Orson Welles (1915-1985) Started as a Wunderkind, a very young actor and a revolutionary director in theatre and radio. Later on, he would move into movies. This took place in 1941 with Citizen Kane, for many the best film ever. The…
Category: FILMMAKING
About film. Things you should know (or think about).
BOOKS on filmmaking, BOOKS on screenwriting, FILMMAKING, POSTS on filmmaking, POSTS on screenwriting, SCREENWRITING
How Stanley Kubrick’s EYES WIDE SHUT Was Written
Frederic Raphael: There’s a lot of talk. You want a lot of talk? Stanley Kubrick: I can’t say what I want. I want to do Arthur’s story (Schnitzler’s “Traumnovelle”), but in New York, now. That’s all I can tell you.…
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Best “Making Of” Books: EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS
How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock ‘n’ Roll Generation Saved Hollywood. This must be THE book about American movies from the 60s to the 80s. We are not technically dealing with a “Making Of” book here, but this marvellous piece of work tells…
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King Vs Kubrick: From THE SHINING to DOCTOR SLEEP
The tension that raised between the master of horror Stephen King and the master of film Stanley Kubrick about the movie The Shining is a well-known story. Let me summarise here the basic tale. This story starts at the end…
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Joseph Cotten, a Great Autobiography
Joseph Cotten was one of those players who shaped movies the way they are now. You don’t know who Joseph Cotten is? Let’s fix that straight away. Joseph Cheshire Cotten (1905–1994) was an actor who started his film career with…
Best “Making Of” Books: BLADE RUNNERS, DEER HUNTERS &…
….Blowing the Bloody Doors Off. My Life in Cult Movies, by Michael Deeley. Imagine that you are a film producer whose credits include The Italian Job (1969), The Man who Fell to Earth (1976), The Deer Hunter (1978, for which…
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Best “Making Of” Books: KING KONG ’76
The Creation of Dino De Laurentiis’ King Kong is a great account of how this super-production came to be in the mid-70s. “Making Of” books tend to be either about big successes (The Jaws Log, which we reviewed here; Alfred…
The Editing of STAR WARS: How Cutting Created a Classic
Editing as the Key to Narrative Success. In our post, On Film Editing According to Edward Dmytryk, we stressed the importance of the editing process in Filmmaking. There’s always been the story around that Star Wars was saved in the…
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Akira Kurosawa’s Glorious Storyboards
Akira Kurosawa was a filmmaking genius. A few years ago, when I was working in Madrid, I heard that there was, in some foundation, an exhibition of the Akira Kurosawa’s storyboards and film costumes. I went. It was one of…
Visual SFX at their Very Best
A Winning Poker of Videos about Visual Magic. Get ready for a great batch of videos on the subject. Video Number One: Every Best SFX Oscar Winner ever strung together in a symphony of visual wizardry: Video Number Two: Amazing…