With
such seminal movies as The Exorcist and The French Connection, Academy
Award-winning director William Friedkin secured his place as a great filmmaker.
A maverick from the start, Friedkin joined other young directors who ushered in
Hollywood's second Golden Age during the 1970s. Now, in his long-awaited
memoir, Friedkin provides a candid portrait of an extraordinary life and
career.
His
own success story has the makings of classic American film. He was born in
Chicago, the son of Russian immigrants. Immediately after high school, he found
work in the mailroom of a local television station, and patiently worked his
way into the directing booth during the heyday of live TV. An award-winning
documentary brought him attention as a talented new filmmaker, as well as an
advocate for justice, and it caught the eye of producer David L. Wolper, who
brought Friedkin to Los Angeles. There he moved from television (one of the
last episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour) to film (The Birthday Party, The
Boys in the Band), displaying a versatile stylistic range. Released in 1971, The
French Connection won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best
Director, and two years later, The Exorcist received ten Oscar nominations and
catapulted Friedkin's career to stardom.
Penned
by the director himself, The Friedkin Connection takes readers on a journey
through the numerous chance encounters and unplanned occurrences that led a
young man from a poor urban neighborhood to success in one of the most competitive
industries and art forms in the world.
From
the streets of Chicago to the executive suites of Hollywood, from star-studded
movie sets to the precision of the editing room, from a pas-sionate new
artistic life as a renowned director of operas to his most recent tour de
force, Killer Joe, William Friedkin has much to say about the world of
moviemaking and his place within it.
Written
with the narrative drive of one of his finest films, The Friedkin Connection is
a wonderfully engaging look at an artist and an industry that has transformed
who we are—and how we see ourselves.
“Entertaining.
. . . This memoir is at its most engrossing when describing the solid,
unpretentious entertainments its author once made so well.”
WALL
STREET JOURNAL
“Hardcore
film geeks will salivate over this time capsule from a grateful and
still-brilliant legend.”
BOOKLIST
“For
aspiring directors, a glimpse into the school of hard knocks, but there’s
plenty of good stuff, lean and well-written, for civilian film fans, too.”
KIRKUS
REVIEWS
“Friedkin’s
book does the unthinkable: It relates the behind-the-scenes stories of his
triumphs but also sees Friedkin take responsibility (brutally so) for his wrong
calls. . . . He captures the gut-wrenching shifts of a filmmaker’s life.”
VARIETY
“Movie
fans will celebrate the natural storyteller at work in the pages of The
Friedkin Connection, a welcome reminder that it takes so much more than talent
to make a movie - and to keep making them.”
ASSOCIATED
PRESS
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