Director's Cut: My Life in Film

Description

Raised in the slums of Toronto during the Depression, Ted Kotcheff learned storytelling on the streets before taking a stagehand job at CBC. Discovering his skills with actors and production, Kotcheff went on to direct some of the greatest films of the 1970s, including The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Wake in Fright and North Dallas Forty. After directing '80s blockbusters First Blood and Weekend at Bernie's, Kotcheff helped produce the groundbreaking TV show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Witty and fearless, Director's Cut is not just a memoir, but a close-up on life and craft.

Ted Kotcheff resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Laifun. Josh Young is the co-author of five New York Times bestsellers, including books by Howie Mandel, Bob Newhart, and Jim Belushi. Mariska Hargitay is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning actor, producer, and director.

"I love the book. Clear, concise, full of fun and deceptively brilliant: in among the show business anecdotes is buried a real procedural on the art of directing." -- George Segal, Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winning actor "It is a fascinating, startling thing to look over the films Ted has made and realize that he never met a genre he couldn't conquer. He deserves to be considered as only a very few are: Spielberg and ... the mind goes blank, because no one other than Steven has successfully ventured into such different terrain, created such a varied body of work, much like his idol Billy Wilder. Ted gave me a shot at the life I wanted; he handed me the greatest role I ever imagined, he set my life on a course that I had only dreamed of, I adored and adore him. I only regret we worked on only one film instead of ten." -- Richard Dreyfuss, Academy Award winning actor "With the pluck of a Dead End Kid? and? the insatiable curiosity of a renaissance man, Ted Kotcheff takes us on his lifelong quest to find himself, love, and his art. A great read." -- Christopher Meloni, Emmy-nominated actor "It was an easy and enjoyable read which I would definitely read again ... I would recommend Director's Cut to film enthusiasts and any want-to-be or up-and-coming directors or producers." -- Uncovered Books blog "Ted Kotcheff's new book is at once a deeply felt tale of family and ethnicity and a thoughtful and sometimes hilarious memoir of show business war stories spanning Toronto, London, and Hollywood. It delivers on all levels." -- Peter Bart, former Variety editor-in-chief and author of Boffo: Hollywood in the Trenches