15 Must-Read Books About the Film and TV Industry


If you are thinking about a career as a writer, director, actor, and/or producer in the film and TV industry (or are building one), these books will give you an honest (and sometimes brutal) overview of what to expect and how to navigate. 

Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film, Peter Biskind

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N Roll Generation Saved Hollywood, Peter Biskind

Riding the Alligator: Strategies for a Career in Screenplay Writing, Pen Densham

Sleepless in Hollywood, Lynda Obst

Doing It for Money: The Agony and Ecstasy of Writing and Surviving in Hollywood, Ed. Daryl G. Nickens

Tales from the Script, Peter Hanson and Paul Robert Herman (eds.)


Making Movies, Sidney Lumet

Martin Scorsese: A Journey, Mary Pat Kelly

It's Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution, and Future of HBO, Felix Gillette and John Koblin

The Jaws Log, Carl Gottlieb

Adventures in the Screen Trade, William Goldman


The Kid Stays in the Picture, Robert Evans

The Fat Lady Sang, Robert Evans

Who Is Michael Ovitz?, Michael Ovitz


The Hollywood Money Trap, Alexia Melocchi


To learn more about these books, watch my recent podcast episode:




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