Author Talk: Cinematic Immunity by Michael Lee Nirenberg

Join us in person for our conversation with author Michael Lee Nirenberg as we discuss his new book, Cinematic Immunity, and talk filmmaking in New York. This interactive discussion will be followed by a Q&A, so feel free to come prepared with questions for the author.

We hope to see you there!

---

About the Book:

Cinematic Immunity tells the story of New York City’s movie industry from the crew members who created the sets, lit the scenes, and shot the film. Focused on the golden age (1950-1990) of New York filmmaking, Cinematic Immunity covers On the Waterfront through The Sopranos.

The East Coast film industry, thousands of miles from the Los Angeles executives, existed by its own rules and with little oversight. It was a close-knit and freewheeling community of movie technicians that took on the most outrageous challenges to get the shot. Readers will hear the unvarnished truth of the New York movie industry—tales about union politics, studio bullshit, movie families, dangerous locations, complex shots, volatile directors, plus anecdotes about actors, pranks, friendships, rivalries, generational shifts, substance use and abuse, technical feats, and more.

Includes stories about classic (and not so classic) films and television shows including: Midnight Cowboy, The Warriors, The French Connection, The Exorcist, The Godfather, The Wiz, The Taking of Pelham 123, Annie Hall, Cruising, Do The Right Thing, When Harry Met Sally, Home Alone 2, The Sopranos, and Law and Order.

Tales of their exploits, what they saw (and did) on these sets was previously only passed among themselves as showbiz lore but now, readers learn of Marlon Brando’s pranks on the set of The Godfather, how crews kept William Friedkin from killing them, the actors, and himself, and how consummate New Yorker Sidney Lumet was the angel to Friedkin’s demons.

Author Michael Lee Nirenberg has worked as a scenic artist in New York since 2006, and in many cases, alongside many of the people featured in the book. This book is a labor of love comprised of over 150 interviews and hundreds of hours of recordings. Cinematic Immunity includes behind-the-scenes images from studio archives and from the technicians who were there.

“Cinematic Immunity chronicles the wild behind the scenes tales from the legendary films made in dirty old New York… but told from an entirely new perspective. Not the usual stars, directors and publicists but from the people who did all the work and can actually tell the truth – the below the line crews who know where all the bodies are buried! Fascinating, funny and impossible to put down.” — Larry Karazewski, Academy Award winning screenwriter, Ed Wood, Dolemite, Big Eyes.

“They tell some great stories. The appearance of light-weight Arriflex cameras having made location shooting possible, these NY crews were thrown into diabolically dirty and dangerous and polluted locations where no film was ever shot before… A film could not be shot that way today. It shouldn’t. And yet Pelham 123 remains a very good film.” — Alex Cox, director, Repo Man, Dead Souls, and actor, An Unknown Enemy.

“In amassing these superb, often eye-popping accounts of the Golden Age of New York film, Michael Nirenberg has dug deep under the skin of a scene that was as gritty, inventive and character-filled as the city itself. Cinematic Immunity contains some rollicking stories – camera crews on the tracks dodging subway trains, Albert Finney betting on camel racing, a wild car ride with James Gandolfini – but the shared thread is a burning passion for the craft of filmmaking, even if the realities of this work were rarely as glamorous as the end product seen on screen.” — Oliver Milman, Staff writer, The Guardian

“This book is a dream! Nirenberg gives us the real, juicy, behind-the-scenes lore from all the best movies that New York City gave birth to in the second half of the twentieth century, straight from the mouths of the people who actually made them happen. Fantastic.” — Naomi Fry, Staff writer, The New Yorker

“Michael Nirenberg dresses like a drug dealer – trenchcoat, sunglasses indoors – and his Cinematic Immunity is pure, uncut dope for cinephiles, full of real drugs and fake blood. It’s equally entertaining documenting established classics (The Exorcist, Do The Right Thing) and forgotten curios (Izzy & Moe). Reading it made me want to make a movie, score some drugs, and buy a time machine.” — Matthew Danger Lippman, musician and actor.

“Michael Lee Nirenberg makes art from the everyday. Expanding his decades of years and deep well of connections, he’s assembled the definitive history of New York films and those who make them, which are also—of course—one and the same. Cinematic Immunity will help anyone who’s never stepped on a set just how much work goes into the dream factory, all told with the blunt talk only offered by those who trust you’ll keep a lid on it.” — Nick Newman, Managing Editor, The Film Stage, Star and Co-Creator of Fellas.

“From the harrowing to the heartwarming, Michael Nirenberg’s Cinematic Immunity is more than a simple film history book. This book is about human connection and the amount of blood, sweat, tears, and toil it takes to bring a work of multimedia art to life. It’s easy to focus on the directors and stars, but when it comes to cinema, no one can afford to be an island. Whether you’re a cinephile or simply a lover of non-fiction storytelling, Cinematic Immunity is vital reading.” — Heather Drain, Cultural Archeologist and writer.

About the Author:

Cinematic Immunity is by filmmaker, writer, and artist Michael Lee Nirenberg. His first book Earth A.D.: The Poisoning of the American Landscape and the Communities That Fought Back was released in July 2020. He has directed several music videos and the award-winning documentary Back Issues: The Hustler Magazine Story (2014). His second feature documentary The Carpenter is slated for 2026. Mr. Nirenberg has contributed to national magazines and websites. Since 2006, he has worked as a scenic artist in IATSE local 829 on many, many movies and television shows. He lives in New York with his wife and two kids.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher New Amsterdram Library