From his perspective as playwright, screenwriter and director of his own films House of Games and Things Change, David Mamet provides insights into how a film comes to be. He looks at every aspect from directing - from script to cutting room - to reveal the many tasks directors undertake in researching their prime objective: presenting a story that will be understood by the audience and has the power to be both surprising and inevitable at the same time. This book is based on a series of classes Mamet taught at Columbia University.