Guerilla Film Maker's Handbook: Hollywood Edition [Paperback]

Right, now...the first thing to say is 'thank you' to the two authors. I have never heard of either of you before, and I've never seen any of your three movies. But what you have achieved here is amazing. Especially because you're British, and what the hell do British people know about making movies?? (joke) The amount of information in this book is truly incredible. First off, there are over a hundred very honest and interesting interviews with people who work in the industry. And they're not just the same old people trotting out the same old platitudes about how great the industry is, or how to get a job, yawn yawn...these are people who - almost without exception - are brilliant at describing the various aspects of their roles, and also come across as very enthusiastic and passionate. Perhaps the key here is that Jolliffe and Jones (I'm not sure if they both do the interviews, or what) know exactly which questions to ask, and they know how to extract the right information from their subjects. No small skill. What is staggering is the range of professionals and experts they have gathered together here. Here are just a few of their job titles: Financial Advisor, Line Producer, Entertainment Attorney, Steadicam Operator, Director of Photography, Foley Mixer, Animal Trainer...yes, you read that correctly! Now, if I'm giving the impression that the book is just a stream of un-interrupted interviews, think again - another strength of this book is its visual presentation on the page. Almost every single page is jammed with information and photos, so not only do you get to see what all the interviewees look like (I find this weirdly helpful!), but you also get boxes and charts with lots of additional info in all the different subject areas. So, in the interview with the Animal Trainer guy, there's a box about the American Humane Association, telling you about what they do and how to contact them - address, website, phone numbers, everything. It's this attention to detail which really makes this book so excellent.

Also, the layout of the book on the page is so well done. Although at times the authors and interviewees deal with quite technical material, everying is always very visual and fun to read. The photos in the book are sharp, and diagrams are used intelligently where they're needed. Pics and diagrams are never just used for the sake of it, or to pad out the book: the book is so huge that it doesn't need padding!

The last 150 pages of the book are very different to the first 550, as this is where you will find a range of case studies of recent movies. The two authors start by telling their own story, and describing in fascinating detail the three movies they made in Britian in the 1990s. None of which seem to have made any money, and one of which even caused them to end up in jail. They are amazingly honest about their mistakes and the short cuts they were forced to take, due to having virtually no money. And you can really hear the enthusiasm in their voices still, despite all the setbacks they have had. The book then moves on to look at a bunch of recent movies. The case studies that stand out for me are on "Thirteen", "Donnie Darko", and "Roger Dodger". All of the filmmakers are refreshingly upfront about how they found funding, how all the pieces fell together, and how hard it can be to deal with success when it actually arrives. These case studies don't have the in-depth detail of the rest of the book, but they provide a huge amount of inspiration, which I guess is just as important.

You probably can tell that I could go on for hours about how good this book is. I'll just say one more thing: this is the single most useful book I have ever read.