About

William Baer is a graduate of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, where he received the Jack Nicholson Screenwriting Award. He taught screenwriting for three years at U.S.C, was represented by Stuart Robinson of Robinson, Weintraub, and Gross, optioned a screenplay, and directed an MTV music video. More recently, he taught cinema history and screenwriting at the University of Evansville in southwest Indiana.

 

Books

Classic American Films: Conversations with the Screenwriters (Praeger Books)

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Classic American Films explores the origin and development of many of the most influential and revered films in cinema history, and it does so with the aid and insight of the people who actually wrote the screenplays. These lively, candid, in-depth interviews are filled with fascinating new material (details, anecdotes, judgments, and opinions) about the creative and collaborative processes that went into the making of these extraordinary films: Singin’ in the Rain, On the Waterfront, Rebel without a Cause, North by Northwest, Psycho, Hud, The Sound of Music, The Wild Bunch, American Graffiti, The Sting, The Exorcist, Jaws, Rocky, and Tender Mercies.

 

Elia Kazan: Interviews (University Press of Mississippi)

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Elia Kazan was one of the most important creative artists of the 20^th century. He revolutionized American theater with his productions of A Streetcar Named Desire and Death of a Salesman, and he also directed such distinguished and influential films as Gentleman’s Agreement (Best Picture), A Streetcar Named Desire, Viva Zapata!, On the Waterfront (Best Picture), and East of Eden. In this collection of intensely candid interviews edited by William Baer, Kazan discusses his close relationships with Marlon Brando, James Dean, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller; his involvement with the Group Theatre and the Actors Studio; “method” acting; and his difficult decision to testify during the HUAC hearings.