Film School: The Book

So, I just read "FILM SCHOOL: The True Story of a Midwestern Family Man Who Went to the World's Most Famous Film School, Fell Flat on His Face, Had a Stroke, and Sold a Television Series to CBS." By Steve Boman the concept developer for Three Rivers (which I have admittedly never seen, but now plan to).

I read it while soaking in a warm bath, trying heat my frozen toes from the world's coldest house sitting gig ever. Actors may have to foot their bills waitressing, we film-makers have to get equally creative at times. It's a sweet deal, really. Two weeks of private time in a nice condo with an (occasionally over-friendly) dog and a stock-pile of snack-food. The problem is, it's snowing in Febuary and it's about as cold in here as it is out there. Seriously, it's so damn cold. Also the internet is a cord-hookup dealeo, so I'm restricted to the single most frigid corner of the apartment in order to work. I'm rarely seen wearing anything but shorts, particularly under blankets, but hard times call for desperate measures. I'm even wearing socks and those that know me will recognize what an event that is.

So nightly before bed I've been taking a long bath to prevent frostbite in my toes, which burn like fire when I submerge them in the room tempurature bathwater. I'm pretty sure that's a bad sign.

I've been enjoying "Film School" while I heat up though. It's entertaining and a quick narrative about the true struggles of a 40-something Dad trying to make it through life at USC with fellow students no older than half his age.

This may be an exaggeration of how it actually happened.

All in all it's extremely fun, and well worth the read for anyone who's pursuing a dream that's perhaps a little bit zany given their life situation. What Steve does is crazy, unheard of, and a little bit terrifying for those of us who understand the implications. He basically puts all of his eggs in one basket, risking his families financial status on a crazy dream, but hey! It worked! That's the general tone of the book. It manages to push the work, stress, chaos and insanity of spending well beyond one's life savings for a school deal that, more often or not, doesn't go anywhere. But occasional, it does, and when it does, the success can be short-lived but pretty damn sweet.

In a film perspective it's not terribly meaty. It's got a bit about the things he learned and the aspects of filmmaking with which he struggled but not much about the actual mechanics thereof. I'd suggest it highly to anyone on the verge of going to film school, considering filmschool or particularly if they were looking at USC, arguably one of the best film schools in the world, as it gives a very nice layout of what's expected and what to expect, as well as a good number of the do's and don'ts (many of which Steve breaks from film 1).

The overall message is useful for anyone interested in film, or anyone considering doing something crazy. It's a lot of work, and it takes a lot of, even insane levels of passion and dedication to get through it. But there's a chance that it might work out, and that's pretty cool.