Directors Books

During the last 15 years of Orson Welles' life, Gary Graver was Welles' dedicated cameraman. Even though Welles only completed two films during these years (his last masterpiece "F for Fake" and the spellbinding "Filming Othello"), this period was one of great activity and creativity. Graver was with Welles every step of the way. Graver's memoir, structured as a series of anecdotes, gives a wonderful sense of what working with Welles was like. Along with Joseph McBride's "What Ever Happened to Orson Welles" and Peter Tonguette's "Orson Welles Remembered", Graver's book is a bracing corrective to the misconception of Welles' last years as wasted and unproductive. Graver's modesty, loyalty and warmth shine through on every page. Kudos to Andrew Rausch for pushing the book to completion after Graver's death. Highly recommended.

There are a lot of books about the history of the film industry, collections of greatest movies, etc.

Not so much about the past of television, and even fewer about those responsible for TV content in its infancy.

That's why this book about the not-very-well-known Fred Coe and his role in live television is so important to anyone who wants a more comprehensive understanding of the entire entertainment industry.

The writing is outstanding and the research thorough. If you are an entertainment industry buff with a taste for the offbeat but fascinating, make time for this book. You'll enjoy it immensely and learn a few things you didn't know about how the industry works.

When this book was first published in 1991 it presented a viable approach to getting IT under control. The 1995 second edition contained refinements and was even more valuable because it came out in the aftermath of the industry-wide movement to decentralize, which only reinforced the central theme of the book: IT needs to be managed centrally. Although this book is as valid today as it was when first published, others with a fresher approach have been published in the ensuing 7 years since the second edition. However, this book is still invaluable as a secondary text for a number of reasons:

(1) It is focused on business control of IT, and centralized control at that. This message needs to be reinforced, in my opinion, and the book provides compelling reasons for doing so.
(2) Chapter 3's discussion of the IT director's job is really an examination of politics and challenges that still doggedly remain in IT in spite of being exposed year after year. The case studies in this chapter alone make this book worth buying and reading. Chapter 4, The Culture Gap, is also invaluable and shows that after 7 years since this edition came out that we're still grappling with the same old issues.
(3) The book's anecdotes, case studies and pull-no-punches comments about pitfalls and challenges are sanity checks that should be revisited by pulling this book from your shelf, dusting it off and turning to a random page - you are sure to spot a phrase or illustration that will influence you. Think of it as high-tech I Ching.

If you want a more up-to-date text on managing IT methodically and quantitatively I recommend anything written by Dan Remenyi. However, if you want deep insights and a book from which you can find inspiration or ideas by turning to a random page, this will serve you long after the more technical tomes have lost their appeal.

Part of the Contemporary Film Directors series, Manoel de Oliveira is an in-depth examination of the cinematic works of the venerable Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira, whose career has spanned seventy-five years and still going. Of especial interest is Oliveira's connection with literary and theatrical texts; his films have ranged the gamut of hybrid cinema from blends that capture the best of both worlds of film and theater, to meldings of fiction and documentary. A handful of black-and-white stills illustrate this revealing and advanced critique, penned by Randal Johnson (Professor of Luso-Brazilian literature, University of California). Interviews with Manoel de Oliveira, a filmography, and an index round out this thoughtful and literate analysis.

YEAH HEY EVERYONE BUY THIS BOOK NOW PLEASE BECAUSE MR RAXSDALE IS THE BOMB . COM HE IS THE MAN, HE IS SOO COOL. HE IS THE BEST BAND DIRECTOR IN THE WORLD. HIS BOOK IS AWESOME. IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A GOOD BAND YOU BETTER READ THIS BOOK OR YOU WILL HAVE A BAD BAND. AND NO ONE WANTS A BAD BAND RIGHT? SO BUY THIS BOOK.

JARED S.

I have often wondered why most company boards have finance committees, human resources and remuneration committees, ethics committees and audit committees, but no customer or brand committee. Especially as the customer and brand are central to strategy and the source of operating revenue and profits.

HOW EFFECTIVELY ARE MARKETING DECISIONS ANALYSED AT BOARD LEVEL?
`Marketing in the Boardroom' places the issue squarely on the agenda, saying, "For most companies, brands are significant assets and marketing is a major investment. Yet how often - and how effectively are brand and marketing decisions and investments rigorously analysed at board level?"

The book quotes Sir George Bull when he was Chairman of Diageo. He stands out by declaring that, "Brand deliberations belong in the boardroom, with all the data, scrutiny, commitment, rigour and accountability given to the key financial measures of a company."

The publication also includes comments from Sir Anthony O'Reilly who draws on his experience as a director on many boards (ranging from Mobil to Bankers Trust, through to the Washington Post and including G.E.C and H.J. Heinz). In his broad experience, "marketing has typically received not more than 15% of a board's attention" and this very singular reflection seems as pertinent as it is remarkable.

