John Sayles: An Unauthorized Biography of the Pioneering Indie Filmmaker - Gerry Molyneaux -... Book

John Sayles is one of the most highly regarded independent filmmakers today, having created such important films as Lone Star (1996), City of Hope (1991), Eight Men Out (1987), The Brother From Another Planet (1983), and Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980). Sayles has been recognized for his achievements, receiving a MacArthur "Genius" Award at age thirty-three and, at the tender age of forty-seven, the Writers Guild Lifetime Achievement Award. The miracle of this moviemaker lies in his ability to balance artistic integrity with a producer's pragmatism. John Sayles is Don Quixote and Sancho Panza in one, a man who clings to his ideals and does whatever it takes to get them onto the screen. Despite indifference from major studios to his ideas, he has found ways to express his personal vision. This biography examines his films and shows the ways in which Sayles thrived as an indie director. The reader gets a behind-the-scenes look at how Sayles scrambles to get financing and how his production team holds down costs while making his movies. In addition to Sayles the filmmaker, the book explores Sayles as a writer of novels, short stories, and plays, as well as his roles on both stage and screen. John Sayles: An Unauthorized Biography of the Pioneering Indie Filmmaker is an intriguing and inspiring look at a major force in today's cinema.