acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to all the individuals who helped in the preparation of this book through their kind support, contributions, and expertise.

I am sincerely grateful to the team at Focal Press: Robert Clements, Anne McGee, Dennis Schaefer, Chris Simpson, and especially Elinor Actipis, who provided me with invaluable guidance and suggestions from start to finish (including a great title), took the time to nurture a first time author, and had an unwavering commitment to preserving the original concept behind this book.

I also want to thank my colleagues in the Film & Media Studies Department at Hunter College of the City University of New York, whose passion and dedication to studying and teaching the art and craft of film has always been a source of encouragement and inspiration, among them: Richard Barsam, Michael Gitlin, Andrew Lund, Ivone Margulies, Joe McElhaney, Robert Stanley, Renato Tonelli, Shanti Thakur, and Joel Zuker. I also want to acknowledge the support of Hunter College President Jennifer J. Raab, Provost Vita C. Rabinowitz, Dean Shirley Clay Scott, and Film & Media Studies Department Chair James Roman, who foster an atmosphere that encourages faculty scholarship and excellence in teaching.

I am also grateful to Jerry Carlson, David Davidson, Herman Lew, and Lana Lin at the City College of the City University of New York, who were generous with their knowledge and mentorship, and to Elvis Maynard for his research assistance.

My reviewers provided me with wonderful suggestions and undoubtedly made this a better book than it would have been: David A. Anselmi at the University of California Berkeley Extension, David Crossman at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, David Tainer at DePaul University, and especially Katherine Hurbis-Cherrier at New York University, who always had le mot juste whenever I needed it.

Special thanks go to my sweet wife Yuki Takeshima, who was endlessly patient, supportive, and understanding through many late nights of writing, and unconditionally sacrificed a lot of her time so that I could stare at a monitor day after day.

But I am most grateful of all to my teacher, colleague, mentor, and friend, Mick Hurbis-Cherrier, whose tireless and illuminating comments, assistance, ideas, and guidance were instrumental in the development of the manuscript. His teachings and passion for cinema resonate through every page of the book you now hold in your hands.

Up in the Air. Jason Reitman, 2009.