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This provocative, blunt, and enlightening book looks at the world of film without myths, make-up, or rose-colored glasses. Speaking from his own experiences with both major and Independent productions, William Bayer describes the pitfalls that face both aspiring and established filmmakers, such as selling out:
"When a filmmaker whose métier is Doris Day pictures fakes an avant-garde film so that he can be screened at the Museum of Modern Art and obtain the approbation of that particular establishment, he is selling out his talent as much as the avant-garde filmmaker who tires of his garret, goes to Hollywood, and tries to direct Doris Day."
And casting:
"The filmmaker who falls into the trap of . . . being carried away by big breasts when the part requires an expressive face is a fool who cannot distinguish between what he needs on the screen and what he thinks he needs in his bed."
Mr. Bayer is equally candid in discussing the individuals and institutions that a filmmaker must deal with, like agents:
"'In theory, an agent is someone who admires your talent, gives you love, warmth, and protection, and develops your career. In practice, you will find that the amount of admiration and love you receive is directly proportional to your income."
And Hollywood:
"For the filmmaker, Hollywood may be inevitable; It is, after all, still the place where most pictures are made, but the essence of Hollywood today is that no matter the ups and downs of its financial condition, as a place for the working artist it is dead."
He includes plainspoken advice on the practical problems of filmmaking, from raising money:
"There is an analogy between a junkie with a hundred-dollar-a-day habit and a filmmaker who wants to make a film. Both need money desperately, and both spend a great deal of their time devising ways of getting it."
To the problems of choosing a cast and crew (with an eye on compatibility as well as talent); obtaining equipment (don't buy it); rehearsing, planning, and filming shots (without wasting time or money); editing and dubbing (with and without music); and finding facilities and audiences for screening the finished product (and creating the proper atmosphere).
In short, this book is a primer for hopeful filmmakers- and much more. For anyone concerned with the present and future state of America's film industry, it provides an entertaining, informative, authoritative, and frequently appalling look at the people and processes that determine how a film is made, who gets to see it, and whether it's worth seeing at all.
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