So You Wanna be a Director?: 1 [Paperback]

An anecdote-packed, conversational autobiography along with bits of personal philosophy and celebrity gossip.

Disarmingly honest. Packed full of practical information and tips... leaves nothing to the imagination.

"A detailed resume of the author's life in films as recounted in this book by Ken Annakin..." -- Saga, November 2001. "...traces his career from early British movies to Hollywood..." -- Viewfinder, March 2002. "A hilarious anecdotal read..." -- DVD Review, August 2001. "Mike Leigh who wrote the introduction to this book knows a good story when he hears, or reads, one..." --Post-Gazette.com, May 2002.

Sex-mad producers, drug addicted actors and studio politics. It’s all here in this amusing look at the movie world… a hilarious anecdotal read.

Annakin’s memoir is packed with clear-sighted wisdom that can only come from enduring so many thwarted projects, logistical nightmares and galloping egos.

Annakin’s autobiography is a wonderfully entertaining reading experience – impossible to put down!

So You Wanna be a Director? is a joy and a delight! Ken Annakin is an inspiration to us all, and long may this continue.

Ken Annakin’s book about his most adventurous life gave me a lot of laughs as well as much to think about. It should be a “must” for every kind of reader!

Ken Annakin is one of my favourite directors, and his book gives away all the secrets of making a great film.

Ken Annakin gave me my first film role. His autobiography evokes many happy memories of that very special period in the history of film, in which Ken played such a vital part.

Bloody entertaining! A show-business rarity... He isn't shy about revealing indiscretions, propositions and dalliances, including his own.

Yorkshire-born Ken Annakin is one of the greatest international film directors. The last of the English directors to make it in the international arena (others included Hitchcock and Lean), this autobiography traces Annakin's career from his early British films through to Hollywood. He has directed, written and produced over 50 feature films in Africa, India, Malaysia, Scandinavia, China, Europe and the United States. His films include: Swiss Family Robinson, The Longest Day, Battle of the Bulge, and Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines. Annakin's autobiography will include personal and revealing insights into many film personalities, including: Claudette Colbert; Edward G. Robinson; David Niven; Raquel Welch; Rod Steiger; Tony Curtis; Henry Fonda; Olivia de Havilland; Robert Ryan; Charlton Heston; Julie Christie; Robert Wagner; Charles Bronson; Peter Sellers; Peter Ustinov; Darryl Zanuck; Walt Disney and Terry Thomas. This book is forthright and pulls no punches. It will soon become a classic among director's autobiographies. Detailing his own frustrations with sex-mad producers, drug-addicted actors, and unions which sabotaged multi-million dollar feature films. Annakin details a career of dizzying highs and bleak lows. This master of family entertainment also sounds a clarion call for a return to motion pictures which are fun for the whole family. So You Wanna Be A Director? is an entertaining and witty travelogue, as well as an important document of film history.

Ken Annakin was made one of the few “DISNEY LEGENDS” by the Disney organisation in March 2002. He is only the second film director to be so honoured.

So You Wanna be a Director? is recommended by Leonard Maltin in Playboy magazine – December 2001 as his Christmas purchase.

Ken Annakin