An entertaining and inspirational memoir by one of the most prominent practitioners and evangelists of independent filmmaking; and the acclaimed writer; director; and actor (Saving Private Ryan; Friends with Kids; Entourage) whose first filmmdash;The Brothers McMullenmdash;has become an indie classic.At the age of twenty-five; Ed Burns directed and produced his first film on a tiny $25;000 budget. The Brothers McMullen went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1995; and established the working-class Irish American filmmaker as a talent to watch. In the twenty years since; Burns has made ten more films (Shersquo;s the One; Sidewalks of New York; and The Fitzgerald Family Christmas); while also acting in big budget Hollywood movies (Saving Private Ryan); hit television shows (Entourage and Mob City); and pioneering a new distribution network for indie filmmakers online and with TVrsquo;s On Demand service (ldquo;why open a film in twenty art houses when you can open in twenty million homes?rdquo;).Inspired by Burnsrsquo;s uncompromising success both behind and in front of the camera; students and aspiring filmmakers are always asking Burns for advice. In Independent Ed; Burns shares the story of his two remarkable decades in a fickle business where heat and box office receipts are often all that matter. He recounts stories of the lengths he has gone to to secure financing for his films; starting with The Brothers McMullen (he told his father: ldquo;Shooting was the twelve best days of my liferdquo;). How he found stars on their way upmdash;including Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diazmdash;to work in his films; and how hersquo;s adhered religiously to the dictum of writing what you know; working as if he was just starting out; and always ldquo;looking for the next twelve best days of my life.rdquo;Chronicling the struggles and the long hours as well as the heady moments when months of planning and writing come to fruition; Independent Ed is a must-read for movie fans; film students; and everyone who loves a gripping tale about what it takes to forge your own path in work and life.
2014-07-21 2014-07-21File Name: B00M0DCVLQ
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Broken Music by StingBy Pamela FoardWritten like a masterful novel; "Broken Music" is intelligent; insightful and continuously interesting; as Sting (or Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner; his real name) remembers his impoverished (both financially and emotionally) childhood and eventual break to stardom and fortune. He is fairly open and detailed with his impressions of growing up; and his lack of understanding his parents tortured lives together; the early manual labor he inherited from his fathers business of delivering milk and his awkward early school experiences. That he was able to find his way into the music industry and make such a success of it; is quite an adventurous against-all-odds story.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Well written autobiographyBy CathObviously; I dont know the guy; but this struck me as an honest look back at Stings life and relationships. His writing is very straightforward and unflinching in its assessments of his behavior in relationships with his parents and the women in his life. While he mentions and credits many other musicians and celebrities; you dont get a sense of gratuitous name-dropping. Often; with rock stars; all we see is the product of their hard work and personal sacrifices. It was interesting to peek behind the star and see what lies beneath. I would recommend it.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Stings Early LifeBy Timothy HaughIn my life; Sting stands alone among the singer/songwriters of whom I am a fan. I grew up listening to musicians like Simon Garfunkel; the Beatles; Bob Dylan and James Taylor; however; they all were basically superstars before I was born. The Police were the first "contemporary" group to whom I listened; playing all five of their LPS until the grooves were worn; and I loyally followed Sting into his solo career. I believe Sting remains one of the best modern songwriters and I continue to be a fan.I consider myself a passionate fan but my fandom is not rabid. I focus mainly on the work and generally have little interest in a stars private life. You cant help but pick up things in the midst of the media storm in which we live today but I do my best to keep my attitudes about a persons private life separate from my feelings about the work. My rare exception to this is when someone writes an autobiography. I rarely read biographies about living persons but I will often read an autobiography from someone whom I admire. Keeping in mind that no one is willing to reveal everything about themselves; it is often interesting to see what a person chooses to reveal. Such is the case with this book.I am in no position to judge the factual content of Stings story. On the other hand; I was surprised at how well Broken Music reflected what I would have expected from what appears to be Stings personality. For fans; the most obvious thing that stands out is Stings continued conflicted feelings about his success with the Police. Most obviously; this can be seen in the fact that this book covers Stings life only up until the time of the formation of the Police. He still seems unwilling to really confront the meaning and experience of those years publicly. On the other hand; it is interesting in the final pages of the book to hear Sting tell of his first encounters with; in particular; Stewart Copeland and; later; Andy Summers.The other big thing that stood out for me is how this book reflected a mans obsession with music and unrepentant drive for success. Granted; we do learn a lot about the simple facts of Stings early life and relationships; his developing musical interest; however; underscoring it all is his need to do whatever it takes to win in the music world. As weve seen in his music; we also have Sting trying to self-analyze in this book and come to grips with his relationships with his mother; father; and a couple of early girlfriends but this stands in stark contrast to the ambition that underlies everything. It goes to show how even as writers try to present themselves in the best light; a certain amount of truth cant help but sneak through.As a writer; Sting is quite good; as one might expect. Even if his experience centers mainly around 3 minute pop songs; he shows that he can write excellent extended prose as well. I was worried at first because the prose in his recollection of the ayahuasca experience is a little flowery but he quickly settles down into serious story-telling. Broken Music is certainly an appropriate title to this memoir as it is generally a linear story punctuated by the occasional flash forward and omniscient comment. (Not to mention the titles origin: as I recall from the book; the boy Gordon would sometimes pound atonally on his grandmothers piano and she would ask him to "stop playing that broken music.")All in all; Sting has written a wonderful little book here. Anyone remotely a fan of his or anyone simply interested in music history will find a lot worth reading here. Still; I have to admit to a desire to see a sequel to this book someday; covering his years with the Police and his solo career. As the years go by; facts get clouded by the darkening shroud of memory; however; as this book shows; apart from the facts there is a lot of truth to be mined. I hope we see more of this from Sting.
