“From Jonas Mekas’s account of the origins of the Independent movement through to the young producers and directors in the front line, Tod ferrets out the state of the art and the state of the business. David O. Russell, talking about working in LA, says the cultural ghosts are very strong there. ‘They get into your cerebellum and you don’t even realize it.” These ghosts insist on narrative resolution. Many of these New York characters are haunted by spectres too: above them, God-like, hover the figures of Scorsese and Woody Allen; and below, with the promise of fame and fortune, lurk the Brothers Weinstein. Tod has the knowledge and the scoop, his penetration is deep. I learned a lot and laughed a lot.”—John Boorman, Foreword

In 1999, I was invited by Faber and Faber editor Walter Donohue and director John Boorman to contribute a book to the imprint’s wonderful Projections series. The previous volume (Projections 10), with terrific interviews by filmmaker Mike Figgis, had focused on Los Angeles, and my proposal to Walter and John was to turn the attention to New York City and its bevy of directors, actors, screenwriters, agents, composers, studio executives, and production designers. The book, which took over a year to complete, consisted of 23 interviews I conducted with everyone from Spike Lee to Nora Ephron.