Customer Reviews

The Declaration of Independent Filmmaking: An Insider's Guide to Making Movies Outside of Hollywood

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read both Robert Rodriguez's "Rebel Without a Crew" and John Pierson's "Spike, Mike, Slackers, & Dykes" and they don't come close to the level of detail I found in this book. (And I'm not just saying this because I love their films.) It's everything you need to know about getting a production going, and, thank God, it blows away the notion of screen writing as a 'get rich quick scheme'. This book doesn't teach you how to be a 'player' in 'the biz', it shows you how to make the kind of films you can be proud of, the kind of films people used to make before big money took over (and ruined) Hollywood. It's clear, it's concise, and these guys have the experience to back it up.

I love this book! I read it all at once it was so good. I would rather learn about filmmaking from these guys than anyone I can think of at this moment. Reading this I felt I was hanging with them figuring things out, like; where the money was coming from next, how James Woods wasn't going to cry and how do you tell Kubrick's daughter bad news... ?

Every two pages, I believed I had a good idea for a scene in my next movie just from some tip they'd hidden in a sentence.

I have a lot of film friends. Some doing it, some that want to do it... This is the gift I'm buying them. Screw film school. Get Netflix, or Green Cine and this book and you're miles ahead.

This is just an amazing book. I appreciate it mainly in terms of its narrative. Its so interesting to follow their journey from hopes and dreams through trials and tribulations ove to achieving what they have. It engages from start to finish, whether you are independent film buff or not. For film buffs, the anecdoates are a delight. But for writers and artists, it is particularly inspirational, and lifted me right out an artist's block period with it's portrayal of a couple plucky film makers and their "can do" attitude.

This book is a great read for any emerging or established filmmaker. It provides an interesting and intimate story of two brothers struggle to make independent feature films. Throughout retelling their journey the brothers pass on useful knowledge, tips and allow the reader to learn from their mistakes. This book gets right down to specific problems on and off set and exactly how they dealt with them and the results... it has a refreshing straight-to-the-point style of writing, and taught me a few things about the Hollywood system that I didn't know. This book will inspire you to work harder and wiser to get your films made.

First off I'd like to say that the anecdotal stories and real life experiences made this book a great read, even for someone only mildly interested in the business and art of film making. For anyone that is serious about independent film this book is a must read, not reading a book of this caliber would be plain ignorance on the part of would be film makers or film students.

It's interesting to me how many people invest in stocks and don't read books on investing, or play serious poker and don't read books on poker, I'm always amazed at the arrogance of people that think they don't need help or advice. There are many great "how to" books on the market, some good, some not so great. I don't have experience in the film making business, but I do recognize the sound of an honest voice trying to be helpful and sincere. I think this book has that quality.

I really enjoyed the stories, some of the technical stuff was a bit over my head, but I think I learned a lot, and I love to learn, so I'd recommend the book to beginners for that quality too. Looking for a critique of the book, I'd say I wished there were more details on the money side of things. They mention how expensive it can be to buy the rights to music, but don't say how expensive. Is it five thousand dollars, fifty thousand dollars or what? Obviously it depends on the song, but they don't give any numbers, so I felt left out of the process in this part of the reading.

I don't know if they were under contractual obligation to refrain from writing about the dollar amounts involved in deals, deals with their actors, deals with the studios, etc., but I think if they could have included a bit more of this information, it would have made the book better.

All said, I'm giving this book a strong recommendation to any interested in this field. I struggled for a moment about whether it should be a five or four star rating, I think I'd rather give it four and half stars, I wish there were some areas they'd gone into more detail. But all in all it's a really good book and belongs in the collection of all young would be film makers.

I'm a big fan of this book. I live in Los Angeles, I'm very serious about pursuing a career in independent film, and I've read a great deal of ground-up Hollywood "making it" books. Some like "Rebel Without A Crew" were actually pretty inspiring and others like "Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking" were very helpful in terms of, well, the nuts and bolts of filmmaking.
But no book I read really addressed the "big picture"- why people make independent films, and how they go about making independent films. This book was admirably neither bogged down in self-congratulation or in tiny, picky details.
The Polish Bros and Sheldon started from the ground up and guide you pretty much step-by-step through the indie filmmaking process, and it was great to get their advice based directly on their own experiences, with concrete examples.
The book doesn't offer anybody any false hope, but at the same time it's pretty damn inspirational. It offers the notion that you CAN have a different and original filmmaking vision AND successfully translate that to the screen. Through hard work and cleverness, the Polish Bros and Sheldon succeeded in making daring and thoughtful films outside of the conventional Hollywood model, and you, perhaps, can too.
I read this book at the right time, and it made a huge impact on me. It gave me both hope and cold-shower, practical advice. I'd definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in independent film.

