Hits, flops, and other illusions: my fortysomething years in Hollywood

Introduction: Taking note

An origins story : Claire, Nina, Marshall, and the AFI, 1975

The learn-as-you-earn school of filmmaking : Family, 1978-1980

The year of loving dangerously : Special Bulletin and thirtysomething, 1982-1991

The anxiety of influence : Drawing Fire and About Last Night, 1985-1986

In search of glory : Glory, 1989

The nobility of failure : Leaving Normal, 1991

Julia, Harvey, and the bard : Shakespeare in Love, 1991-1998

The griefs of a man's life : Legends of the Fall and My So-Called Life, 1993-1994

Heroes : Courage Under Fire, 1996

Politics, pop culture, and pyrrhic victory : The Siege, 1998

A war won and lost : Traffic, 2000

If at first : Once and Again, 2000

Gaijin : The Last Samurai, 2003

The child is the jewel : Blood Diamond, 2006

Shadows of valiant ancestors : Defiance, 2008

In sickness and in health : Love & Other Drugs, 2010

Onward : Pawn Sacrifice, Jack Reacher, Trial by Fire, 2012-2020.