I Wake Up Screening: What to Do Once You've Made That Movie

The best book period on what to do AFTER you've finished your film, and how to have realistic expectations. Having recently been there, done that, all I can say is I wish I had this book three years ago when I was finishing up YOU ARE ALONE. This (along with Chris Gore's film fest guide) will get you and your film where you need to go. Thank you to Anderson and Kim!

This gem of a book needs to be absorbed long before a filmmaker makes their first or next movie. Filled with tips and do's and don't from interviews with more than 60 veteran insiders and filmmakers, a few things became clear to me right off: (1) no single person harbors all the answers, (2) the competition is fierce, (3) quality films deserve a better shot than they're getting, (4) never alienate NY Times Critic Manohla Dargis, translation: know how each journalist works, how-to approach them, & spell their name right, and (5) cultivate link(s) to respected industry contact(s) who will champion your film with you.

This is a really good book, hard to stop reading, because it's so lively and well written by two respected indie pros -- a film critic and a publicity whiz -- giving advice and interviewing other pros. Great for anyone who wants to know who the players are and understand the reality and mystery of how independent films get to the big screen, and how they're handled on their way there by the filmmakers, press, publicists, reps, agents, festivals and distributors. It's a page turner you'll want to read straight through and go back to later for reference. Full of information you don't get in film school, with lots of specifics, even a section on legal issues and what to include in a press kit -- everything except how to raise money, shoot footage and edit dailies. It's also nicely printed, lightweight, affordable and good looking in paperback.

Think of yourself running in a mile-long race - you kill yourself to finish the mile, and when you can see the tape, you find out you have four more miles to go! That's exactly how the authors frame the problem for a filmmaker. You got the money scraped together, you shot your film, you've been in post cutting the film, and then (and perhaps only then) do you become aware of the millions of details, hurdles, and pitfalls that lie between you and bliss - a theatrical release. The authors love film, and want nothing more than for your film to find an audience...but how? This is where the step-by-step analysis of dealing with PR, producer-reps, attorneys, media and buyers all get outed in fascinating detail. The tone of the book is encouraging overall, but stern in its advice when necessary, i.e. "Don't ask a film critic what they thought of a particular film." The juicy vignettes are funny and poignant. They have been around the block a few times, from LA to Cannes and everywhere inbetween, and the experience shines through in their examples of how things good and bad happen to unsuspecting filmmakers. The Sundance stories are a hoot! First-time filmmakers who have already made their film should be forewarned - you may be deeply depressed by how tiny and incestuous the business is, especially for the top sales and producer rep talent. And there are some very unhappy endings for a lot of films, truth be told. But even at the end of the line, as our faithful authors tell us, there is still self-distribution. About the only ones in the business who get short shrift in this book are actors - notably the ones who don't support their film during festivals. Ultimately, this book captures the vibe of indie film admirably. This book should be read alongside "The Big Picture", and the comparison/contrast will make you never want to see a blockbuster again. If there is an Independent Spirit Award for how-to books about film, this should be a nominee. Read it, and you will be much more prepared to reach the real finish line - your world premier at the film festival of your dreams. Picky detail - this edition needs copyedited and proofread. There are too many repetitions of who's who (after the 59th reference you *know* Kenneth Turan is a film critic for the LA Times) and the chapters are too discrete - too close to a textbook assignment. The flow is there, though, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A good scrubbing is all it needs, not surgery.

This book appeared in my mailbox recently, I'm not sure how. But I'm glad it did. (And I wish it had appeared in my mailbox three years ago.) "I Wake Up Screening" is an excellent guide to the ups and downs & ins and outs of getting a film out of your bedroom and into the world. It covers, with humor and aplomb, the details of fixing mistakes BEFORE you start shooting, how to get into festivals (and why you shouldn't rush to do so), and how to keep your sanity and humility in a world that is heavily populated with large budgets and larger egos. A lot of people recommend that anyone wanting to "get into Hollywood" study films and read books like "The Kid Stays in the Picture", "The Art of War" and Machiavelli's "The Prince". While stuff like that is good for dreaming and scheming of becoming a cross between Cecil B. DeMille and Montgomery Burns, I'd recommend that for every two books like that, you read a book like this. And I'd especially recommend that you read THIS book. Michael W. Dean Author, "$30 Film School"