The Director's Cut

By Stephan Littger

Book Overview

In The Director's Cut, 21 Hollywood filmmakers share the thrilling accounts of their creative journeys into the film industry's most coveted positions. Together, their films have won dozens of Oscars.


Each conversation provides a revealing and in-depth exploration of each director's artistic roots - giving readers an unparalleled understanding of the very different environments and attitudes that these outstanding filmmakers have experienced and embraced in their careers and personal lives.




The directors in this book have been chosen on grounds of their reputation, sustained popularity at the box office, and diversity of background - both professional (genre, style, etc) and personal (family, origin, etc). The book truly reflects the variety of talent that has arrived from all over the world to make movies in Hollywood today.




Thanks to the candid honesty and openness of these directors, this collection offers illuminating insights into their creative decision-making processes and the key biographical moments in their lives.




Stephan Littger's own background as a young filmmaker and an Oxford graduated psychologist enables him to approach these star directors in an empathetic and focused manner, helping them to talk openly about the years of emotional struggle, personal doubt and tentative success that are part of every filmmaker's life.






The Director's Cut should become a standard volume for aspiring filmmakers. And it's also a compelling and entertaining read for committed moviegoers and anyone interested in the marriage between artistic creation and commercial success.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 082641902X
• ISBN13: 9780826419026
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
• Length: 360 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A remarkable collection

An outstanding collection of today's Hollywood directors and their personal stories. It's one of those books for which you are glad somebody told you about it since its fascinating lessons will stick with you a lifetime. The approach of this book is not so on the nose as interview volumes often are but original and intriguing: it lets the directors (almost half of which are foreign-born) explain their colorful backgrounds, working their way up from either inside or outside of Hollywood - what they did in the past has now entered their very filmmaking and, boy, it shows: listen to Bryan Singer's crazy story of how he co-founded a Nazi club as a boy and his Jewish mother had to rip the swastika armband off him. Or David Fincher on how the studio messed up his Alien3 movie. Or Barry Levinson (Rainman, Good Morning Vietnam) being motivated about pretty much nothing as a kid - until he discovered that this was his strength... A truly remarkable read until the very last page.

Fantastic book - a MUST for every film student

...if only I could give 6 STARS... Movie directors Inarritu of "Babel", Frears of "The Queen", or Fincher of "Zodiac", Mangold of "Walk the Line", Pollack of "Out of Africa" - the list of great names goes on and on - when I saw the 21 star directors featuring in the table of contents I was surprised I hadn't heard of the interview book yet when a friend recommended it to me - also that I am the first reviewer here. I am a great fan of Director volumes such as "My First Movie" or "Breaking In" and this is just as informative as these two - and even better in my opinion. It presents directors from all different backgrounds and you get a real understanding of where these directors are coming from and what makes them tick. I am a second year film school student and this book really blew me away - I just couldn't put it down. The interviewer does an outstanding job in making the directors explain their lives and the Hollywood fortress from the inside. Great anecdotes, great storytelling! Of course luck was sometimes involved in their careers, but only ever after hard work and never giving up even in the face of countless struggles. I really recommend this book to everone who is afraid the system doesn't have a place for them and loves to learn from the very finest storytellers of today's Hollywood - the best film school education you can get for your money! Thanks for putting this book out there.