Don Coscarelli is a name I’ve heard of plenty, but his movies are basically a blank to me because I can’t stand the horror genre. The main reason I picked up this book was Bubba Ho-Tep, and having read Bruce Campbell’s version of events, it was fascinating to see it from the other side, so to speak.
This is one of those rare books where you feel like you’re sitting with the author, listening to his stories over lunch, much the way he describes meeting filmmakers when he was young, name-dropping Coppola, Cage, and most importantly Trumbull. It’s just fun, especially if you have any interest in how movies are made. All the more exciting when it’s low budget; gives young filmmakers hope. But at the end he cautions that things are harder than ever for indies, even though production costs have plummeted.
Lots of fun fascinating stories, but ends with the death of one of the main actors.

I've been a fan of Don Coscarelli and his films since I was a pre-teen, so no way was I going to pass up a chance to read this book! Plus, the only memoirs that interest me are in the entertainment field, so this was right up my alley. Fun and insightful, I now have an even bigger appreciation for this director. I'm definitely recommending this one to horror and entertainment fans.

“Making a no-budget indie film is like going to war. But you’re not General MacArthur storming the beaches with a force of a hundred thousand soldiers. Instead, you’re more like a small squad of Vietcong guerillas behind enemy lines, trying to complete an impossible mission using guile and your wits, the odds stacked against you. It’s risky, difficult, and dangerous. I can swear to it. I’ve been there.” from the prologue of True Indie.

Beginning with a middle school film called The Fish Movie, the author’s life was filled with dreams of filming Hollywood blockbusters. Borrowing money from his father at 18 to make his first feature film, Coscarelli sells it to Universal Studios for a cool quarter million dollars. Turning down a seven-year contract at Universal and previewing his first feature, Story of a Teenager, the same week as the blockbuster Jaws debuted brought his studio career to a swift end. He was 20 years old.

If you have any interest in film, this memoir is a fabulous backstage look at the process. It is also a great look at someone realizing his childhood dream. The writing style is excellent. It feels like your middle-aged neighbor is talking about his long-ago exploits. There are plenty of secrets from Coscarelli’s films. You can’t ask more from a Hollywood memoir than the story of a True Indie. 5 stars!

Now I just need to watch Phantasm again to truly appreciate the difficulties of filming on the down low with no budget. Okay, I’m back. The author was listed in the credits as the writer, director, cinematographer and editor. His dad was the producer. Talk about True Indie! It was a much better experience watching the movie knowing some of the filming challenges. On to my favorite film by the author, John Dies at the End.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance copy.

Headline : An Insight Into Indie Film-making
Stars : 5
I’m not a horror film buff and came to this book fearing it would be some trashy exploitation venture that I would not enjoy. The complete opposite was the case.
Don Coscarelli communicates his love for film and the people around him extremely well. In general terms it is a great exposition of the benefits of teamwork and of making the workplace a fun place to be. Surrounding oneself with others willing to go that extra mile is key.
It was also good to hear tales of others in the movie business being, in the main, pretty grounded and similarly passionate about film.
William Goldman’s adage however that “Nobody knows anything….” was certainly borne out in Coscarelli’s tale. Time and again major companies clearly were not attuned to market demand.
Well worth a read….
This book was provided as an advance copy by the publisher in return for an honest review.
Note :
The above review was posted on Amazon on 2 October 2018.

An excellent behind the scenes look at Don Coscarelli's career. A book like this needs all of the inside details about making the films and the process of even getting to a first day's shooting, and Mr. Coscarelli provides this in great depth. I really enjoyed the book, and am disappointed we never saw his version of Silver Bullet.

Most movie fans are familiar with the product that comes directly from Hollywood, funded and created by a board of directors and built from research firms that look to find the lowest common denominator that audiences are looking for. Because of that movies today just aren’t quite what they once were. The creativity is lacking as evidenced by the number of sequels, prequels, reboots and based on TV series films being made. But there was a time when independent films made a major impact, a time when those movies would play at theaters and drive-ins around the country. And one name that stands out among those who let their creative juices flow in the making of independent films was Don Coscarelli.

You may not be familiar with the name but you are with at least one series of films and one other movie he made. THE BEASTMASTER didn’t break box office records but it became a perennial hit on cable and spawned a TV series. But its most like you know Coscarelli from his film PHANTASM and its many sequels. Coscarelli has now written this book describing the trials and tribulations of making your own movies as an independent.

Rather than go into minute details with images of budgets and the like he instead describes the process he’s had to go through over the years to get the movies he wanted to make done. And it isn’t just about getting the financing though that is important. It’s about learning how to use a camera, where not to stand when directing, the need for a solid script and more. The book is not a step by step document of how to accomplish these things but more of a telling of his life’s adventure making movies from a first-hand perspective mentioning the different things he came up against.

In many incidents Coscarelli not only put his creativity on the line he put his life and his life savings on the line. Fortunately for us all he came through it battle scarred but surviving. And along the way he provided us all with some amazing movies that we’ve enjoyed over and over again.

Looking back I was stunned to realize that Coscarelli has only directed 13 movies according to imdb. Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised that studios have overlooked the creative genius behind the movies he’s made but it still surprises me. Then again the studio system is one where creativity is looked down upon and the options are either mob rule of maniacal oversight by someone who isn’t bold enough to make their own movie but egotistical enough to tell everyone what they want from the movies they’re making even if it doesn’t fit the original theme.

I’m glad to see Coscarelli still kicking around and enjoying life. I’m glad he got to make what is supposed to be the final chapter in the PHANTASM series of films. And I’m glad he got to share his life story with us in this book. Movie fans will enjoy it, PHANTASM fans will love it and those who appreciate the work that people like Coscarelli has done over the years will find this a book to add to their collection.

Growing up watching The Beastmaster and Phantasm, Coscarelli's always been a favorite director of mine, and this book not only details his nigh-unbelievable path into the director's chair, but the array of simply incredible events and coincidences he's been witness to (and victim of) in Hollywood. Through his recollection of these episodes are we shown how he's become the scrappy and underappreciated filmmaker that he is.

Structured and chopped up into small sections for your reading leisure, Coscarelli starts at his childhood, recalls his rubbing elbows with feared executives on the Universal lot, being a cavalier director and learning things the hard way, becoming big in Japan, opening against Jaws and soon creating his own horror classic, the calamities on and off of the set of The Beastmaster...the list goes on. The man's been ingrained in the movie business for a long time, and he has a hell of a few things to talk about. It's worth listening to.

Surely few directors have been saddled with the bad luck that Don Coscarelli has had over the course of his career. Companies going under at the wrong moments, flirtations with big projects that don't work out due to short-sighted big-wigs, contractual impasses, etc. all litter his various project delays or dismissals; all of the while, however, his oeuvre is proof that his love for creating art and his sheer tenacity must be unbreakable.

Great reading for lovers of film or for those who want an inside look at someone that's lived one great example of an interesting life (it's rife with exclamatory moments and chance encounters). If you're not a fan of his films, flip through these pages. Give it a shot. You might find yourself converted, or at least harboring a new appreciation.

His tribute at the end of the book to the late, great Angus Scrimm is simply phenomenal.

It's everything that I hoped it would be and much, much more. I already admired Coscarelli greatly; True Indie simply rockets said admiration up to new heights.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance read.