Alan J. Pakula, the director of such film classics as Klute, All the President's Men, Sophie's Choice, and Presumed Innocent (and the producer of To Kill a Mockingbird) is widely recognized as one of the finest filmmakers of the twentieth century. In addition to his achievements as director and producer, he wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for Sophie's Choice and Presumed Innocent. His death in a freak automobile accident in 1998 may have deprived filmgoers of another cinematic milestone, because he was working on a biopic about Franklin D. Roosevelt that he believed would be one of his most important films.

Pakula's remarkable insights into character stemmed, in part, from his early ambition to become a psychoanalyst. Those insights, combined with his directorial skill, helped actors such as Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Harrison Ford, Jane Fonda, Kevin Kline, Candice Bergen — all of whom were interviewed at length for this book — create memorable characterizations, several of which were recognized with various awards. Indeed, Pakula was widely praised as the consummate "actor's director."

From his early work as producer for several Broadway stage productions to his early years in Hollywood and his eventual rise to the peak of his profession, Alan J. Pakula's career is meticulously chronicled in this thorough critical biography.

Pakula's modesty and disinterest in self-promotion have resulted in a peculiar phenomenon: the man's films are widely known and admired, but the man himself is little-known to the public. To many avid filmgoers, his movies are regarded as masterpieces but his name is only vaguely known, if at all. Jared Brown's biography — the first written about Alan J. Pakula — rectifies this peculiar situation by creating a fascinating portrait of the man, based largely on interviews with his family, friends, and co-workers. Analyses of each of Pakula's films supplement and enrich the biographical material, resulting in a thoroughly researched, richly detailed, insightful, and engrossing study of a remarkable man and the extraordinary films he wrote, produced, and directed.

In this first critical biography, Brown (formerly theater arts, Illinois Wesleyan U.) examines how Pakula's films relate to this most modest of men. Although he produced To Kill a Mockingbird and directed the blockbusters Sophie's Choice and All the President's Men, Pakula chose to remain steadfastly behind the scenes, expressing his faith in characterization and his politics and social convictions through nuance. Pakula was the perfect "actor's director," as evidenced by the extended interview material Brown presents here, and he was far more interested in the art and craft of making movies than making much of himself. Brown follows Pakula from the Broadway stage, analyzing his productions, and works through each of his films as frames for his life as well as his work. Brown closes with the tantalizing fact that Pakula was working on a film about FDR at the time of his death in 1998.
Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

In this first critical biography, Brown (formerly theater arts, Illinois Wesleyan U.) examines how Pakula's films relate to this most modest of men. Although he produced To Kill a Mockingbird and directed the blockbusters Sophie's Choice and All the President's Men, Pakula chose to remain steadfastly behind the scenes, expressing his faith in characterization and his politics and social convictions through nuance. Pakula was the perfect "actor's director," as evidenced by the extended interview material Brown presents here, and he was far more interested in the art and craft of making movies than making much of himself. Brown follows Pakula from the Broadway stage, analyzing his productions, and works through each of his films as frames for his life as well as his work. Brown closes with the tantalizing fact that Pakula was working on a film about FDR at the time of his death in 1998. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"A workmanlike study of a workmanlike filmmaker....Like Pakula's films, Brown's biography is specific, carefully assembled and straightforward, but also sometimes tepid and flatly written." Kirkus Reviews

"It could be argued that the most important element of any showbiz biography is that turning point where the ordinary fellow nudges his way through Hollywood's door, and it is here that the density of the book pays off." Variety

The first biography of the legendary filmmaker includes interviews with Harrison Ford, Lauren Bacall, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Kevin Kline, Candice Bergen, Donald Sutherland, and over 30 other film celebrities.

To Kill a Mockingbird, All the President's Men, Sophie's Choice, Presumed Innocent. Alan J. Pakula was the creative force behind these great films and dozens more. Here at last is the definitive biography of this great film genius, based on interviews with more than forty friends, and unrestricted access to Pakula's own family and archives. Born in the Bronx, destined to take over the family printing business, Pakula instead began writing and acting in plays as a teenager and moved to Hollywood in the 1950s. Artistically driven, boundlessly inventive, hugely influential, Pakula has left an enduring film legacy.

Foreward by Harrison Ford.

Featuring interviews with Harrison Ford, Lauren Becall, Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Kevin Kline, Candice Bergen, Donald Sutherland, and over 30 other film celebrities.

For me, Alan Pakula was one of the great American filmmakers, but if you look at his films, they look so simple. The camera is not doing back--flips and he's not afraid to hold a shot. You can argue that if you do your work really well, no one should notice.

--Todd Field, director of In the Bedroom

To Kill a Mockingbird. Klute. All the President's Men. Sophie's Choice. Presumed Innocent. Alan J. Pakula was the creative force behind these great films and dozens more. Here at last is the definitive biography of this film genius, based on interviews with more than 40 friends, including Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, and Meryl Streep, and unrestricted access to Pakula's own family and archives. Born in the Bronx, destined to take over the family printing business, Pakula instead began writing and acting in plays as a teenager and moved to Hollywood in the 1950s. Artistically driven, boundlessly inventive, hugely influential, Pakula has left an enduring film legacy.

- Three-time Academy Award-winning water/director/producer

- Interviews with Harrison Ford, Laurne Bacall, Meryl Street, Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Kevin Kline, Candice Bergen, Donald Sutherland, and over 30 other film celebrities

- More than 25 never-before-published photos of Pakula from his family

Jared Brown, former chair of the School of Theatre Arts at Illinois Wesleyan University, is the author of the highly acclaimed Zero Mostel: A Biography, The Fabulous Lunts, and Theatre in America During the Revolution, as well as numerous plays and essays. He lives in Bloomington, IL.