My First Movie, Take Two: Ten Celebrated Directors TAlk About Their First Film (Vintage) [Paperback]

Stephen Lowenstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2009 | Series: Vintage

A sequel to the critically acclaimed My First Movie, Stephen Lowenstein once again talks to some of our most celebrated filmmakers about their debut films. Lowenstein interviews ten directors about their career-launching film and how they got the movie off the ground: how they raised the finance, found actors, searched for locations, worked with the crew and saw the project through to completion. Filmmakers interviewed include Richard Linklater on Slacker; Alejandro González Iñárritu on Amores Perros; Terry Gilliam on Jabberwocky; and Sam Mendes on American Beauty. A wonderfully rich compendium that is lively, informative, funny, and often surprising.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Richly readable. . . . There's more casual poetry in this slim volume than in all the reviews you'll read this year.”
—Los Angeles Times

“Rollicking. . . . In this moment of extreme uncertainty for the future of art-house cinema, it is heartening that My First Movie devotes so much time to lesser-known, if beloved, foreign directors.”
—San Francisco Chronicle

“Inspiring. . . . [Lowenstein's] second book of questions for directors is a solid read for those in the business and those who observe it.” —Filmmaker

About the Author

Stephen Lowenstein is the author of My First Movie. He has worked on British television documentaries for Channel 4, ITV, and the BBC. He is the writer/director of two critically acclaimed short films and currently has several feature-length projects in development in England and America. He lives in London.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (January 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140007990X
• ISBN-13: 978-1400079902
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,091,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, January 9, 2010

By 

I. M. Idle - See all my reviews

This review is from: My First Movie, Take Two: Ten Celebrated Directors TAlk About Their First Film (Vintage) (Paperback)

I read this book when I was on a "writing retreat" in Goa, finalizing the script of my next film. It was kind of a ritual--I would wake up, swim, have breakfast, read one of the interviews, and then begin the writing for the day. Except I couldn't write right away. Every time I finished reading an interview, I would have to put the book down and think. I would think about my past, what I was doing on that day, how I wanted my future to pan out. I thought about raising kids, I thought about what I believed in artistically, creatively. I asked myself what kind of filmmaker I wanted to be. (Hopefully my script is better for it.)

I really can't ask for much more from a book. I would highly recommend it to anyone in a creative field (especially filmmakers) and anyone who wants to be in a creative field and isn't (especially those in advertising). While all the interviews are pretty good, the interviews with Innaritu and Moodyson are ones that I will probably go back to the most.