Anyone who has ever made a film – even a student short – needs to drop everything and read this. If for no other reason than you’ll feel better.
Author Julie Salamon found a willing participant in Brian De Palma. He allowed her unprecedented access to the mechanics of getting a movie made. Every meeting, audition, location scout, shooting day, editing, scoring, mixing, test screening and premiere. This would have been fascinating even if it was just, say, for Raising Cain or Mission to Mars. Salamon lucked out, though – the picture was the colossal once-in-a-decade flop The Bonfire of the Vanities.
If you are a fan of procedural journalism, this book reads like a thriller.