What I Really Want to Do Is Direct: Seven Film School Graduates Go to Hollywood

Rating:
Summary: A very uninformative melange of first-person ramblings.
Review: As a soon-to-be film school graduate, I approached Frolick's book with an extreme interest. I have found that film school does little to prepare one for actually getting a job. I was not expecting a how-to guide but I definitely expected a bit more in the way of insight. I felt Frolick's style of allowing the subjects to ramble on mercilessly did little other than spotlight their self-absorption. I found myself questioning the intelligence and thoughtfullness of the subjects, not the harshness of the system.

Additionally, I felt Frolick treated his subjects with a mixture of curiosity and disdain. His description of film students in the introduction illustrates his opinion of film school students as short-sighted and self-involved. His editing of interviews seems to highlight the bad tendencies of each subject instead of treating them objectively. The end result leaves the reader wondering what he's learned in addition to be shocked at how little the subjects seem to have learned.

Rating:
Summary: THE TRUTH ABOUT GETTING STARTED IN THE MOVIE BUSINESS
Review: By allowing the seven subjects of my book to tell their story in (mostly) their own words, I hope that some sober truths about working in the movie business emerge for interested readers. Check out the WHAT I REALLY WANT TO DO IS DIRECT website (including graduate photos and book excerpt) at www.loop.com/~direct, or e-mail me with any questions or comments at [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Seven Film School Graduates Go To Hollywood
Review: I came to this book with many hopes about what I would learn following these seven very different individuals coming out of school, but as I closed the book I was disapointed. It was not just that only one was successful in getting a project made (Hollywood is as interested in failure as it is in success) but that I was left a little wanting on the personalities of the subjects. Some have gone on to success (not household names but working within the industry they trained for) and there were some really nice contributions from others already established in the industry (Directors, writers, studio execs, producers, etc). But as an investment in time about what it takes to make it in Hollywood, I wanted more insight and commentary, than the musing and rambling style in which their stories were told.

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Summary: Billy frolick is God.
Review: I don't know Billy Frolick, and I'm not familiar with his book, but I think he's brilliant, and I want to work with him someday.

Rating:
Summary: More of a soap-opera than a cautionary tale
Review: I don't think that I expected to learn a lot about breaking into the film business when I read this book, but I was shocked at how little sense of the industry many of the subjects seemed to have. It's at once frightening and reassuring to realize that even the "best-of-the-best" are just as scared and clueless (and dumb) as everyone else. What Frolick does offer, though, is an enjoyable expose of the lives of some really disturbed people. Also, when the subjects succeed or fail, you're in on the process and you can see very clearly what they've done right or wrong. I finished the book actually feeling better about my chances of "making it", so it can't be seen as a cautionary tale, but it did manage to provide some insight and was definitely a fun, enjoyable read.

Rating:
Summary: More of a soap-opera than a cautionary tale
Review: I don't think that I expected to learn a lot about breaking into the film business when I read this book, but I was shocked at how little sense of the industry many of the subjects seemed to have. It's at once frightening and reassuring to realize that even the "best-of-the-best" are just as scared and clueless (and dumb) as everyone else. What Frolick does offer, though, is an enjoyable expose of the lives of some really disturbed people. Also, when the subjects succeed or fail, you're in on the process and you can see very clearly what they've done right or wrong. I finished the book actually feeling better about my chances of "making it", so it can't be seen as a cautionary tale, but it did manage to provide some insight and was definitely a fun, enjoyable read.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting reading, but not intriguing.
Review: I found this book quite interesting. Upon first reading the introduction about the seven individuals chronicled in the book, I thought I was going to be bored to tears. At that point, only three of the seven even seemed remotely interesting. However, as I progressed through the pages and learned more about each person, I grew to enjoy them. The first third of the book took the longest to read. The middle third is the most interesting. At points, I grew tired of the useless ramblings of many of the graduates (bring a lot of cheese because there is a lot of whine here). However, there are shards of diamonds here and there. If you are interested in movies, especially the real struggles those in the business face each day, this is a must read. Be forewarned, however, this is not a how to guide and it will take a while to uncover the good stuff, but the hunt is worth it.

Rating:
Summary: A very uninformative melange of first-person ramblings.
Review: Of course I rate the book a 10--I wrote it. Don't trust me,though--but please don't trust the Kirkus review Amazon carries--it isnot representative, as anyone with access to archives of US magazine, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, LIBRARY JOURNAL, the L.A. DAILY NEWS, etc. can confirm. Kirkus accuses me of not following a cardinal rule of screenwriting, to "create memorable characters" --but this is JOURNALISM, not SCREENWRITING! They also criticize that only one of my subjects made a feature film made in three years. But anyone with a smidgeon of knowledge or experience with the movie business would say it's a miracle that any of them got a movie made--and a real one, not one of those $13,000 homemade jobs about neurotic, pop-culture-obsessed twenty-something suburban hit men. Sorry to sound defensive--but when I read Kirkus' review I just assumed that the kid I tortured in summer camp 30 years ago had grown up to become a book critic. I've gotten incredible e-mail from filmmakers and students all over the world about the book. Also, Andrew Sarris, Steven Soderbergh and Leonard Maltin--all approached cold, I didn't know any of them--have contributed review blurbs (on the book's front and back covers). So don't believe what you read--except, of course, for my book.

Rating:
Summary: Another message from the author
Review: Of course I rate the book a 10--I wrote it. Don't trust me,though--but please don't trust the Kirkus review Amazon carries--it isnot representative, as anyone with access to archives of US magazine, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, LIBRARY JOURNAL, the L.A. DAILY NEWS, etc. can confirm. Kirkus accuses me of not following a cardinal rule of screenwriting, to "create memorable characters" --but this is JOURNALISM, not SCREENWRITING! They also criticize that only one of my subjects made a feature film made in three years. But anyone with a smidgeon of knowledge or experience with the movie business would say it's a miracle that any of them got a movie made--and a real one, not one of those $13,000 homemade jobs about neurotic, pop-culture-obsessed twenty-something suburban hit men. Sorry to sound defensive--but when I read Kirkus' review I just assumed that the kid I tortured in summer camp 30 years ago had grown up to become a book critic. I've gotten incredible e-mail from filmmakers and students all over the world about the book. Also, Andrew Sarris, Steven Soderbergh and Leonard Maltin--all approached cold, I didn't know any of them--have contributed review blurbs (on the book's front and back covers). So don't believe what you read--except, of course, for my book.