Contact
Paul Cronin produces and directs all Sticking Place Films productions.
Paul was a researcher and translator on Faber and Faber's book Cassavetes on Cassavetes (2001), edited by Ray Carney and an 'editorial consultant' on Conversations with the Great Moviemakers of Hollywood's Golden Age (2006), a collection of interviews from Knopf, drawn from the archives of the American Film Institute, edited by George Stevens Jr. [flyer here]. He edited four books (George Stevens, Roman Polanski and Arthur Penn and Errol Morris) for the University of Mississippi Press 'Conversations with Filmmakers' series and steered through publication the new edition of Amos Vogel's 1974 classic Film as a Subversive Art, published in 2005 by C.T. Editions and D.A.P. He also edited Herzog on Herzog (Faber, 2002), an interview book with German film director Werner Herzog, and On Film-making: An introduction to the craft of the director, a collection of writings by British director Alexander Mackendrick (Faber, 2004; Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005). Current projects include a book with Chris Newman about production sound recording.
I'm also working on a monograph about Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool, based on the research I did for the documentary, and a second volume about Alexander Mackendrick which includes a complete transcript of Mackendrick on Film, a comprehensive collection of interviews and lectures, plus treatments, scripts, more student handouts and a detailed introduction contextualising Mackendrick's work as a teacher of film. Other projects haunting me include a new edition of Herzog on Herzog (three new chapters sitting on my desk here), a historiographical survey of all the primary and secondary literature (and images, sounds etc.) I encountered while working on A Time to Stir, several lengthy interviews with various individuals (similar to the Errol Morris piece on this website), a new collection of edited interviews from the American Film Institute archives, and Lessons with Kiarostami, a book based on my notes made over a period of years at a series of workshops and interview sessions with Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami.
It's all much too much, obviously. And when I read what I've written above I realise just how much I dislike having to sell myself, not least on this website which I spend far too much time polishing. Pretty much everything I've done over the years as a film person is usefully detailed on these pages, but at the same time they do bring out my wretched narcissistic streak.
There's still a learning curve which is important, and the travelling gets me out of my apartment and engaging some extraordinary people, without question a good thing. But there remains a constant battle to seek some kind of balance and as much as I find all this a productive use of my energies, I've found it's best to stay somewhat detached, psychologically speaking.
So anyway: don't listen to anyone when they say you can't do something a certain way, and listen to them only half the time when they tell you to do it their way. Be fearful of nothing (take a look at the Cassavetes quote on the homepage), don't take criticism of your work personally, and don't doubt your abilities (plenty of other people are going to do that for you). Be invaluable to those around you. Know your limitations. Keep your friends close, and enemies closer. Remember what Werner Herzog said about money: it's cowardly and stupid. It doesn't matter what anyone else is doing: chase what you want otherwise it'll go away. Nothing worth anything comes easy. Don't spread yourself too thin. 'Live to the point of tears.' Beware of experts. Know your tools. Don't spend time, invest it. Don't fold when you can check. Earn the respect of those you respect. "Never stop fighting until the fight is done." Work only on those projects that make you bolt out of bed in the morning (or, better still, the middle of the night). If not now, when? Learn it all on the job. The tortoise sometimes wins the race. Don't use 'myself' when 'me' will do just fine. Do it right or not at all. Decide which side you're on: do it for them completely or do it for yourself completely (there is no middle ground). Don't say it if you don't mean it. 'Independence' is a state of mind (enjoy the abyss). Get more exercise. Learn your limitations. And don't quit those piano lessons.
If you need a fool's counsel, I am here: paul.cronin@thestickingplace.com.