The Declaration of Independent Filmmaking: An Insider's Guide to Making Movies Outside of Hollywood

This trio of award-winning independent film actors-writers-directors-producers reveal how their desire to make movies that fulfilled their vision led them to create a rigorous, economical regimen that, for those ""willing to forego a visit to the dentist so they can instead buy film stock,"" and who aren't well-versed in the technical and logistical aspects of film-making, is well worth the book's cover price. Drawing on their experiences making three feature films (Twin Falls Idaho is perhaps the best known), the Polish brothers walk would-be filmmakers step-by-step from script-writing to post-production to distribution, with an explanation of each part of the process. The amount of detail packed into short chapters (particularly the chapters on directing and editing) is impressive, and informative sidebars and anecdotes about actors like James Woods and Nick Nolte complement the text's how-to aspects. With their wise and simple advice, the Polish brothers and their co-author, Sheldon, have done aspiring filmmakers (but not their dentists) a great favor. Photos.