<DIV>Calling on his unique perspective as playwright, screenwriter, and director of his own critically acclaimed movies, <b>House of Games</b> and <b>Things Change</b>, David Mamet illuminates how a film comes to be. He looks at every aspect of directing?from script to cutting room?to show the many tasks directors undertake in reaching 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. <p> Based on a series of classes Mamet taught at Columbia University's film school, <b>On Directing Film</b> will be enjoyed not only by students but by anyone interested in an overview of the craft of filmmaking.</DIV>