Author(s): Edward Burns

FILM DIRECTORS

At the age of twenty-five, Ed Burns directed and produced his first film on a tiny $25,000 budget. The Brothers McMullenwent on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1995, and established the working-class Irish American filmmaker as a talent to watch. In the twenty years since, Burns has made ten more films (She's the One, Sidewalks of New York, and The Fitzgerald Family Christmas), while also acting in big budget Hollywood movies (Saving Private Ryan), hit television shows (Entourageand Mob City), and pioneering a new distribution network for indie filmmakers online and with TV's On Demand service ('why open a film in twenty art houses when you can open in twenty million homes?').

Inspired by Burns's uncompromising success both behind and in front of the camera, students and aspiring filmmakers are always asking Burns for advice. In Independent Ed, Burns shares the story of his two remarkable decades in a fickle business where heat and box office receipts are often all that matter. He recounts stories of the lengths he has gone to to secure financing for his films, starting with The Brothers McMullen (he told his father: 'Shooting was the twelve best days of my life'). How he found stars on their way up - including Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz - to work in his films, and how he's adhered religiously to the dictum of writing what you know, working as if he was just starting out, and always 'looking for the next twelve best days of my life.'

Chronicling the struggles and the long hours as well as the heady moments when months of planning and writing come to fruition, Independent Edis a must-read for movie fans, film students, and everyone who loves a gripping tale about what it takes to forge your own path in work and life.

'Every young, hungry, creative person should view this as a textbook . . . It's a how-to.' Matt Lauer, Today

''Independent Ed' is Burns' inspirational speech to filmmakers wondering how to begin, or how to keep going.' Newsday

'Mr. Burns' charm stems largely from his ability to play the nice, real guy - the sort of guy who, despite landing roles in Hollywood films like 'Saving Private Ryan,' gets excited when Al Pacino says hi to him in a restaurant.' The Wall Street Journal, Weekend Journal

'Independent Ed . . . doubles as a handbook for aspiring filmmakers who need to stay afloat in an ever-mutating business.' Metro New York

' Ed Burns prides himself on his ability to pitch, making it 'feel like I was telling a story while sitting at the bar with a beer in my hand.' Fortunately, that's also the easy tone of his memoir, which focuses on his hardscrabble moviemaking career after his initial brush with success 20 years ago.' Entertainment Weekly

'His book is an attempt to dispel some of the myth surrounding filmmaking, and to explain it's like any other craft. A unique voice, thick skin, and a deep love of the work are required . . . and while he makes clear they don't by themselves ensure success, he's used them to find his own fulfillment and to help keep the self-doubt that confronts any artist at bay.' The Week

'Chronicling the struggles and the long hours as well as the heady moments when months of planning and writing come to fruition, Independent Ed is a must-read for movie fans, film students, and everyone who loves a gripping tale about what it takes to forge your own path in work and life.' Red Carpet Crash