Money into Light: A Diary

by John Boorman

Boorman, John. Money into The Emerald Forest A Diary. London / Boston, Faber & Faber, 1985. 13.5 cm x 21 cm. XIII, 241 pages with illustrations. Original softcover. Very good condition with minor signs of external wear. Back cover clipped on bottom left hand corner. Writing on title page. Clean inside. 'Film-making is an agonizing struggle. It is in itself a quest for truths, for understanding.' John Boorman. June 1982 John Boorman, director of Deliverance and Excalibur arrives in Los Angeles to raise finance for a film based on a newpaper account of a young American boy who was kidnapped by Brazilian Indian and whose father spent ten years searching for his lost child. March 1985. The film, The Emerald Forest , is sneaking previewed to audiences in Dallas and San Diego. This Diary chronicles the three-year journey John Boorman undertook to make this film. This quest took into the tangled, but fascinating, jungle of Hollywood (its studios, lawyers, financiers), involved him in the complex manoeuvrings that went on within England's Goldcrest organization, and sent him on a journey through the rain forest and rivers of Brazil. (Publisher).

Genres: Nonfiction, Film

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

John Boorman is an English filmmaker who is a long time resident of Ireland and is best known for his feature films such as Point Blank, Deliverance, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory, The General and The Tailor of Panama.

Reviews

[Mark H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was impressed by the movie and even more impressed by how it was all achieved.

I’ve read many ‘making of’ movie books, but still learned more about the process that was new to me. And there were so many agonising twists and turns in getting this production okayed, before the cameras even started rolling.

Boorman often mentions interesting moments from the making of his earlier films, all of which deserve their own ‘making of’ books.

But I was disappointed that a large chunk of the filming wasn’t talked about. Understandably though, as he was too tired and stressed to keep up his journal. But it was the section I most wanted to read about. How the scenes were shot, and their circumstances.

An exciting read, and a rare, thorough, honest account of the financial dealings to get a project greenlit.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding book, I thought. John Boorman writes about his experiences filming his remarkable 1985 movie "The Emerald Forest." The movie explores all of the themes you could possibly imagine surrounding the building of a large dam in the Amazon rainforest. This book is in the form of a diary, which details Boorman's experiences during the filming, a lot of it on location.

The title comes from the reaction of one of the local Indians involved in the making of the movie. It is his understanding of what Boorman is doing!

[Scott Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastically detailed journal of the movie-making and funding process circa 1984. Boorman is a poetic and mythical minded director in the grand tradition of British structuralists. This breakdown of an epic project from the last days of great movie-making is awe-inspiring. The book is also a lovely insight into the life and economy of Brazil from the same period.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read tens of books about moviemaking and this is perhaps one of the top three.