There are plenty of indie books out there, but this is the only one I've found which is comprehensive and made by real indie filmmakers. It's highly technical where it needs to be, like in the camera chapter, and easily understood throughout. My favorite chapters were distribution and writing as they illuminated the process in ways I hadn't fully understood previously. The book was a pleasure to read, I recommend.

I was surprised when I heard they had a book out. I had seen their films up to that point, and not one had left me less than astonished. I was giddily walking around, recommending Northfork to any person that I thought I had a camaraderie with. If anything was seemingly reciprocated after my pitch of the story about a boy and a town that were both dying, then I found in myself the courage to talk more, and go all the way back to Twin Falls Idaho.

It's difficult to keep yourself distanced from the blood, sweat, tears and guts that inspired the movies and thus inspired the book and try to weigh the book itself as its own material to recommend, simply because the film work speaks wonders for itself. And tell you what - the book is easy to recommend. Honestly, it's also tough to imagine a pair identical twins and their friend who created such wonderful works of art to drop the ball on writing about their experiences, half as memoir and half as advice. They don't. How can they? You just sort of glide through it instantly, your own petty, made-up stories about the myth of independent filmmaking justified, if not encouraged and enforced.

The book starts rather chronologically with the Polish Brothers' backgrounds and their initial excursion that ultimately blossom as their debut feature, Twin Falls Idaho. Using the text as a means to explore this experience, yet sharing stills and materials from their later features Jackpot and Northfork give the reader a sense of closure ("This story has not ended, and it's progressing positively"). It provides a nice balance between the level of ambition, and the difference of magnitude in their films; as in what once was, and what is now. The results are not always pretty as there are enough obstructions on the way to Montana to make Northfork that would give any overambitious Biblical figure a kick in the nuts, but they go on. And on and on and on. While they elaborate on their experiences, they use a friendly, talkative approach, without ever being patronizing or didactic: They acutely understand how the Hollywood machine works and having set their standards, they treat it with respect and without bitterness. They know when to give, when to take. What is also fascinating and make the reading so worthwhile (which, by default, in the opinion of this humble reviewer, make them great filmmakers) is the distinctive palette of technical approaches they use for their three films, and how wildly different they are and the variety and options that this presents to the reader.

Their book covers the essentials efficiently, divided by relevant chapters of every stage of filmmaking, including intricate fiscal matters, and an elementary glossary of film terminologies. The icing on an already delicious cake is that, every once in a while they share stories that are, for lack of a better word, somewhat *mythical* and perhaps deserve short stories on their own: Their adventure with a Texan money-man, nicknamed JR, that includes enough alcohol to knock out every species that's a part of Kentucy Derby, and a widowed "dumb money" investor in Orange County who has not read their script but is happy to let her younger sister "do the talking" as their gardeners carve rhinoceros' on the hedges outside have the impeccable tone of a scene from Northfork, as if Willis and Walter O'Brien are trying to figure out their next plan of attack towards a stubborn family.

Most books that are written about the DIY approach or independent filmmaking are so unnecessarily dense, so convoluted, and mostly trite that by the time you finish uttering the word "independent" you're pretty much discouraged. Not this book. You finish reading it, and although you realize you got a long way to go, you realize you just need to, well, go.

Mark and Michael Polish and Jonathan Sheldon are in the situation of "having been there done that, and still doing it with dignity" rather than the "those who can't do, teach by writing books" or "those who are tired, sit down and write" (the books that stem from having lost artistic momentum) approach. They wrap the book well, but you can't help but feel that this is a progress, not only for the reader, but also for them, and you keep your fingers crossed, inspired, for yourself and for the writers. You may never get to meet these authors, but you've made some friends who may every once in a while give you a pat on the back simply by reading this book on your nightstand. I hope their future movies result in more books.

PS - Look for the definition of "plumbing" between "playback" and "postproduction" in the glossary. It will make you smile.

Briefly, this book rocks. It's a fascinating combination: three indie filmmakers tell their rise-to-triumph story, while simultaneously teaching you how to make an indie, while simultaneously teaching you tons of industry jargon, while simultaneously passing on some really neat anecdotes mined from their careers.

Although this is NOT AT ALL the goal of the book, if you were to read this guide carefully on a Thursday and take good notes, you could then waltz into a party on a Friday and convince most people there that you were an independent filmmaker.

I hope to make an indie myself, and I will treasure this guide and put it to use. I recommend it highly!

An informed and anecdotal account of the process of making indie films from the talented and accomplished Polish Brothers. However, it's a bit remedial and general for the initiated filmmaker. There are a couple of bonafide pearls of wisdom and the book moves right along, covering the process of making indies. Which makes it a fun read, but for my time and money there are much better books on independent filmmaking.