Skip to main content

The Unstoppable Ed Burns

Review of Independent Ed, career autobiography by Ed Burns
Review by Sujewa Ekanayake



Ed Burns is a survivor.  His story is, in part, a fairy tale story of great, unexpected highs and lucky breaks. Independent Ed tells the story of Burns making his debut movie The Brothers McMullen - which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, acting in Steven Spielberg’s epic World War II movie Saving Private Ryan, making the digital feature Newlyweds for $9000 and tales of many filmmaking and acting adventures in-between and after. While there are many moments of luck and several breakthroughs in his story, one very useful aspect of it is how Burns perseveres through repeated challenges, several failures, and much uncertainty and keeps going after the thrill of making a movie - represented by his magical 12 days of making McMullen.  Independent Ed is a how-to on making one’s own luck through hard work, persistence, and surviving the low points of a filmmaking career. The book should be great reading material for fans of Burns’ work, independent filmmakers, those dreaming about becoming filmmakers or those dreaming about coming back to filmmaking. Like Burns’ best movie Sidewalks of New York, Independent Ed tells an exciting New York City story, simply and honestly, with humor, some Irish-American references, and of course great dialogue.  The next big chapter of the Ed Burns filmmaking story begins soon with the release of the new Burns written and directed TNT cop show Public Morals.  For more on Burns' work, visit his official website.


Full Movie - SNEAK PREVIEW - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene And The Mystery Of Immortal Time Travelers

NEW - COSMIC DISCO DETECTIVE RENE (2023) - TRAILER!

The Secret Society For Slow Romance (2022) - available to rent as a new release starting January 1

Werewolf Ninja Philosopher at Vimeo VOD

Popular Posts

Trip to Greenpoint, Brooklyn CINEMATIC look test, 4K, Canon XA50

 

Director Hong Sang-soo wins Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at Berlinale

 

Let's take a closer look at Mike Tully's negative review of IFBRT & see if we can clarify some things

Mike Tully (presently inactive filmmaker who is not a fan of shooting on DV, who is now running things - as far as I know - at the review site Hammer to Nail, who also blogs at indieWIRE, & who wrote a brief & positive review of Date Number One in '06, & a fellow Marylander who generally seems like a cool dude) attended the World Premiere of Indie Film Blogger Road Trip and wrote a review of the doc . There are several items in that review that I'd like to comment on. So here we go: "At its best, Sujewa Ekanayake’s Indie Film Blogger Road Trip is certain to go down as one of the more bizarre time capsules of life on early-21st Century Earth." Cool - life on Earth in early 21st century - right now - is pretty bizarre, so a film dealing with a new, early-21st Century thing like film blogging/a film blogging community, should reflect that reality. The doc, however, is very simple & conventional in its form & content (shots of people talking). It is i

Reading Material

Indie Film Blogger Road Trip