Modern Filmmakers – serie

Now a two-time Academy Award winner for best director, twice winner of the Directors Guild of America Award for best director, and recipient of countless other critics prizes and nominations in multiple capacities, Clint Eastwood stands alongside Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg as one of the finest directors working in modern cinema. Here, John Foote examines the long, impressive, and unlikely film career of a man who fought against expectations to forge his own way and become one of this generation's finest filmmakers. Each chapter examines a different film, beginning with Play Misty for Me (1971) and High Plains Drifter (1973) and extending to his 21st-century films Space Cowboys (2000), Blood Work (2002), Mystic River (2003), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), and Changeling (2008). This book is, in the author's own words, a study of how Eastwood managed to quietly get to this level—and a celebration of his gifts as an artist. Eastwood has evolved not only as a director, but also as an actor, a screenwriter, a producer, and a score composer, to become one of the most revered figures in Hollywood.Perhaps it is because he started out in Hollywood with such little influence on the final product that he now demonstrates such a strong desire to collaborate with others and provide help wherever he can. In addition to casting off his reputation as a hack and accumulating two Oscar nominations for Best Actor over the past 15 years, he has guided other actors to no less than three Academy Award wins. The executives love him because he has made them money over the years—occasionally even making one for them in exchange for financial backing on other projects. Critics love him because of the care he takes in creating his films. Audiences love him because he has never lost his sense of entertainment, even as his artistry has matured.

This incisive book provides an in-depth critical and biographical study of the artistic range of film director Gus Van Sant.Arranged chronologically, Gus Van Sant: His Own Private Cinema provides a comprehensive overview of the life and art of this talented director, covering his mainstream, commercial, and avant-garde projects. More than a biography, the book examines Van Sant's incredibly diverse body of work, exploring the influence of his open homosexuality; of fine art, literature, and music; and of the range of cinema styles to which he has been exposed.Stressing Van Sant's wide-ranging content, genre, style, and cinematic presentation, author Vincent LoBrutto details the filmmaker's autobiographical tendencies and how he uses the film craft, literature, popular music, and fine arts to create his movies. The book dissects ways in which each of his films reflects Van Sant's sexual orientation, whether the individual film has a gay theme or not. Because of its importance to Van Sant's films, the book also offers a history of gay culture, past and present, covering its influence on art, music, theater, and dance, as well as community, activism, and prejudice.

This revealing study looks at the influences and creative impulses that shape one of today's most progressive, thoughtful filmmakers.Charlie Kaufman got his start in television, but it was his first film, the eccentric Being John Malkovich, that won notice for his unique storytelling style. With the aid of a plethora of contributions from those with whom the writer has worked, Charlie Kaufman: Confessions of an Original Mind presents the intriguing story of that movie and others as it examines one of the most innovative voices in modern film.This exhaustive study of Kaufman's life and work is organized chronologically to cover his early influences as well as his most-recent ventures. Highlights include explorations of Kaufman's collaboration with Being John Malkovich director Spike Jonze—who stood him up for their first meeting—and the writer's conflict with George Clooney (about whom Kaufman says, "I can tell you that George Clooney is my least favorite person"). There are analyses of Human Nature, Adaptation, and the hauntingly beautiful Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which led to an Academy Award. The book also studies Kaufman's sound plays for Theatre of the New Ear and his directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York.

This book offers an examination of the films of Roman Polanski, focusing on the impact that his life as an exile has had upon his work.Roman Polanski: A Life in Exile is a revealing look at this acclaimed filmmaker whose life in exile seems to have made his films all the more personal and powerful. Written by a film critic, this insightful book follows Polanski's story from his childhood in a World War II Jewish ghetto to his early films in Poland; from his American breakout, Rosemary's Baby, to his wife's murder by the Manson family; from the spectacular return of Chinatown, to his exile as a convicted sex criminal, to the monumental career peak, The Pianist. The Holocaust, the oppression of communism, the shattering of the swinging 60s, the decadence of Hollywood, the life of a fugitive—Polanski experienced all of these firsthand, and understanding those experiences provides a fascinating pathway through his work.

This fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at a Hollywood dynasty offers an in-depth study of the films and artistry of iconic director Francis Ford Coppola and his daughter, Sofia, exploring their work and their impact on each other, both personally and professionally.The Coppolas: A Family Business examines the lives, films, and relationship of two exemplary filmmakers, Francis Ford Coppola and his daughter Sofia. It looks at their commonalities and differences, as artists and people, and at the way those qualities are reflected in their work.Much of the book is devoted to Francis and his outstanding achievements—and equally notable failures—as a screenwriter, director, producer, and presenter of landmark works of cinema. The narrative goes beyond the heyday of his involvement with Hollywood to analyze his more recent projects and the choices that led him to create small, independent films. In Sofia's case, the story is one of women's growing independence in the arts, revealing how Sofia developed her craft to become a cinematic force in her own right. In addition to its insightful commentary on their contributions to cinema past and present, the volume provides intriguing hints at what fans might anticipate in the future as both Coppolas continue to expand their artistry.

Spike Lee's journey from guerrilla filmmaker to Hollywood insider is explored in light of his personal background, the cultural influence of his films, and the extensive scholarship his movies have inspired.This insightful study probes the iconic filmmaker's career as a director and shaper of American culture. It not only sheds light on the ways in which Lee's background, influences, and outlook affect his films but also discusses how he participates in, transforms, and transcends the tradition of black American filmmaking. Each chapter offers a critical assessment of at least one, and sometimes multiple, Lee films, examining their production history; their place in Lee's filmography; and their aesthetic, cultural, and historical significance. Readers will come away from this first scholarly assessment of Lee's career and work with a better understanding of his penchant for stirring up controversy about significant social, political, and artistic issues as well as his role as an American artist who provokes his audiences as much as he pacifies them.