Adventures In The Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood

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Goldman does not buy auteur theory and in fact finds it ridiculous to attribute the success of a film to one person when the editor and cinematographer, for example, do so much. It seems to me that auteur theory is more powerful now than in the early 1980s. WILLIAM GOLDMAN (born 1931) is an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist, before turning to writing for film. He has won two Academy Awards for his screenplays, first for the western _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_ (1969) and again for _All the President's Men_ (1976), about journalists who broke the Watergate scandal of President Richard Nixon. Both films starred Robert Redford. His other notable works include his thriller novel Marathon Man (first published 1974) and comedy-fantasy novel, The Princess Bride (first published 1973), both of which Goldman adapted for film."

Adventures in the Screen Trade - Strong Sense of Place Adventures in the Screen Trade - Strong Sense of Place

When discussing Butch Cassidy, Goldman humbly suggests that he's not that skilled at comedy. I disagree. In all of Goldman's movies, his humor—and his humanity—shines through, even in deadly serious movies such as All the President's Men. BTW, I was saddened to learn in this book that Goldman regrets his involvement with All the President's Men, for which he won his second Academy Award for adapted screenplay in 1977. The book is divided into three parts. "Part One: Hollywood Realities" is a collection of essays on various subjects ranging from movie stars and studio executives to his thoughts on how to begin and end a screenplay and how to write for a movie star. Adventures In The Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood by Goldman, William 2Rev Edition (1996) by AA – eBook DetailsAs far as the filmmaking process is concerned, stars are essentially worthless -- and absolutely essential.” And the grand experiment of the last part of the book, where Goldman wrote a new script for the sake of publishing it in this book and having famous screenwriters critique it. The script, "The Big A", about a PI and his relationship with his ex-wife and his kids who want in on the family business, is pretty flat in its writing. A particular pleasure was the story of how ‘The Princess Bride’ got written and the movie got maid, involving Richard Lester of ‘Three Musketeers’ fame (and deservedly so).

Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade

Goldman also name-drops like a gossip columnist with revealing details and tidbits about familiar names and the then-current (early 1982) Hollywood climate - Stallone, Redford and Newman feature prominently - and many forgotten or never heard of films have been added to my radar.Over the years I have met and worked with a dozen prize-winning American directors, and there is not one whose “philosophy” or “worldview” remotely interests me. The total amount of what they have to “say” cannot cover the bottom of even a small teacup.” Ha! The book is filled with that kind of thing. It's not mean, just honest. Full Book Name: Adventures In The Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood by Goldman, William 2Rev Edition (1996) In the middle section, Goldman gets a little personal, sharing stories about his life in the biz, working with larger-than-life names like Laurence Olivia, Robert Redford, and Dustin Hoffman. He also digs into why he believes some of his films failed.

Adventures in the screen trade : William Goldman : Free Adventures in the screen trade : William Goldman : Free

William Goldman, the screenwriter of two of my favorite movies (and in my opinion, two of the best movies of all time)--"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Princess Bride"--offers an witty, insightful, acerbic and neurotic look at the world of writing in Hollywood. I haven't read this book's predecessor, "Adventures in the Screen Trade," but I have no doubt it was equally enjoyable and eye-opening.This, for me as a struggling screenwriter, was perhaps the best takeaway from Adventures in the Screen Trade - that the biz is always hard, it's always going to be hard to break into it, and at a certain point you just need to shut up and write. Goldman never says that phrase exactly but his famous phrase, "nobody knows anything," says more than enough: all you can rely on is our own work, so try to make some good work and let the stuff you can't control take care of itself. If survival in the Hollywood film industry is possible, then there is no better "survival guide" than this book, because Goldman tells it like it is. He pulls no punches. Goldman, William (1996). Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood (2nd rev. ed.). Abacus. ISBN 0-349-10705-X.