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| Introduction | |
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| First Steps (Before You Even Think of Shooting) | |
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| About You | |
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| Who Are These People, and What Do They Do? | |
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| It's Easier to Say No | |
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| The Players | |
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| How It Was | |
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| How It Is Now | |
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| What Does This All Mean for You? | |
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| It's a Small World After All | |
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| If It's About Who You Know and You Don't Know Anybody, What Do You Do? | |
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| Why Contacts Are Such a Big Deal | |
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| How to Begin Networking (Meeting People) | |
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| Where Should You Live? | |
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| Film Schools | |
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| Internships | |
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| Film Organizations | |
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| Helping Out on Other People's Films | |
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| More Volunteering | |
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| Temping | |
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| Finding a Mentor | |
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| Learn the Names | |
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| The Etiquette of the Meeting | |
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| Relationships and Reputations | |
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| Your Reputation and Credibility | |
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| Attitude | |
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| Cautionary Tale: You're at the Bottom of the Food Chain Until You Aren't | |
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| Cautionary Tale #2: Just Because It's in Your Head, It Doesn't Have to Come Out Your Mouth | |
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| Internship and Entry-Level Do's and Don'ts | |
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| This Is a Great Idea, But Is It a Movie? | |
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| The Story is Everything | |
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| Whose Story Is It? | |
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| What Do Your Characters Want? | |
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| Three-Act Structure | |
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| The Wind Up and The Pitch | |
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| Do You Own It? | |
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| You Can't Own an Idea… | |
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| How Do You Protect Your Idea? | |
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| Why Ownership Is Important | |
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| I Just Read Something Great… | |
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| Writing with a Partner | |
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| How to Find a Writer | |
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| How to Persuade the Writer to Work with You | |
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| The Politics of Development | |
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| Development Hell | |
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| Working with Your Writer | |
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| I'll Get Back to You (Getting the Script Read) | |
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| Before You Send Out the Script | |
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| What Happens During Development | |
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| The Top Ten Reasons Scripts Are Rejected | |
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| Took Too Long to Get Going | |
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| Didn't Care About the Characters | |
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| Writer Didn't Know the World | |
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| The Tangents or Subplots Were More Interesting Than the Main Action | |
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| Nothing New, Seen It Before | |
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| Writer Didn't Know What the Script Was Really About | |
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| Loss of Energy in the Second Act | |
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| The Stakes Are Not High Enough | |
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| Didn't Know How to End It | |
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| Why Would Anyone Want to See This Movie? | |
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| Agents and Managers-What's the Difference? | |
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| Do You Need an Agent? | |
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| Do You Want to Be an Agent? | |
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| Managers | |
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| Packaging | |
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| Who Do You Need on Your Team? | |
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| The Money, Part | |
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| Where Does the Money Come From? | |
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| Finding "Angels" | |
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| How to Ask for Money | |
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| Product Placement Money | |
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| Completion Bonds | |
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| Finding Money and Working with an Attorney-Who Can You Trust? | |
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| Production: No Such Thing as a Free Lunch | |
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| It's a Collaborative Medium-Exactly What Does That Mean? | |
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| How Stories Change | |
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| Creative Control and Final Cut | |
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| Protecting Yourself and Your Movie | |
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| Setting Up a Production Company | |
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| Payroll Companies | |
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| Why Go Through All This? | |
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| Production Insurance | |
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| What People Do, and Who They Do It With | |
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| Above and Below the Line | |
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| The Team | |
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| The Director | |
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| The Producer | |
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| The Line Producer and UPM | |
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| The First Assistant Director | |
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| The Look of the Movie | |
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| Locations | |
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| Camera | |
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| Grip and Electric | |
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| The Pretty Committee-Costume, Hair, and Makeup | |
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| Hair and Makeup | |
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| The All Important Crew Members Not Already Accounted For | |
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| Sound | |
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| Script | |
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| Props | |
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| Food | |
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| Transportation | |
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| Animals | |
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| Stunts | |
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| Special Effects | |
