Directing is an art form that is one of the foundations for telling stories. It deals with compromise, staying calm, creative and focused while confusion and imposing deadlines materialize limitations. It requires a love for actors and being their pal, confidant and trusted best friend. It demands an understanding of the human condition and knowledge to communicate it visually to affect an audience. It is not just what someone learns in a film school program but also what someone needs to know, feel, and understand about the practical side of telling stories. Myrl Schreibman’s The Film Director Prepares does exactly that and more. Schreibman has been there as a director and producer and educator. While there are many books written about directing, only one is able to provide practical directing wisdom. And this is it! No doubt it will be the canon of film directing books for years to come.

—Maggie Murphy, President, Kiefer Sutherland Productions

Myrl Schreibman makes a giant leap forward in the world of “how to” books for directors. While lovingly acknowledging and supporting the creative process that all directors must have and use to realize their visions, he also bluntly and necessarily introduces the real-world problems and shows you how to deal with the challenges that can conspire to crush these visions: producers, studios, budgets, etc. He gently reminds us that the “business” and the “art” are inextricably linked and that that knowledge can only help the visionary director get his project made.

—Phillip Charles MacKenzie, Cable Ace Award-winning director

What’s a director do, you ask? Read Myrl Schreibman’s The Film Director Prepares and you’ll never ask that question again. So concise! Schreibman’s book covers it all—from the importance of fully understanding the text, through pre-visualization, to the motivation behind still shots and shots that move. Every director, no matter the level of experience, will get something fresh from this thorough, nicely written text. The Table of Contents alone is impressive. The section on understanding actors and the chapter on “Directing the Actor” are essential reading for any good director/actor relationship. The read is deceptively simple. And Schreibman takes the complex work of a director and breaks it down into a thoroughly readable text.

—A.P. Gonzalez, Award-winning writer/director

Myrl Schreibman is one of the people who gave me the encouragement and confidence to go out there and direct films. He was a true inspiration while I was a graduate film student at UCLA. This book proves to be a breath of fresh air as the mysteries of directing a film are clearly explained from a very down-to-earth perspective. They’re the same professional techniques and directing precepts that he taught me. I use them in both my fiction and documentary work.

—William Tyler Smith, Writer/Director, Kiss Me Again; Director, Imagine a School: Summerhill (Documentary)