It's a Wrap! Andrew Laszlo, ASC $23.96

IT's a Wrap! ISBN No.: 0-935578-23-4. 197 pages. Cinematographer and author Andrew Laszlo, ASC now puts pen to paper to reveal tantalizing tales as only he can. Laszlo takes readers behind the scenes on a variety of projects he himself was involved in, to illustrate how unforeseen events can impact even the most carefully planned production. From a secret trip to Havana with Ed Sullivan during the Cuban Revolution, to near disasters involving The Beatles, Ossie Davis and Richard Chamberlain, It's A Wrap! gives an insider's view of the filmmaking process and sheds light on the inherent dangers of the industry. There are, to paraphrase a familiar axiom, millions of stories in the imagination factory that is Hollywood. In the world of filmmaking, it's generally acknowledged that the best stories don't always end up on the screen. Cinematographer and author Andrew Laszlo, ASC has long recognized that fact and now puts pen to paper to reveal some of those tantalizing tales as only he can. With his latest entry, It's A Wrap!, Laszlo takes readers behind the scenes on a variety of projects he himself was involved in, to illustrate how unforeseen events can impact even the most carefully planned production. From a secret trip to Havana with Ed Sullivan during the Cuban Revolution, to near disasters involving The Beatles, Ossie Davis and Richard Chamberlain, It's A Wrap! gives an insider's view of the filmmaking process and sheds light on the inherent dangers of the industry. Through straight-forward commentary and insightful deconstruction of these events, Laszlo invites his readers into the world of filmmaking as it has never been discussed before. To do so, he strips away "the glamour and the dirt" to reveal the lives of cast and crew on location, the long and arduous days, the pressures, the constant demands of unforeseen problems, the personalities, the egos, the politics and more. Focusing on the action behind the scenes, Laszlo hopes to mine new territory and open the door for those with a genuine interest in the filmmaking process. "The memories of certain events associated with films I shot are so vivid still in my memory that I often talk about them," says Laszlo. "And whenever I do, I sense the interest of my listeners. In fact, during my lecture series for Kodak, I often tell 'War Stories,' which are generally the most popular portions of my lecturers. Compiling a few of these stories in greater detail, I hope will be appealing to readers with an interest in filmmaking, or just movies in general." Andrew Laszlo's career in film and television spans nearly fifty years. He has traveled extensively throughout the world and accumulated close to forty major feature films, and an equally large number of major television, credits. He is a member of The American Society of Cinematographers, The International Cinematographers Guild, The Directors Guild of America, The Motion Picture Academy and has served two terms as a Governor of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. As an author, he has written numerous articles in most of the leading industry publications, as well as the books, Footnote To History, an autobiographical account of his childhood, growing up in Europe during WWII, and surviving the Holocaust, Every Frame A Rembrandt a comprehensive study of the making of five of his feature films, and the novel, The Seven Graces Of God. His second novel, The Rat Catcher, is also scheduled for release in 2004.