cover image Down and Dirty Pictures

Down and Dirty Pictures

Peter Biskind, , read by Phil Gigante. . Brilliance Audio, $49.99 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-4233-7113-7

With a pen dipped in acid, Biskind chronicles the deliciously dishy history of independent filmmaking in the 1990s when the Weinstein brothers bullied their way into the business with Miramax Films and passive-aggressive Robert Redford brought the Sundance Film Festival to renewed prominence. It's filled with astonishingly candid anecdotes about some of the best indie films of that era and the independent film companies that thrived and were eventually swallowed up by major studios. The tastiest morsels concern Quentin Tarantino, David O. Russell and Steven Soderbergh. Phil Gigante's even-keeled reading doesn't disrupt the fascinating flow of well-researched film lore with attempts to mimic familiar voices. He keeps things well-paced and holds listeners for the full 24 hours. A Simon & Schuster paperback (Reviews, Jan. 5, 2004). (Dec.)