Adventures in the Screen Trade (1984) by William Goldman

William Goldman wrote such movies as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Princess Bride (1987), and Misery (1990).

He was a novelist who also wrote screenplays, rather than a screenwright. He coined the famous description of Hollywood insiders, “Nobody knows anything.”

This book’s Hollywood gossip affirms the Minor Mogul’s desire to remain small and independent, but many of the lessons and analyses (of screenwriting and of movie-making) apply not just to Hollywood but to screenwriting at any level.

Buy it at Indigo or Amazon.

Strike the Baby and Kill the Blonde (2005) by Dave Knox

Dave Knox is a Camera Operator and Cinematographer who worked on such movies as Scent of a Woman (1992), Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), and the movie version of Hamilton (2020).

This handy and humourous dictionary tells you the meanings of the terms commonly used in shooting movies. Haven’t you always wondered who the “Best Boy” is or what “ten-one” means? This book will tell you!

Buy it at Indigo or Amazon.

Making Movies (1995) by Sidney Lumet

Sidney Lumet directed such movies as Fail Safe (1964), Network (1976), and The Verdict (1982). He was praised for both his deep technical knowledge and his facility with actors.

This book is a complete film school between two covers. If you want to know how movies are made, you can do no better than this.

Buy it at Indigo or Amazon.

The Five Cs of Cinematography (1966) by Joseph V. Mascelli

Joseph V. Mascelli was Cinematographer of such movies as The Street Is My Beat (1966), The Thrill Killers (1964), and the wonderfully-titled but awful (not his fault) The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (1964).

This book is a classic, foundational text for cinematography — telling stories with moving images. He describes, articulately and with examples, the components that comprise the art and craft of cinematography: Camera, Continuity, Cutting, Close-ups, and Composition. The 2007 edition is the latest.

Buy it at Amazon.