You're the Director... You Figure It Out: The Life and Films of Richard Donner

by James Christie, Mel Gibson (Foreword)

Richard Donner is one of Hollywood's most important filmmakers, the driving force behind iconic hits The Omen, Superman, The Goonies, and the Lethal Weapon series. His films - which have grossed billions of dollars at the box-office - touch generations of moviegoers, yet little is known about the man responsible for their success. In the only authorized biography, author James Christie charts Donner's transformation from wayward New York youth to Hollywood hotshot, revealing a power generator personality every bit as large as his blockbuster movies. Based on extensive interviews with Richard Donner, his friends, family members, and many of those who have worked with and for the filmmaker, You're the Director... You figure it out goes behind the scenes on butting heads with Steve McQueen, sidestepping Marlon Brando's eccentricities, exploring the secrets of these and other big screen collaborations with Gregory Peck, Richard Pryor, Jackie Gleason, Mel Gibson, Bill Murray, Jodie Foster, Sylvester Stallone, Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, and many more.

Genres: Film, Media Tie In, Biography

406 pages, Paperback

First published October 14, 2010

Reviews

[Russell Delmet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of the best show business biographies I've ever read. The author gives us an excellent picture of Richard Donner's early life, background and influences, as well as a very tangible sense of his personality and the effect he has on others. The personal details are laid out in a natural and effective way, interspersed where appropriate amongst the developments of the subject's professional life. The latter are where James Christie really shines. Every film of Donner's career is lovingly examined, not just the production history, but in artistic terms: what each movie is about, what attracted the director to the project, the strengths of the performances, the music, how the cast and crew interacted and even how the creative people involved ultimately felt about the final product. All endlessly fascinating details to a film lover like myself. I thought Christie's dividing of the book into chapters based on the eras of Donner's film career was surprisingly magnanimous; as many pages were dedicated to much lesser-known features like Inside Moves, Assassins and 16 Blocks as were spent on the really monumental successes like The Omen, Superman, The Goonies and the Lethal Weapon series. As a great fan of some of these movies, I was looking forward to learning the stories behind them, but never expected the narrative to be handled so skillfully. I've always considered Richard Donner one of the greatest directors in the history of the movies and I came away from this biography with an even stronger appreciation of the man and his work. This is truly a book about art, written by someone who understands and loves the subject.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining from start to finish!

I’ve seen a few Richard Donner films but I really knew nothing about him before this book. It’s an absolutely brilliant biography.

There are some truly heartbreaking moments in the book, but overall this is a story that really lifts the spirits. The anecdotes in this book are hilarious and it’s great to read about a down-to-earth, funny, loving guy who works hard and looks after others.