While pondering how I was going to stay grounded with my ever increasing fame and wealth, I was going through some old boxes of books to put on my ebay store when I came across one of my favorite books from when I was a teen, "The Film Director as Superstar" by Joseph Gelmis was so important in shaping my life.

The book has interviews with film directors pretty early in their careers, Stanley Kubrick, Arthur Penn, Mike Nichols, Francis Ford Coppola, Roman Polanski and others.

One hilarious part of the book that makes it of its time is an interview with Roger Corman where he is talking about the latest emerging technology called pay television and how it will never fly because no one in their right mind will pay for something they can get for free.

The book is very inspiring and came at a time when I lived on a farm, went to a small school where not a single student had any of the same interests that I had, the TV only received two channels and radio only had five stations of country and a gospel music.

It's funny to think now what a treasure it was to read and reread about these directors and get their thoughts in their own words. There were no film magazines then that I could get in my area. It was a 50 mile drive to any cinema that might show one of the more mainstream art films. And it's quite possible, that I knew about these directors before I had seen any of their films.

Kids these days, got a thousand channels, the Internet and if they want to read about their favorite film directors, there are a wealth of interviews on sites such as the Daily GreenCine that will influence tomorrows filmmakers just as this book did for me.

Most directors now have their own myspace page. Even dead film makers have their myspace pages!

One of my favorite photographers is Jerry Schatzberg, who is a great filmmaker in his own right with such films as, "The Panic in Needle Park" and "Scarecrow." Whenever I'm in a down mood and want to get nostalgic about a time, place and scene I never lived, I go to his work. He took the above photograph of Roman Polanski this month on year I was born. It is absolutely my choice for the best photograph of Polanski. When I was younger, I always wanted to have a copy to hang on the wall above my writing desk.

Polanski did some amazing work and helped shape the best in cinema of the '60s and '70s in my mind and I have to admit I was giddy with excitement when I saw him on screen in the trailer for "Rush Hour 3."

So now I have to see, "Rush Hour 3," and that means I have to rent, "Rush Hour 1 and 2," so I won't be lost and confused.