A Killer Life

I don’t know if my opinion mean squat, but if it does, and you are as passionate about filmmaking as I am then you should be reading Christine Vachon’s new book “A Killer Life: How an Independent film producer survives deals and disasters in Hollywood and Beyond”. Vachon has been a producer on several independent films that are outstanding. They include: Boys Don’t Cry, Far from Heaven, I Shot Andy Warhol, Go Fish, Safe, One Hour Photo, Hedwig and the Angry Inch (a favorite of mine) and Infamous just to name a few. Vachon wrote her first book “Shooting to Kill” way back in 1998. In that book Vachon gives a new nonsense view on producing independent films. In A Killer Life Vachon tells us all about the nuts and bolts of filmmaking. She takes us on a tour of what a typical day is for her in her production company called aptly enough “Killer Films”. From the arguments with film financiers to Hollywood stars Vachon shows us how things really work behind the scenes of filmmaking.

I have always liked Ms Vachon’s choices of films she has produced. She works with some of Hollywood’s top-notch talent, and yet she struggles with studios on budgets & who to cast in her pictures. William Goldman once said: “Nobody knows anything in Hollywood”, and Ms Vachon’s book proves it. It’s amazing to me to see how much anyone in the industry truly does know anything about the filmmaking process. Ms Vachon’s book is a reality check on the industry, and she paints an interesting world of the entertainment industry. If you’re at all interested in the industry this book is worth picking up, and keeping. It’s one of those books you just can’t put down.