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| Editing | |
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| A Producer's Life | |
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| The Director, the First AD, and the UPM | |
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| The Director | |
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| The UPM | |
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| The Assistant Director | |
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| Decisions, Decisions | |
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| How Much, How Long? The Schedule and The Budget | |
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| How Long Does It Take to Make a Movie? | |
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| How Much Will It Cost to Make a Movie? | |
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| Union or Non? | |
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| How a Film Union Works | |
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| Smaller Films | |
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| What Are Union Benefits, and Why Are They Important? | |
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| The Good News… and the Bad News | |
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| Working Conditions | |
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| Residuals | |
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| The Sort of Good News… and the Not So Good News | |
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| How You Get In | |
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| Yet More Good News and Bad News… | |
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| Why Someone Might Not Join a Union | |
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| To Be or Not to Be | |
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| Maybe We Should Co to Canada, or Someplace Else Where to Shoot the Movie | |
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| Runaway Production-Why They Want You There | |
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| Why You Might Want to Runaway | |
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| Why Investors Might Want Projects to Runaway | |
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| The Pros and the Cons | |
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| Shooting Outside the United States | |
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| One More Thing You Should Know | |
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| But I Don't Want to Live in a Production Center | |
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| Who Is in Your Movie | |
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| The Casting Director | |
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| Finding a Casting Director | |
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| Casting for Funding and Distribution | |
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| The Screen Actors Guild | |
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| How Does an Actor Get into SAG? | |
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| Deals | |
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| The SAG Bond | |
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| Background Actors | |
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| How Are Background Actors Cast? | |
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| Kids | |
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| An Actor's Life | |
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| Prep | |
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| The Process | |
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| The First Hires | |
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| How Departments Prep | |
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| Production | |
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| The Call Sheet | |
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| The Production Report | |
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| Why Communication and Documentation Matters | |
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| It's the Little Things… | |
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| A Day in the Life of a Production | |
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| It's Just Beginning to Be a Movie: Postproduction | |
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| After the Smoke Clears | |
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| The Politics of Wrap | |
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| Who Sees the Cut? | |
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| Meanwhile… | |
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| Music | |
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| Your Score | |
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| It's an Old Song, How Much Can It Cost? | |
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| What If We Just Get Festival Rights? | |
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| I Know a Guy Who Knows the Band | |
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| What Are You Doing Saturday Night? | |
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| The Money, Part | |
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| How Does a Movie Make Money? | |
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| The Grosses | |
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| Distribution | |
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| Theatrical Exhibition | |
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| Television | |
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| Home Video and Online Distribution | |
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| Will Anybody Ever See My Movie? | |
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| Selling Your Movie | |
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| Your Marketing Campaign | |
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| Test Screenings | |
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| Being Your Own Publicist | |
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| Producer's Reps and Sales Agents | |
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| Filling the Seats: The Future of the Movie Theatre Business | |
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| Festivals | |
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| Which Festivals Really Matter? | |
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| Why do Festivals Matter, and How Do They Work? | |
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| How Does Your Film Get into a Festival? | |
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| How to Work a Festival | |
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| The Glory | |
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| Reviews | |
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| Prizes | |
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| The Big Ones | |
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| Other Little (and Not So Little) Things That You Should Know | |
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| Loyalty in Business | |
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| How to Work with Vendors | |
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| Remember What Mom Taught You | |
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| Ethics and Personal Loyalty | |
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| References | |
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| Sooner or Later You Will Have to Fire Somebody | |
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| Sooner or Later You Will Get Fired | |
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| Some Final Cautionary Tales | |
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| Now What? | |
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| It's OK to Leave… | |
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| And It's OK to Leave… Then Come Back | |
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| Out Takes | |
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| Final Words of Advice from People Who Have Been There, Done That | |
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| Appendix: Your Resume | |
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| Resume for an Internship | |
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| Resume for an Entry-Level Position | |
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| Resume for a Production Position | |
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| Index | |