Getting Away With It: Or: The Further Adventures of the Luckiest Bastard You Ever Saw Paperback – November 1, 2000

I confess I am not very interested in Soderbergh as a director, so I skipped the approximately 50% of this book describing his own adventures in the movie business. However, the interview sections with director Richard Lester are absolutely fascinating. Lester is such a smart guy, and some of his movies (Petulia, especially, but also The Bed-Sitting Room) are amazingly ambitious. Even A Hard Day's Night still stands up very well to multiple viewing. So why did he stop making movies? Because he tried A, he tried B, he tried C, and eventually he gave up. A fascinating but rather sad story.

EXCELLENT DP BUT FAR MORE ENJOYED SOME OF THE FILMS HE SHOT AND OTHERS HE DIRECTED.

This book is great for beginning filmmakers and fans of Soderbergh. Interesting tidbits and observations from two captivating filmmakers. It's also hilarious much of the time.

Some amusing anecdotes and worth the read, if you're a soderbergh fan. the behind the scenes information is what i find truly enlightening.

Interesting book, fascinating filmmaker, unfortunately poorly bound and the pages started to fall out as soon as I opened it.

The majority of this book is a series of interviews between Stephen Soderbergh and Richard Lester that will mainly be of interest to fans of Mr. Lester, filmmakers and aspiring filmmakers. The first two-thirds of the book is basically a film-by-film discussion of Mr. Lester's ouevre, which too often (for my tastes) lapses into shop talk (lighting setups, film stock, etc.) and "I love it when Michael Crawford..."-type observations. I found myself skimming whole sections looking for more interesting and accessible anecdotes and discussions.The other major part of the book is Soderbergh's journal c.1996 -- from about the time he finished editing "Schizopolis" and "Gray's Anatomy" through the months of trying to get them released, ending with his agreement to direct "Out of Sight". These sections are livelier and more amusing but get repetitive (negotiations fall through time and again, law suits drag on, procrastination is a never-ending theme) and too cute/clever (the wry footnotes get old after... well, pretty much right away).I don't mean to be so down on this book -- I did enjoy it quite a bit -- but my expectations were higher and I know a lot of people who are not as interested in the technical side of filmmaking will find much of this material tedious. I would recommend it (highly) for those with that inclination, and also for fans of Mr. Lester's films (i.e., those who have seen and enjoyed at least "A Hard Day's Night", "The Knack", "Petulia", and one or two others). All others should approach warily.

Fans of Lester or Soderbergh will probably gain the most from this quick read -- an insightful conversation about making films and the creative process in general, accompanied by an entertaining diary written by Soderbergh before his acknowledged commercial breakthrough with "Out of Sight". Perhaps the most hilarious and witty moments come when these intelligent and engaging subjects veer off track and discuss such subjects as creationism, confidence and computers. Fans of Soderbergh's "Schizopolis" will particularly enjoy the author's several self-effacing moments, as well as the book's introduction. With the release of the restored "Hard Day's Night" and the upcoming "Traffic", this is the perfect time to get into the minds of these two visionaries....

Soderbergh (Sex, Lies and Videotape) interviews Lester (Hard Day's Night), interspersing the conversations with his own diary entries about writing (or more often, not writing) various film drafts and the multiple headache-related opportunities afforded by choosing to be part of the film industry. The self-deprecatory journal entries and the punitive footnotes are pretty funny - sort of a cross between Jonathan Ames (What's Not to Love?) and Simon Gray's various theatre diaries.The interview sections take us through Lester's films one by one - not an immensely detailed, blow by blow account, but the impression of frankness and ease with the fellow film-maker suggests that you get the to essence of Lester's work: insights which might not have emerged from a more conventional, or reverential, Q and A.Personally, I could have done without the "Where did life come from and what's it all for?" meanderings towards the end - surely The Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film says all that needs to be said on that particular subject? - but overall this is, as the "publisher's" note says at the beginning, "Literature that soothes and invigorates, while accidentally stimulating the body's own defenses." (Well, it's as good a description as any.) Guaranteed free of Mark Cousins.

This book is really two books in one, and sadly neither is fully realized.Ostensibly an interview book with Richard Lester in the style of Hitchcock/Truffaut or the Faber & Faber series (eg Scorsese On Scorsese or Burton On Burton), these disjointed q&a sessions are interspersed with Steven Soderbergh's self-mocking and self-obsessed interludes. Soderbergh was very busy during this period and didn't devote as much time as he would have wished to this.A frequently funny and engaging read, but feels lightweight and disappointing. A missed opportunity.

Subtitled “The Further Adventures of the Luckiest Bastard You Ever Saw”, this balances a twelve-month journal of the film industry – there’s a lot here about Soderbergh juggling projects and writing-related procrastination – and a series of interviews with fellow film director Richard Lester. The book’ll make you want to go back and revisit Lester’s work: from the Goons to The Beatles to Superman via the best Musketeers movies. Recommended.