John Badham's "I'll Be in My Trailer: The Creative Way Between Directors and Actors", is a book every film maker should own. "I'll Be in My Trailer" was published in 2006. I came across the book when one of my teachers used it as a text book for my 'Directing With Actors' class at the Art Institute. This is one of the few text books that most students don't sell back after finals. In this book, film director John Badham discusses first hand directorial experiences including the bridge scene in "Saturday Night Fever". When John Travolta showed up for that scene, Badham had already filmed Travolta's stunt double crawling across a bridge to stop a friend from jumping. The stunt double had already gone home for the day but Travolta told Badham that his character would never crawl. After much heated discussion, Travolta told Badham, "I'll Be in My Trailer". Badham ended up filming the scene with Travolta walking and had to correct the continuity errors in post production.

"I'll Be in My Trailer" also includes interviews with other directors including John Frankenheimer discussing how Frank Sinatra's insisted on completing his performances in just one take on the set of "The Manchurian Candidate". Francis Ford Coppola also talks about living out every director's worst nightmare when he was directing "Apocalypse Now". If you're an actor, this book is especially useful because you get to read about actors being directed including Jenna Elfman, Dennis Haysbert, Michael Caine, Betty Thomas, and Martin Sheen.

Badham defines the language directors use when speaking with actors as "Actor-Speak". Otherwise, directors need to realize that actors are human beings whether they are multimillionaires or amateurs. It seems that there has to be a certain level of sensitivity when offering constructive criticism to the actor because a lot of actors tend to be very sensitive. Providing a healthy and comfortable environment is also essential. Being what Badham refers to as a "Stealth Director", or a passive aggressive director, creates a distance between the director and actor. That sounds like a shot in the foot for the director because if the actor doesn't remember their director on a certain project, how can the director's reputation flourish? Actors often mention in DVD interviews about certain directors making an impression on them. The more aggressive directors are Badham refers to as "War Horses". If I ever decided to be a director, I'd like to be in the middle ground between the "Stealth" and the "War Horse". Even though I've only done stage acting and directing, I can still see it from both sides. I would want to create an environment where I'm working with my actors and they are comfortable asking me for help.

Even if you don't want to direct or act, buy this book. A cinematographer or assistant director would also benefit from reading this book because they also work on the set when the actors are present. Being that I want to be an editor, I still have that actor inside that wants to come out and play every now and then. Directing a huge production sounds like the challenge of all challenges but I'm sure I would get some kind of satisfaction out of it. After all, the first line in the book is, "Making a movie can be a first-class blast most days." Find out what he says next when you buy it!

"HVR-V1P Front" courtesy Jaymis via Flickr Creative Commons