"This heartfelt and wry career memoir from the director of Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall, About Last Night, and Glory, creator of the show Thirtysomething, and executive producer of My So-Called Life, gives a dishy, behind-the-scenes look at working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes filmography.

Introduction: Taking note -- An origins story : Claire, Nina, Marshall, and the AFI, 1975 -- The learn-as-you-earn school of filmmaking : Family, 1978-1980 -- The year of loving dangerously : Special Bulletin and thirtysomething, 1982-1991 -- The anxiety of influence : Drawing Fire and About Last Night, 1985-1986 -- In search of glory : Glory, 1989 -- The nobility of failure : Leaving Normal, 1991 -- Julia, Harvey, and the bard : Shakespeare in Love, 1991-1998 -- The griefs of a man's life : Legends of the Fall and My So-Called Life, 1993-1994 -- Heroes : Courage Under Fire, 1996 -- Politics, pop culture, and pyrrhic victory : The Siege, 1998 -- A war won and lost : Traffic, 2000 -- If at first : Once and Again, 2000 -- Gaijin : The Last Samurai, 2003 -- The child is the jewel : Blood Diamond, 2006 -- Shadows of valiant ancestors : Defiance, 2008 -- In sickness and in health : Love & Other Drugs, 2010 -- Onward : Pawn Sacrifice, Jack Reacher, Trial by Fire, 2012-2020.