If you are interested in reading more of Ray Carney's writing about life, art, and independent film, three softbound packets of material are available. They are not for sale in any store and only available through this web site.

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Telling the Truth about Life and Art

Three packets of interviews with Ray Carney are available exclusively through www.Cassavetes.com. They are not for sale in any store and only available through this web site.

In them Ray Carney talks about — 

  • the importance of art in a world organized around business values
  • the importance of the unique, individual voice in a world of averages and generalizations
  • the importance of excellence in a world of mediocrity
  • the importance of truth–telling in a world devoted to popularity and celebrity
  • the difference between teaching content (facts, methods, and techniques) and teaching ways of knowing
  • what’s wrong with the study of film in college and graduate school
  • why most film books and film reviews are so bad

Ray Carney, Why Art Matters: A collection of essays, interviews, and lectures on life and art, softbound, approximately 150 pages (60,000 words). Available for $15.

A collection of essays, interviews, and lectures on art, life, and film that appeared in Visions and Moviemaker magazines between 1993 and 1999. The collection includes the celebrated “The Rules of the Game,” “Fake Independence and Real Truth,” “The Path of the Artist,” and many additional pieces. This packet reprints the complete texts of many items that are published only in excerpts on Ray Carney’s site.

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Ray Carney, Necessary Experiences—What art can show us about ourselves and our culture, softbound, approximately 170 pages (60,000 words). Available for $15.

A collection of essays and interviews on art, life, and independent film that appeared in Filmmaker, Moviemaker, The Daily Telegraph, and other places between 1999 and 2002. Ray Carney talks with Jim McKay, Cynthia Rockwell, Jake Mahaffy, and others about his impressions of Cassavetes the man, and about the lessons he learned while working on his Cassavetes on Cassavetes and Shadows books. He talks with Shelley Friedman about independent filmmaking and the importance of making a life when making a career. This packet reprints the complete texts of many items that are published only in excerpts on Ray Carney’s web site.

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Ray Carney, What's Wrong with Film Books, Film Courses, and Film Reviewing—And How to Do It Right, softbound, approximately 190 pages (80,000 words). Available for $15.

A book-length interview in which Ray Carney talks about his experiences as a classroom teacher, his views of the American media and film reviewing system, and his experiences in the world of publishing. The complete interview will be published in two parts. Part one is now available. Check back for the availability of part two in the near future. This packet reprints the complete texts of many items that are published only in excerpts on Ray Carney’s web site.

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To obtain copies of any of the three packets of material please send $15 for each item, along with your name and address, and the title of the collection you are ordering, to the following address. For faster service, you may use the PayPal button below to pay by credit card.

Ray Carney
Special Book Offer
College of Communication
640 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston University
Boston, MA 02215

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In addition, watch for a new book by Ray Carney, tentatively titled: The Real Independent Movement: Beyond the Hype, forthcoming next year. Check back on this site for more information or to order an advance copy.

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If you have questions, comments, or problems, or if you would like to send me additional information about your order, please feel free to email me at: raycarney@usa.net. (Note: Due to the extremely high volume of my email correspondence, thousands of emails a week, and the diabolical ingenuity of Spammers, be sure to use a distinctive subject heading in anything you send me. Do NOT make your subject line read "hi" or "thanks" or "for your information" or anything else that might appear to be Spam or your message will never reach me. Use the name of a filmmaker or the name of a familiar film or something equally distinctive as your subject line. That is the only way I will know that your message was not automatically generated by a Spam robot.)

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© Text Copyright 2003 by Ray Carney. All rights reserved. May not be reprinted without written permission of the author.