.

Justin Jesselli · July 20th, 2006, 01:42 PM

That's an impressive list. Thanks for the recommendation. I recently read the excellent "Who the Devil Made It: Conversations with Legendary Film Directors " by Peter Bogdanovich. It's one of the most informative books I've read on the subject of directing. It simultaneously gives great insight (the interview with Hitchcock is remarkably inspiring) while also entertaining readers with information about the lives of the directors being interviewed. If you can track down a copy, I highly recommend it.

Full list of interviews:

Alan Dwan, Raoul Walsh, Fritz Lang, Josef Von Sternberg, Howard Hawks, Leo McCarey, George Cukor, Alfred Hitchcock, Edgar G. Ulmer, Otto Preminger, Joseph H. Lewis, Chuck Jones, Don Siegal, Frank Tashlin, Robert Aldrich, Sidney Lumet.

Gilles Guerraz · August 17th, 2006, 07:44 AM

Moviemaker's Masterclass 2 has just came out.

With interviews from :

Bertrand Blier
Roman Polanski
Jim Jarmusch
Milos Forman
Arthur Penn
Mathieu Kassovitz
Jean-Jacques Annaud
Claude Lelouch
Steven Soderbergh
Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu
André Téchiné
Atom Egoyan
Denys Arcand
James Ivory
Michael Mann
Claude Chabrol
Claire Denis...

I've read it and loved it just as much as I loved the first book.

Rob Lohman · August 17th, 2006, 08:27 AM

Gilles: where did you get the second book? I could not find it on Amazon US
and on Amazon UK it is listed with a release date of December 2006:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/057122265X/

June 29th, 2005, 08:10 AM	#1
Bob Costa Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Venice, FL Posts: 850	Moviemakers Master Class I just started reading this, and it is a goldmine. Twenty interviews with directors, distilled down to a few pages of wisdom per director. I got five great insights into directing in the first five pages. HONESTLY time the script, so you spend your production time $$ on what matters. Only make films that you do not know what they are about when you start them. A movie is like a dream or trance state, rather than realistic viewpoints. (This one will control all future blocking & camera placement decisions for me). I paid $5 for my copy. __________________ You are either growing or dying.

June 30th, 2005, 12:34 AM	#3
Bob Costa Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Venice, FL Posts: 850	quoting from the book... "It is the excitement of exploration which appeals to me, and the danger that's involved in that, and you always hope that it will lead you into something really new, fresh, and original." __________________ You are either growing or dying.

June 30th, 2005, 04:54 AM	#4
Barry Gribble Major Player Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 817	Yes, great book. I have it also. __________________ Barry Gribble Integral Arts, IMDB

July 4th, 2006, 05:08 AM	#6
Erik Vilinskas New Boot Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 19	Great book The author was really able to get the best out of the directors he interviewed. He also gathered a really good body of interviews - you can really compare the styles and insights from a wildly varied group of talent; Wood Allen Pedro Almodovar Bernardo Bertolucci Tim Burton John Boorman Joel and Ethan Coen David Cronenberg Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Pierre Jeunet Takeshi Kitano Emir Kusturica David Lynch Sydney Pollack Claude Sautet Martin Scorcese Oliver Stone Lars Von Trier Wim Wenders Wong Kar Wai John Woo Each interview is about 8 pages long. I would have to agree with you that it's a good book worth reading for narrative video/film directors.

August 17th, 2006, 07:44 AM	#8
Gilles Guerraz Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: Paris, France Posts: 53	Moviemaker's Masterclass 2 has just came out. With interviews from : Bertrand Blier Roman Polanski Jim Jarmusch Milos Forman Arthur Penn Mathieu Kassovitz Jean-Jacques Annaud Claude Lelouch Steven Soderbergh Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu André Téchiné Atom Egoyan Denys Arcand James Ivory Michael Mann Claude Chabrol Claire Denis... I've read it and loved it just as much as I loved the first book. __________________ http://www.gillesguerraz.com/

June 29th, 2005, 08:32 AM	#2
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	'Only make films that you do not know what they are about when you start them.' Care to elaborate on that one? Not sure I follow it...

July 1st, 2005, 05:27 PM	#5
Emre Safak Trustee Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brookline, MA Posts: 1,447	I wish all books were as concise as this one.

July 20th, 2006, 01:42 PM	#7
Justin Jesselli New Boot Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 11	That's an impressive list. Thanks for the recommendation. I recently read the excellent "Who the Devil Made It: Conversations with Legendary Film Directors " by Peter Bogdanovich. It's one of the most informative books I've read on the subject of directing. It simultaneously gives great insight (the interview with Hitchcock is remarkably inspiring) while also entertaining readers with information about the lives of the directors being interviewed. If you can track down a copy, I highly recommend it. Full list of interviews: Alan Dwan, Raoul Walsh, Fritz Lang, Josef Von Sternberg, Howard Hawks, Leo McCarey, George Cukor, Alfred Hitchcock, Edgar G. Ulmer, Otto Preminger, Joseph H. Lewis, Chuck Jones, Don Siegal, Frank Tashlin, Robert Aldrich, Sidney Lumet.

August 17th, 2006, 08:27 AM	#9
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	Gilles: where did you get the second book? I could not find it on Amazon US and on Amazon UK it is listed with a release date of December 2006: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/057122265X/ __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors