2004-03-01 SOMETIMES HILARIOUS, SOMETIMES SOBERING - ALWAYS FASCINATING

Harvey Weinstein, it will come as a surprise to few, is presented as a brash, egotistical bully (those are kind adjectives). Along with his brother, Bob, he rose from a concert promoter in Queens to one of Hollywood's most powerful - Miramax is now a major force giving birth to many Oscar nominated films.

In the author's words both Weinsteins "had volcanic tempers. They were wizards of abuse, excelling in the exotic art of public humiliation, lashing staffers in front of their peers."

Robert Redford, the founder of Sundance, also receives attention. He, as described by Biskin, is a control freak who "who was not in a position to run the institute himself, but neither, it seemed, was he able to let anyone else run it." Alas ladies, our handsome matinee idol does have chinks in his armor.

"Down and Dirty Pictures" in addition to being a superbly detailed history of the rise of the indies is also a spicy gossip laced read with celebrity quotes from Matt Damon to Uma Thurman to Anthony Minghella. It's sometimes hilarious, sometimes sobering; it is always fascinating reading.