WHAT DRIVES THE FOCUS OF THE BOARD?
As the authors point out, a board's focus can be direct reflection of the members' background rather than a function of the needs of the business. That's a problem because most boards are filled with directors who have a background in either finance, legal or operations. Even with the plethora of change that boards have embraced today, it is quite rare for a board to have a director from a marketing background.

That situation won't change overnight. So the issue is, how to help directors to broaden their skills and increase their engagement in the customer-brand strategy of the company. Which is why `Marketing in the Boardroom' is essential reading. It has been written for directors and CEOs, to help them analyse the effectiveness of marketing strategy in their organisation. No doubt market analysts and shareholder advocates will also be interested in the questions that boards of directors ask about marketing strategy.

The book also provides a wonderful insight for marketing practitioners on what directors want to know (or should want to know) - and what directors should look for in the executive response. It will give practitioners confidence in the validity and importance of the information that they put forward. (It is too easy for boards to avoid a meaningful discussion about the customer and brand by saying, `Just give me the high-level stuff''. Too high level and the analysis is cursory).

BOARD'S INFLUENCE ON CULTURE, MANAGEMENT FOCUS & RESOURCE ALLOCATION
Recognising that the role of marketing is to identify, attract and retain the profitable customer (my definition), the book addresses the full marketing discipline and not just marketing communications. "To put it at its most practical, marketing is about the role a company plays in the choices of its customers and how value is delivered to those customers."

A degree of rigour in board reviews of marketing effectiveness is important because, as this book explains, `through the culture they foster, the way that they operate and questions that they ask, boards can also have a profound impact on operational performance'.

IMPROVING THE TYPICAL BOARD MEMBER EXPERIENCE
The lesson is clear, if the board is not interested or engaged in the marketing strategy of the company, that attitude will undoubtedly cascade throughout the organisation. Lack of attention to the marketing strategy and intent at board level will directly be reflected in the level of management support and resource allocation, and therefore the effectiveness of the marketing function.

To tackle this problem, `Marketing in the Boardroom' arms directors with an overview of the marketing philosophies, concepts and questions they need to consider at board level. The Q & A for each marketing topic is prefaced with an introduction to the concept, plus a practical scenario that would mirror a typical board member's experience.

ADDRESSING REASONS BEHIND NEGLECT
After reading `Marketing in the Boardroom' I also want to find out more about Sir George Bull, who asks why the disciplines of good brand management are neglected more often than observed. Provocatively he asks, "Is it because the marketing fraternity has not earned the respect and confidence of other functional colleagues?"
Or, he posits, ". . . is it that the process of building brands is more art than science, demands flair and inspiration, qualities which are not commonly found in the business community and, when they are, win scant respect from the majority of earnest business executives who, unable to comprehend, instinctively mistrust?'

GOOD PRACTICE NOT ENOUGH
Upwards management has its limitations so marketing practitioners will be pleased see the authors emphasise that marketing should be driven from the most senior position in the company. Sir George Bull contributes his thoughts on this topic too, saying, "Corporate conviction and commitment offers the key to excellence in brand management and these are things that can only originate at the highest levels within a business, otherwise, like a thinly-rooted plant, good practice will be washed away by the first winter storm."

KEY TO WEALTH CREATION
Sir George points out that if the business community can unlock the gates to the brave new world of marketing-led business management, then job creation, wealth and higher living standards will flow. Ever the optimist, I think that `Marketing in the Boardroom' could provide that elusive key.

This is an informative enough source for anyone who is interested in Martin Scorsese' cinema. Impressively to the point, and easy to read.

Considering the quality of Louis Gianetti's writing, it is both shocking and disheartening that "Masters of the American Cinema" is currently out of print. Delivering enlightened, career-spanning essays on superlative filmmakers such as Welles, Capra, Keaton, Lubitsch, and Ford, Gianetti also examines the cinema of still-working directors like Altman and Kubrick. Indispensable for readers interested in the American motion picture.

Unlike some of the other books about Ophuls, Bacher's book goes into what lay behind some of Ophuls' directorial decisions, the personalities of producers, editors, stars, etc. It is the book of scholarship that needs to be written about every director worth studying. This is the book you read BEFORE you start to consider what Ophuls is trying to communicate, what the meaning is of Ophuls films. The only drawback of the book is that it only goes into detail about Ophuls' four American films!
The biggest surprise was that the book was a pleasure to read. The personalities presented are real people. It is, despite the scholarly intention of the book, very fast reading. I found it too fast.... I will have to go back and read it again in order to write my own paper on Ophuls films!

MIchael Ian Chaplan

Mr. Rudy Behlmer is a genius. He is so adept at compiling memos with great insight into how movies were made in the Hollywood's Golden Age. Even if you have not seen any of the Twentieth Century Fox films discussed in the memos herein, you will be hooked, as I was. Through Mr. Behlmer's guidance, one can see how making movies was, and remains, a fascinating, multifaceted process. This is a truly remarkable feat of a book. Thank you so much for writing it, Mr. Behlmer!