Darren Aronofsky
Film director and screenwriter; his films include Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, Black Swan and mother!.
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind
This is an incredibly delicious read—just a great, great account of that era from Easy Rider ('69) through the mid-'70s. It's the story of all those great filmmakers—my icons—Scorsese, Coppola, Friedkin, and Bogdanovich.
on fivebooks.com · 20 Aug 2011
Hitchcock by Francois Truffaut
It's an amazing guide to Hitchcock's thought process. Truffaut, being a fantastic filmmaker himself, was able to ask really profound, informed questions that really got to the heart of filmmaking.
on fivebooks.com · 20 Aug 2011
Making Movies by Sidney Lumet
It's an incredibly clear, honest, and precise discussion of the films Lumet made over the course of his career. There are many pearls of wisdom about directing and filmmaking in the book. It breaks down the different problems Lumet had in making films, and tells how he solved them.
on fivebooks.com · 20 Aug 2011
The Ragman's Son by Kirk Douglas
I read this one in the early '90s when I first got out to Hollywood. My mentor Stuart Rosenberg, who directed Cool Hand Luke, suggested it. It's basically Kirk Douglas's story of coming from nothing—he was a ragman's son—and achieving the American dream through the Hollywood movie system.
on fivebooks.com · 20 Aug 2011
The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler
It's the Bible for screenwriters. I think it's the best book on how to write a screenplay ever written. It helped me get through so many roadblocks as a writer.
on fivebooks.com · 20 Aug 2011
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