A leading thinker recommends five books about his or her field of interest. This month, the topic is making movies, with books chosen by Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky
Making Movies Sidney Lumet
I read this when I was in film school—when it first came out. I had a hardcover copy, which was a big investment when I was a film student (and broke). I remember just devouring it over a weekend. Eating up those stories about Dog Day Afternoon and 12 Angry Men.
It’s an incredibly clear, honest, and precise discussion of the films Lumet made over the course of his career. There are many pearls of wisdom about directing and filmmaking in the book. It breaks down the different problems Lumet had in making films, and tells how he solved them.
The Writer’s JourneyChristopher Vogler
This book is the Bible for screenwriters. I think it’s the best book on how to write a screenplay ever written. It helped me get through so many roadblocks as a writer. Vogler’s approach to screenwriting was based on Joseph Campbell’s theory that, because of myths, the arc of a hero’s journey was a story ingrained deeply inside all of us. I really incorporated his ideas and techniques into how I structured films—I referred to it a lot. I teach sometimes, and always say that The Writer’s Journey is the first book that everyone’s got to read.
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls Peter Biskind
This is an incredibly delicious read—just a great, great account of that era from Easy Rider (’69) through the mid-’70s. It’s the story of all those great filmmakers—my icons—Scorsese, Coppola, Friedkin, and Bogdanovich. They changed the way movies were made in America. It recounts their adventures in making movies.
It was interesting for me to see how certain directors had navigated a long career and others had burnt out really quickly. The players in Hollywood change all the time, but the town never changes. And that’s the truth. It’s different people, but the same characters are always emerging. So it was an education—and a really great read.
The Ragman’s Son: An AutobiographyKirk Douglas
I read this book in the early ’90s when I first got out to Hollywood. My mentor, Stuart Rosenberg, who directed Cool Hand Luke, suggested it. It’s basically Kirk Douglas’s story of coming from nothing—he was a ragman’s son—and achieving the American dream through the Hollywood movie system.
[Douglas] is someone who made great movies, didn’t forget where he came from, was proud of where he came from, and represented where he came from his entire life.
HitchcockFrançois Truffaut
I got this book from Sean Gullette, the star of Pi, many years ago, and I proceeded to read that copy until it literally fell apart. I still haven’t replaced it. I have it duct-taped together. It’s an amazing guide to Hitchcock’s thought process. Truffaut, being a fantastic filmmaker himself, was able to ask really profound, informed questions that really got to the heart of filmmaking. He got Hitchcock to reveal a lot of the different techniques that he used to put together his monumental body of work.
Read this interview in full at The Browser's FiveBooks section
Making Movies Sidney Lumet
I read this when I was in film school—when it first came out. I had a hardcover copy, which was a big investment when I was a film student (and broke). I remember just devouring it over a weekend. Eating up those stories about Dog Day Afternoon and 12 Angry Men.
It’s an incredibly clear, honest, and precise discussion of the films Lumet made over the course of his career. There are many pearls of wisdom about directing and filmmaking in the book. It breaks down the different problems Lumet had in making films, and tells how he solved them.
The Writer’s JourneyChristopher Vogler
This book is the Bible for screenwriters. I think it’s the best book on how to write a screenplay ever written. It helped me get through so many roadblocks as a writer. Vogler’s approach to screenwriting was based on Joseph Campbell’s theory that, because of myths, the arc of a hero’s journey was a story ingrained deeply inside all of us. I really incorporated his ideas and techniques into how I structured films—I referred to it a lot. I teach sometimes, and always say that The Writer’s Journey is the first book that everyone’s got to read.
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls Peter Biskind
This is an incredibly delicious read—just a great, great account of that era from Easy Rider (’69) through the mid-’70s. It’s the story of all those great filmmakers—my icons—Scorsese, Coppola, Friedkin, and Bogdanovich. They changed the way movies were made in America. It recounts their adventures in making movies.
It was interesting for me to see how certain directors had navigated a long career and others had burnt out really quickly. The players in Hollywood change all the time, but the town never changes. And that’s the truth. It’s different people, but the same characters are always emerging. So it was an education—and a really great read.
The Ragman’s Son: An AutobiographyKirk Douglas
I read this book in the early ’90s when I first got out to Hollywood. My mentor, Stuart Rosenberg, who directed Cool Hand Luke, suggested it. It’s basically Kirk Douglas’s story of coming from nothing—he was a ragman’s son—and achieving the American dream through the Hollywood movie system.
[Douglas] is someone who made great movies, didn’t forget where he came from, was proud of where he came from, and represented where he came from his entire life.
HitchcockFrançois Truffaut
I got this book from Sean Gullette, the star of Pi, many years ago, and I proceeded to read that copy until it literally fell apart. I still haven’t replaced it. I have it duct-taped together. It’s an amazing guide to Hitchcock’s thought process. Truffaut, being a fantastic filmmaker himself, was able to ask really profound, informed questions that really got to the heart of filmmaking. He got Hitchcock to reveal a lot of the different techniques that he used to put together his monumental body of work.
Read this interview in full at The Browser's FiveBooks section
