Michel Gondry: You'll Like This Film Because You're In It (Picturebox Books)

A how-to book from a famed director! This little paperback by Michel Gondry was inspired by his latest film, Be Kind Rewind. The movie stars Jack Black and Mos Def as two friends who enact lo-fi versions of popular Hollywood films such as Ghostbusters or Robocop and offer them for rental. They call this reappropriative and participatory practice "sweding," which is to say, "putting you into the things you like." At New York's Deitch Projects, in February and March of 2008, Gondry emulated the heroic example of his characters, constructing a do-it-yourself film studio in which any visitor could assemble their own film from extant plot summaries and rent the results. His aim: "I intend to prove that people can enjoy their time without being part of the commercial system and serving it... Ultimately, I am hoping to create a network of creativity and communication that is guaranteed to be free and independent from any commercial institution." This book chronicles those films in photographs and drawings, and in texts discussing the ideas behind Gondry's "Cinema Club." It also serves as an inspirational guide to independent film making. Edited and art directed by Gondry himself, this book is as unique, funny and fanciful as his films.