Still Rolling by Dwight H. Little.

A look on filmography of director Dwight H. Little is already makes to see it as unusual. No less his written an autobiographic book is full of such adventures behind the camera if they were so.

But facts in that this man directed one of early legendary movies with Steven Seagal and he is of very few flickmakers who had opportunity to make movie with Brandon Lee. Little brings charming and objective experiences on working with these action legends. Whereas his book is telling on a constant struggle of a director who didn’t become wide-famous. That’s a story of a man who luckily entered into low-budget productions from there he could make a breakthrough to studio filing in which he wasn’t successful long, a forced movement to television and find place in independence on a current moment. Little writes on burden of a film director which in that a person becomes typecast due to a staged good flick in one genre. He speaks meticulously on working day in making films and what it is to be a director. Still Rolling is an inner kitchen of moviemaking. From filming process to premiere. There Little shares his experience and advices. A book’s incredible is that it’s from a perspective of not successful director because there you can see a full reality of American cinema as that his meetings with studio administrations. Little tells how American cinema works. The director is detailed and discloses difference on filming process in a big studio, series, TV films and independent.

A filmmaker is masterful in writing the word and his structure is a creative excellence. He begins his book with direct entering into his career and makes flashbacks which sometimes reflect a situation on his current telling.

I was tantalized by his respective adventures in third countries in low-budget making and production of Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid. Same, as well, to telling of how works television where Little shares same magnificent stories (though characterized process reminds why I can’t watch series because their repetitiveness of plot structure, no life in act and soap opera conceptions themselves) and his dealing with show’s stars and how they behave when he was invited in late seasons. There I loved how Peter Weller put on place Kiefer Sutherland and found funny to recognize on reaction of people when they have been informed about show closure.

Little also walks aside for reasoning on outside things which mostly about cinema. A grandiose piece of how he described Los Angeles history through films. His view on screen test is lovable. The director makes an insinuation on nonsense of political correctness as his saying on those who like and those who call “racist” Marked for Death. Another likeable moment was in comparison with world’s other movie industries though it was a glimpse, which was in experience with Laszlo Kovacs. Still Rolling is a discovery on see Wesley Snipes in fame. And Little brings treasure by telling on not heard before movie projects. I desire to know more on his vision of Broken Arrow. Certainly, I loved to recognize on Eva Marie Saint and Sidney Poitier behind camera who are no less of high class in reality.

Little thinks that only a director must decide with a script in what he is right if a scriptwriter didn’t make his plot for hire. Sometimes he doesn’t call names of people which are men who didn’t succeed in something. Maybe, it has a personal and I don’t critique him here. While his writing becomes chaotic and messed in chronology to the end. No point in these structural changes because they don’t create drama if an author intended it. Sometimes his stories are unfinished or I didn’t understand his thoughts. His uses words in incorrect sense as when he called himself as “luddite” and that his directed video game became a “Trojan horse” for getting work in Free Willy 2. Little confuses about anecdote of Touch of Evil because that was with The Lady from Shanghai. He commits different mistakes in writing Tzi Ma’s name two times. He was supposed to check that Darren McGavin didn’t act in The Great Train Robbery, he performed in Brinks: The Great Robbery. And somewhere I would wish that Little put anecdotes on what he said in interviews as how he convinced Seagal that they’re doing French Connection and his work with Brandon Lee but it doesn’t important.

I had a doubt more than once on credibility of his told and a feeling that he doesn’t tell everything. At least, I know he didn’t write a script of Broken Arrow as claims. A flickmaker writes that his documentary, which a title wasn’t given, won Emmy. I didn’t see it in his awards. Later, he mentions this thing again. Reasonably, it would make more influence on his career and he likely could create own series but Little silent and text reads that there was no Emmy.

Little constantly tells on how he is an influential on set by regulating conflicts and always says on decision to make on a show a shot which could cost his job but it led to success. He considers for achievement as only a non-Hispanic director on From Dusk Till Dawn while Little isn’t correct or lies. The credits of series reveal that there also a man from London and other from Reykjavik. He writes on “surprisingly good reviews” on Anacondas what isn’t exact. Last Rampage hadn’t only rave reviews is a similar belief of the director. Little in his box-office failures always blames other released movie. His absurdity in “excuses” comes to giving such guilt to Babe, which couldn’t mess up Free Willy – 2, because it was released two weeks later. The filmmaker deepens himself into vanity by writing, “Many gamers, designers and marketing gurus have come up to me over the years to say how much Ground Zero Texas had informed how they thought about first-person shooter games. Call of Duty, Halo, Grand Theft Auto, these are the descendants of Ground Zero Texas.” He staged a FMV game, which didn’t make anything groundbreaking and it couldn’t contribute to appearance of mentioned franchises. A genre itself, let me remind, was a big obvious misfire in the gaming. The director indulges himself by presenting the unique achievements which aren’t special. He doesn’t write anything only about adaptation of Tekken, which is his the biggest failure. It’s 30 million dollar movie took 1,6 million dollar in box-office and was slammed by critics and auditorium. Alas, I wished on his strokes about production of this movie.

Little presents as naïve many times from his beginning claim that after school you fast find out on pay for gas, food, phone and house every month and nobody cares on you artistic searching. Did he live in palace before finishing university? I wouldn’t mention this fact, because people don’t born with vast experience and somebody can don’t see obvious in that age but the moviemaker will speak on behalf of mankind many times. He was in variable parts of the world where people have other visions and the director describes about them and, furthermore, they contradict to his thoughts for humanity.

The director was supposed to guess on hearing that Don Johnson was rude on Nash Bridges was could be from the people who came in late seasons while he directed episodes of a first and it became only season of Just Legal. He isn’t mature on claiming that nobody in film industries compares staged alike on TV. His one more levity is believing in a theory that 10000 hours of practice will make you a master.

Certainly, there was no necessity to mention that GPS didn’t exist when he described a childhood’s story.

I wouldn’t regret if paid for this book and I’m glad that I didn’t give money. Though Little tries to be an objective but flops in this. Nevertheless, it’s an informative book about inside and being a filmmaker.