Down and Dirty Pictures

Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Fil

Peter Biskind

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN:
  9781439127100
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

In this “dishy…superbly reported” (Entertainment Weekly) New York Times bestseller, Peter Biskind chronicles the rise of independent filmmakers who reinvented Hollywood—most notably Sundance founder Robert Redford and Harvey Weinstein, who with his brother, Bob, made Miramax Films an indie powerhouse.

As he did in his acclaimed Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Peter Biskind “takes on the movie industry of the 1990s and again gets the story” (The New York Times). Biskind charts in fascinating detail the meteoric rise of the controversial Harvey Weinstein, often described as the last mogul, who created an Oscar factory that became the envy of the studios, while leaving a trail of carnage in his wake. He follows Sundance as it grew from a regional film festival to the premier showcase of independent film, succeeding almost despite the mercurial Redford, whose visionary plans were nearly thwarted by his own quixotic personality.

Likewise, the directors who emerged from the independent movement, such as Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, and David O. Russell, are now among the best-known directors in Hollywood. Not to mention the actors who emerged with them, like Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Ethan Hawke, and Uma Thurman.

Candid, controversial, and “sensationally entertaining” (Los Angeles Times) Down and Dirty Pictures is a must-read for anyone interested in the film world.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Preface
• Introduction: The Story Till Now
• Chapter One: Made in USA
• Chapter Two: The Anger Artists
• Chapter Three: Risky Business
• Chapter Four: The Buying Game
• Chapter Five: He’s Gotta Have It
• Chapter Six: The House That Quentin Built
• Chapter Seven: Pumping Up the Volume
• Chapter Eight: Swimming with Sharks
• Chapter Nine: Ace and Gary
• Chapter Ten: Crossover Dreams
• Chapter Eleven: The Bad Lieutenant
• Chapter Twelve: The King of New York
• Chapter Thirteen: All That Jazz Is Gone
• Chapter Fourteen: Gods and Monsters
• Postscript: The Sweet Hereafter
• Cast of Characters
• Photographs
• Notes
• Index
• Copyright