Dwight Little’s Hollywood career includes directing and producing major motion pictures for multiple studios, acclaimed television series and even video games. In this memoir, he takes readers along on a movie-making adventure that is by turns funny and brutally honest. There are many on-set interactions with well-known producers and stars along with detailed descriptions of film shoots from the wilds of India to the banks of the River Kwai. Included are tales from the jails of Madrid to the jungles of Fiji and the cold war streets of Budapest. The work seamlessly connects the Golden Age of Hollywood to the highly successful premium television of today.
Make or break creative battles, Hollywood intrigues, unpredictable studio executives, and temperamental actors are all documented in colorful detail. Whether the reader is an aspiring filmmaker or just a movie lover, this book has it all, including a unique insight into television directing in the new streaming age.

DGA member Dwight Little has directed studio movies for Warner Brothers, 20th Century–Fox, Columbia Pictures, and many independent movies. He has also directed three television movies and 90 hours of Network Television. He lives in Bell Canyon, California.

Dwight Little
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 234
Bibliographic Info: 41 photos, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9129-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4956-6
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
Part 1. Movies 3
One. Welcome to the Hotel California 5
Two. Follow the Money 26
Three. Into the Great Wide Open 47
Four. It’s Not Your Fault But It Is Your Problem 71
Five. A Game of Thrones 90
Six. Three Strikes and You’re Out 115
Part 2. Television 141
Seven. The Writer’s Revenge 143
Eight. Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen 163
Nine. It’s Always Personal 183
Ten. The Long and Winding Road 194
Epilogue 212
Index 221

• “Dwight Little had done the near-impossible—sustained a decades-long career as a director. In this funny, revealing, generous book, Dwight tells us how he did it—including insights on how to get movie and TV stars to think your ideas are their ideas, when to favor personal loyalty over personal advancement (and when not to!), how to turn disaster into opportunity, how to make a gigantic train look like it’s moving when it’s not, and how to know when your goose is (temporarily) cooked.”—Hart Hanson, creator and showrunner of Bones

• “Dwight has a very specific way of approaching story telling. He is one of my favorite directors that I trust will help me find the character and performance. This book details his approach to the business and I highly recommend it to all aspiring directors.”—Robert Patrick, Saturn Award winner, best known for portraying the iconic villain, T-1000, in Terminator 2

• “Excellent. An honest and engrossing fly on the wall account of the Director’s journey…the highs and lows memorably realized.”—Lauren Donner, producer, X-Men, Logan, and Deadpool

• “Get [the book]… Little aptly illuminates the ‘competitive’ nature of the entertainment industry, providing behind-the-scenes looks at everything being a director entails. …[a] tautly written memoir…an upbeat chronicle of one man practicing his beloved craft. …a wonderful array of on-set photos. … A revealing, wholly absorbing spotlight on an unforgiving but seductive profession.”—Kirkus Reviews