With six decades in show business, legendary director Ted Kotcheff looks back on his life

Born to immigrant parents and raised in the slums of Toronto during the Depression, Ted Kotcheff learned storytelling on the streets before taking a stagehand job at CBC Television. Discovering his skills with actors and production, Kotcheff went on to direct some of the greatest films of the freewheeling 1970s, including The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Wake in Fright, and North Dallas Forty. After directing the 1980s blockbusters First Blood and Weekend at Bernie’s, Kotcheff helped produce the groundbreaking TV show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. During his career, he was declared a Communist by the U.S. government, banned from the Royal Albert Hall in London, and coped with assassination threats on one of his lead actors.

With his seminal films enjoying a critical renaissance, including praise from Martin Scorsese and Nick Cave, Kotcheff now turns the lens on himself. Witty and fearless, Director’s Cut is not just a memoir, but also a close-up on life and craft, with stories of his long friendship with Mordecai Richler and working with stars like Sylvester Stallone, James Mason, Gregory Peck, Ingmar Bergman, Gene Hackman, and Jane Fonda.

Ted Kotcheff resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Laifun, and their two children, Alexandra and Thomas. Josh Young is the coauthor of five New York Times bestsellers, including books by Howie Mandel, Bob Newhart, and Jim Belushi.

Mariska Hargitay is an Emmy- and Golden Globe–winning actor, producer, and director.

Foreword by Mariska Hargitay
Prologue: Picture This . . .
Chapter 1: How I Was Branded a Communist
Chapter 2: Cabbagetown Kid
Chapter 3: Escape from Cabbagetown
Chapter 4: The Garlic Revenge, the Principled Principal, and the Diehard Rebel
Chapter 5: The Rain It Raineth Every Day
Chapter 6: Disturbingly Human
Chapter 7: Adventures in Live Television
Chapter 8: A Pivotal Moment
Chapter 9: Horses of the Same Color
Chapter 10: London Calling
Chapter 11: Playing Musical Chairs with Rex Harrison
Close Up: James Mason
Close Up: Michelangelo Antonioni
Close Up: Ingrid Bergman
Chapter 12: Coming to America
Chapter 13: Walking with Edna
Chapter 14: Realizing Wake in Fright
Close Up: Gregory Peck
Chapter 15: Duddy and Me
Chapter 16: Oh, Canada
Chapter 17: Directing Is Hard, Comedy Is Harder
Close Up: Peter Sellers
Chapter 18: Frank & Dino
Chapter 19: Gridiron Characters
Close Up: Nick Nolte
Chapter 20: Rambo
Close Up: Sylvester Stallone and Kirk Douglas
Chapter 21: Partying with Bernie Lomax
Chapter 22: Pretending to Be Someone Else
Close Up: Gene Hackman
Chapter 23: Special Victims Unit: No One Can Take the Children
Chapter 24: Make Room for the Music
Chapter 25: It Might Have Been
Chapter 26: Escape to Freedom
Acknowledgments