Silver City and Other Screenplays

John Sayles
September 2004     ISBN: 1560256311

Filmmaker legend John Sayles has been called the "conscience of the independent film world" and the screenwriter's screenwriter. Silver City and Other Screenplays is a collection of his greatest work, including Sunshine State, the Oscar-nominated Passion Fish and his new film for the election year, Silver City.

Set in Colorado, the core of America's "New West," during the state's gubernatorial race, Silver City is a spirited lampoon and a timely, toxic warning about the present state of American democracy. The grammatically challenged, born-again candidate for governor is the scion of a formidable right-wing political dynasty. He is fumbling his way toward elected office when an unexplained corpse emerges to threaten his campaign, the family empire and the special interest groups who pull his strings.

"His films reliably offer a scorching assessment of who we are and what we believe in. I think it's fairly miraculous that he's spent decades now working successfully outside the ideological quagmire of Hollywood, keeping his honest edge. His course, as far as I can see, is to pull apart our most cherished myths and icons and see what they're really made of."

--Barbara Kingsolver

John Sayles is the writer and director of acclaimed independent films, including Return of the Secaucus Seven; Baby, It's You; The Brother from Another Planet; Matewan; and Passion Fish. His most recent film, Silver City, is a timely satire for the election year. Twice nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Sayles has also written novels.