During her decades-long career in film, author Katherine Ann Wilson has amassed an amazing collection of movie memorabilia from 50 different major motion pictures. There are close to 500 photographs of these artifacts, from wardrobe sketches to call sheets, and some rather encyclopedic items like images of crew badges and set cranes. Katherine has been a mentor for film students as well—starting them as gofers, teaching them set etiquette, then taking them all the way through screenplay, set design, camera composition, auditioning, editing, soundtrack composition, copyright, marketing, premieres, film festivals, and world-wide distribution. More than a resource for film mentors like Katherine, this book answers the most unanswered question: How did you get into the movie business? For readers wanting to know how to stay in it, and how to succeed in it, Katherine delves into the art of filmmaking and her personal experiences.

Katherine Wilson attended the University of Oregon as an English major and soon became an actress for the burgeoning 16mm Poetic Cinema filmmakers. Concurrently, she was discovered by director Mark Rydell for his film Cinderella Liberty. Mark brought her to Hollywood and encouraged her to attend film school at the University of California. However, she wanted to continue as a filmmaker in Oregon, and has worked ever since to create a film industry in the Northwest tradition. Her first major film as location scout and casting director was for the notorious Animal House. She provided these services for the next 40 years on many films, including Stand by Me, before working on screenplays and mentoring young filmmakers.