I begin this blog after reading Spike Lee’s excellent book Spike Lee’s Gotta Have It, which explores the making of Lee’s first feature, She’s Gotta Have It.

I’m a big fan of books where directors detail their process during the making of a film. Anything that talks about the making of a film are something that I try to get my hands on to read.

The Book

The book details the trials and tribulations of Lee’s journey to get the film made – from the initial seed of an idea, through the writing of the screenplay and the eventual shoot and post-production work. But that’s just where the real fun starts, as a large part of the book is devoted to distribution and securing funding for the film.

Here’s a great quote from Spike’s book:

“Don’t think that because you haven’t heard from me for a while that I went to sleep. I am still here, like a spirit roaming the night. Thirsty, hungry, seldom stopping to rest.” – Spike Lee

Other Filmmaking Books

There are, of course, lots of other filmmaking books out there. There are also plenty of non-filmmaking books that might help our filmmaking.

Here are some books by filmmakers that talk about the making of their films:

Rebel Without a Cause – Robert Rodriquez

Lynch on Lynch – David Lynch

Moviemakers’ Master Class: Private Lessons From The World’s Foremost Directors – Laurent Tirard

Something Like An Autobiography – Akira Kurosawa

Notes on the Cinematographer – Robert Bresson

The Architecture of Vision: Writings and Interviews on Cinema – Michelangelo Antonioni 

On Directing Film – David Mamet

Making Movies – Sidney Lumet

   

The Magic Lantern: An Autobiography – Ingmar Bergman

The Films in My Life – Francois Truffaut

Let me know below in the comments if you think I’ve missed out any great filmmakers on filmmaking books. Thanks for reading!
 

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