A critical analysis of the rise of independent filmmakers examines the growth of Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival, the rise to power of the Weinstein brothers and their company Miramax, and the successful careers of Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino, and other independent filmmakers whose work has transformed Hollywood and the film indust

Reviews

With a pen dipped in acid, Biskind chronicles the deliciously dishy history of independent filmmaking in the 1990s when the Weinstein brothers bullied their way into the business with Miramax Films and passive-aggressive Robert Redford brought the Sundance Film Festival to renewed prominence. It's filled with astonishingly candid anecdotes about some of the best indie films of that era and the independent film companies that thrived and were eventually swallowed up by major studios. The tastiest morsels concern Quentin Tarantino, David O. Russell and Steven Soderbergh. Phil Gigante's even-keeled reading doesn't disrupt the fascinating flow of well-researched film lore with attempts to mimic familiar voices. He keeps things well-paced and holds listeners for the full 24 hours. A Simon & Schuster paperback (Reviews, Jan. 5, 2004). (Dec.) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

"Entertainment Weekly" Dishy, teeming, superbly reported...packed with lively inside anecdotes...[a] juicy and fascinating expose.

It's embargoed: the rise of the indies, from the author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.