Filmmaker and author John Sayles read from and discussed his new book, A Moment in the Sun, published by McSweeney's, yesterday at Off Square Books. The crowd, eager to discuss Sayles' resume of both films and books, listened to the author read two chapters from his new epic novel about the turn-of-the-century, American way of life. The two chapters Sayles read were just a glimpse into the world he's created in A Moment in the Sun by borrowing from history and extensive amounts of research, which he claimed is what he likes most when writing historical fiction. After the reading, John Sayles was brief, articulate, and brilliant in talking about why he wrote the book and fielding a host of questions from the audience about the novel and about his many films. Regarding the inspiration for his film "Passion Fish," he said that Ingmar Bergman's film "Persona" combined with his time working as an orderly in a hospital both served as catalysts. He discussed the Southern setting for his film "Matewan," which seemed to be a crowd favorite, and talked about his book on the making of that film, Thinking in Pictures: The Making of the Movie Matewan. Before wrapping up the evening and signing everyone's books, Sayles discussed his method of writing versus his method of filmmaking, pointing out their distinct differences. Filmmaking, to paraphrase, is about everything that is revealed and shown to the audience while writing is everything that isn't. A Moment in the Sun is an excellent book and Publisher's Weekly says it "will stand among the finest work on [Sayles'] impressive resume." Call today for signed copies. DS
