I recommend my own books - Directing Actors and The Film Director's Intuition - for filmmakers, screenwriters, and actors. And here are a few other books that directors and actors might find helpful.
Books by Directors
MAKING MOVIES, by Sidney Lumet
CASSAVETES ON CASSAVETES, Ray Carney, editor
KIESLOWSKI ON KIESLOWSKI, Danusia Stok, editor
KAZAN ON DIRECTING, by Elia Kazan, Martin Scorsese, John Lahr
ON DIRECTING FILM, by David Mamet
MOVIEMAKERS’ MASTER CLASS, by Laurent Tirard
I’LL BE IN MY TRAILER, and ON DIRECTING, by John Badham
Books by other Acting Teachers
ON ACTING, by Sanford Meisner
THE ART OF ACTING, by Stella Adler
A DREAM OF PASSION, by Lee Strasberg
RESPECT FOR ACTING, by Uta Hagen
THE INTENT TO LIVE, by Larry Moss
THE POWER OF THE ACTOR, by Ivana Chubbuck
HOW TO STOP ACTING, by Harold Guskin
A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK FOR THE ACTOR, by Bruder, et al
AUDITION, by Michael Shurtleff
IMPRO, by Keith Johnstone
MY LIFE IN ART, by Constantin Stanislavski
AN ACTOR PREPARES, by Constantin Stanislavski
Then, please consider that the history of theater is also the history of film. Acquaint yourself with that legacy, by reading plays, including the following:
20th Century American Classics—The Big Five
Edward Albee: WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?; THE ZOO STORY
Arthur Miller: DEATH OF A SALESMAN
Eugene O'Neill: LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT; THE ICEMAN COMETH
Tennessee Williams: THE GLASS MENAGERIE, STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
August Wilson: FENCES, JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE
More 20th Century American Classics
John Guare: THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES, SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION
Lorraine Hansberry: RAISIN IN THE SUN
Beth Henley: CRIMES OF THE HEART
Lillian Hellman: THE CHILDREN'S HOUR; THE LITTLE FOXES
Maria Irene Fornés: FEFU AND HER FRIENDS
William Inge: DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS; BUS STOP; PICNIC
Clifford Odets: AWAKE AND SING, COUNTRY GIRL, GOLDEN BOY
John Patrick Shanley: DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA
Sam Shepard: FOOL FOR LOVE, TRUE WEST, BURIED CHILD, CURSE OF THE STARVING CLASS
Neil Simon: ODD COUPLE, SUNSHINE BOYS
Thornton Wilder: OUR TOWN; THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH
20th Century European Classics
Samuel Beckett: WAITING FOR GODOT
Bertolt Brecht: MOTHER COURAGE
Anton Chekhov: UNCLE VANYA, THE SEAGULL, THE CHERRY ORCHARD, THE THREE SISTERS
Noel Coward: PRIVATE LIVES, BLYTHE SPIRIT
Jean Genet: THE MAIDS
Henrik Ibsen: HEDDA GABLER, A DOLL’S HOUSE
Eugene Ionesco: RHINOSCEROS
Frederico Garcia Lorca: THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA
Martin McDonagh: BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE, THE PILLOWMAN
Harold Pinter: BETRAYAL, THE HOMECOMING, DUMB WAITER, CARETAKER
Sean O’Casey: PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD
George Bernard Shaw: MAN AND SUPERMAN
August Strindberg: MISS JULIE
Tom Stoppard: ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD
John Millington Synge: RIDERS TO THE SEA
Oscar Wilde: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
Pre-20th Century
SHAKESPEARE: Don't be intimidated by Shakespeare; he is very modern, very down-to-earth, and the most cinematic of all playwrights. HAMLET is crucial; if you don't feel up to reading HAMLET, there are a number of film adaptations; the one that feels to me the most modern and relatable is the one directed by Franco Zeffirelli, with Mel Gibson. The most modern version of ROMEO AND JULIET is Baz Luhrman's ROMEO + JULIET, with Clare Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio. Kenneth Branaugh's versions of HENRY V and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING feel modern and relatable. There are at least two very approachable versions of RICHARD III, one starring Laurence Olivier, one starring Ian McKellen. For a very real and terrifying MACBETH, check the film version by Roman Polanski.
GREEK DRAMA: THE TROJAN WOMEN, by Euripides, usually feels the most modern, the most emotional to most people.
MOLIERE: All the characters in THE MISANTHROPE, THE IMAGINARY INVALID, TARTUFFE, etc., are completely recognizable today.