Direction & Production

It won six Oscars and has been hailed as the greatest action film ever, but it is a miracle Mad Max: Fury Road ever made it to the screen…or that anybody survived the production. The story of this modern classic spanned nearly two decades of wild obstacles....

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

In this powerful and evocative memoir, Oscar-winning Director and Screenwriter Oliver Stone, takes us right to the heart of what it's like to make movies on the edge....

Who made the phone call that got HBO to launch the show? What’s the significance of all those eggs? In Woke Up This Morning, Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa have all the answers - and they’re revealing where all the bodies are buried....

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....

More than 85 years after his untimely death at just age 37, Irving Thalberg remains a legendary Hollywood figure. Called the “Boy Wonder of Hollywood,” Thalberg quickly climbed the ranks at MGM studios to become one of the most powerful and high-profile producers of the time....

For more than three decades, director Ken Kwapis has charted a career full of exceptional movies and television. Using his background and inside knowledge, But What I Really Want to Do Is Direct tackles Hollywood myths through Ken’s highly entertaining experiences....

On October 5, 2017, the New York Times published an article by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey that helped change the world. For months, they had been having confidential discussions with top actresses, former Weinstein employees and other sources, learning of disturbing allegations....

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....

In this book, Richard Ayoade - actor, writer, director, and amateur dentist - reflects on his cinematic legacy as only he can: in conversation with himself....

You SLUG the guy. You KISS the dame. You TOTAL the car. That's movies. And I love 'em....

Discover the fascinating and secretive process of audience testing of Hollywood movies through these first-hand stories from famous filmmakers, studio heads, and stars....

Here are the very personal diaries of Richard E. Grant's debut behind the camera, as writer and director of his autobiographical movie of the same name....

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....

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....

Mel Brooks' own words telling all about the players, the filming, and studio antics during the production of this great comedy classic. The audiobook is alive and teeming with hundreds of photos, original interviews, and hilarious commentary....

Emmy-winning editor Jordan Goldman, ACE, takes you inside the cutting room and pulls back the curtain on how and why directors, showrunners, and editors decide whether your performance makes it to the screen....

From former screen legends who have faded into obscurity to new revelations about the biggest movie stars, Valderrama unearths the most fascinating little-known tales from the birth of Hollywood through its Golden Age....

Candid, penetrating and controversial, Down and Dirty Pictures is a must-read for anyone interested in the film world....

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.... 

The Pixar Touch is a lively chronicle of Pixar Animation Studios' history and evolution, and the "fraternity of geeks" who shaped it....

From Don Coscarelli, the celebrated filmmaker behind many cherished cult classics comes a memoir that's both revealing autobiography and indie film crash course....

Veteran director John Badham explains the elements of action and suspense and dissects the essentials of any good scene from any genre....

The Batman movie producer reveals how his childhood love of comic books became a lifelong passion and dream job in this memoir....

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

Harry Cohn was the cofounder and president of Columbia Pictures, which he ran from the 1930s through the 1950s. Cohn—who abhorred personal publicity—left no writings, made no speeches, and rarely submitted to interviews. Despite this, acclaimed biographer Bob Thomas brilliantly illuminates the life of the powerful but elusive studio head in King Cohn: The Life and Times of Hollywood Mogul Harry Cohn. Thomas details the studio head's rise from a New York City song-plugger to a Poverty Row impresario, highlighting his reign as one of the most powerful men in Hollywood.

Whether it is a director insisting on a final cut, a star demanding a bigger motor home, a producer holding the line on a budget, or a grip with a gripe, it seems that the world of moviemaking is nothing but Sturm und Drang. Shoot Out presents a raucous look at how movies get made and the players involved, from writers, producers, directors, and stars to agents and marketers. For film buffs, aspiring filmmakers, students, and anyone else intrigued by the inner workings of Hollywood, this is the quintessential take on the how, who, what, and why of the film business.

From one of the most successful and influential producers in the entertainment industry—responsible for such classics as Roots, The Thorn Birds, and L.A. Confidential—comes a fascinating memoir of life at the very hub of Hollywood. Wolper enjoyed staggering success yet remained down-to-earth. By combining flexibility, resourcefulness, and determination, Wolper produced landmark documentaries, films, miniseries, and other cultural touchstones of the twentieth century. Producer is the engaging and inspiring memoir of a true entertainment pioneer.

Is any superhero cooler than Batman? He’s a crime-fighting vigilante with a tragic past, a lawless attitude, and a seemingly endless supply of high-tech gadgetry. In this memoir, author Michael E. Uslan recalls his journey from early childhood fandom through to the decades he spent on a caped crusade of his own: to bring Batman to the silver screen as the dark, serious character he was at heart.

Emmy-winning editor Jordan Goldman, ACE, takes you inside the cutting room and pulls back the curtain on how and why directors, showrunners, and editors decide whether your performance makes it to the screen. He explains the key things actors should do—and shouldn't do—to avoid getting cut out. Topics include what an editor does, how editors evaluate your work, why actors get cut, what you can control, and what you can't control.