On Directing: Notes from the Sets of Saturday Night Fever, Wargames, and More

(Paperback, 2nd Revised edition)

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John Badham, acclaimed director of Saturday Night Fever, WarGames, and Short Circuit, reveals more of the technical secrets behind great action and suspense films. Particularly valuable is the Director's Survival Guide to Episodic Television, featuring fascinating new techniques from top directors of TV and streaming content.

Action and suspense pictures have almost always been made by "seat of the pants" filmmakers. Crafting their stories from gut instinct and intuition, their innate talent often leads them to exciting results. Badham examines and explains the elements of action and suspense that are needed to make a great film, spotlighting the universal elements exemplary scenes across all film genres possess and giving readers valuable directing and acting tools.

This edition features a brand new section. "A Director's Survival Guide to Episodic Television" explores the political danger zones faced in the ever-expanding worlds of streaming, cable, and network television. Badham has created a much-needed first-aid kit for all directors; the newly expanded list of "14 Must-Ask Questions Before Rehearsal" is an essential addition to any filmmaker's toolbox.

Intended for actors, directors, cinematographers, production designers, or other creatives, here are the tools to deconstruct and understand your scenes.

Continuing the work begun in Badham's bestselling I'll Be In My Trailer, he shares more insights from talented directors on working with difficult actors, finding the best rehearsal techniques, and getting the best performance from any actor, whether novice or pro.

Author Bio

John Badham, BA, MFA Yale University, DHL Columbia College, is a Director and Producer of Theatrical Films and Television including Saturday Night Fever, War Games, Short Circuit, Blue Thunder, Bird on a Wire, Heroes, Criminal Minds, the Shield, Nikita, Psych, Supernatural, Siren. The Library of Congress recently selected 'Saturday Night Fever' to be added to the National Registry of Films. His textbook I'll Be In My Trailer, the Creative Wars Between Directors and Actors has been translated into Mandarin Chinese, Italian and Japanese. The first edition of John Badham on Directing is also taught in film schools world-wide. His films have been nominated for five Academy awards and two Emmy awards. He has won three Saturn Awards from the Academy of Science fiction and Fantasy and the Grand Prize from the Paris International Science Fiction Festival. His areas of expertise are working with actors, action, suspense and fantasy films. As Dodge Professor of Film and Media at Chapman University, he teaches intermediate and advanced directing.