"Alan J. Pakula, the director of such film classics as Klute, All the President's Men, Sophie's Choice, and Presumed Innocent (and the producer of To Kill a Mockingbird) is widely recognized as one of the finest filmmakers of the twentieth century. In addition to his achievements as director and producer, he wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for Sophie's Choice and Presumed Innocent. His death in a freak automobile accident in 1998 may have deprived filmgoers of another cinematic milestone, because he was working on a biopic about Franklin D. Roosevelt that he believed would be one of his most important films." "Pakula's remarkable insights into character stemmed, in part, from his early ambition to become a psychoanalyst. Those insights, combined with his directorial skill, helped actors such as Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Harrison Ford, Jane Fonda, Kevin Kline, Candice Bergen - all of whom were interviewed at length for this book - create memorable characterizations, several of which were recognized with various awards. Indeed, Pakula was widely praised as the consummate "actor's director."" "Jared Brown's biography - the first written about Alan J. Pakula - creates a portrait of the man, based largely on interviews with his family, friends, and co-workers. Analyses of each of Pakula's films supplement and enrich the biographical material, resulting in a thoroughly researched, detailed, insightful study of a remarkable man and the films he wrote, produced, and directed."--BOOK JACKET.