About
the Book:
No one knows the writer's Hollywood more intimately than William
Goldman.
The two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter and the
bestselling author of Marathon Man, Tinsel, Boys and
Girls Together, and other novels, William Goldman takes
you into Hollywood's inner sanctums: on and behind the scenes for
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a box-office smash, a
buddy film western with an entirely unexpected ending, and All the
President's Men, the indelible story of two journalists chasing
the truth behind Watergate, and other films. As Goldman notes, "In
terms of authority, screenwriters rank somewhere between the man who
guards the gate and the man who runs the studio (this week)."
The book is a combination of gossip, anecdotes, cynical wisdom,
interviews, and some of the best advice on screenwriting ever put on
paper. It brilliantly takes you into the plush offices of Hollywood
producers; into the working lives of acting greats such as Redford,
Olivier, Newman, and Hoffman; and into his own professional
experiences and creative thought processes in the crafting of
screenplays. This expanded edition includes the full version of the
classic Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid screenplay as well as parts of
others Goldman has written.
Subtitled A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting,
you get a firsthand look at why and how films get made and what
elements make a good screenplay. Says columnist Liz Smith, "A
celebration and a sharp analysis of the screenwriter's art… gossipy
enough to enchant the customers in the balcony, but it is also
authoritative and outspoken. You'll be fascinated."
What people say:
"How on earth did the same
person write all those classic films [All the President's Men, Butch
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid] and more (Misery, Harper, Marathon
Man)? Imagine sitting down at a bar next to him and getting a chance
to ask. This book is that conversational – chatty, filled with
vivid anecdotes, revealing industry secrets. Part self-effacing
memoir, part how-to for writing screenplays, and a window into how
the levers of power worked in Hollywood, this book is a stone-cold
classic." — Los Angeles Times
"One third of the book talks
about the roles of Hollywood film-making: how a film is affected by
the star, the producer, the writer, and the other players. The next
third tells the story of each film in Goldman's life; the final third
takes you step-by-step through the making of Butch Cassidy, including
a presentation of the full screenplay. This is a book of gossip with
heart, gossip specifically chosen to enlighten you (and, it's pretty
clear, to help Goldman himself work out his feelings about this
business)." — Whole Earth Review
"Fascinating… Goldman's
candor here is both amusing and moving. His book is surprising,
refreshing and informative. I cannot recommend it too highly."
— Chicago Sun-Times
"A deliciously honest book...
Goldman deserves a special Read of the Year award." — The
Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
"[This] is that big, sad,
funny, incisive, revelatory, gossipy, perception-forming book about
Hollywood that publishers have been promoting for years – and now
the real thing is finally here." — St. Louis
Post-Dispatch
"A nuts and bolts account
– shrewd, practical, economical…. We feel we have got the hang
of the trade." — The New York Times
About the Author:
William Goldman (1931-2018) was an American novelist,
playwright and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. One of
the most influential and successful writers of his generation, he had
published five novels and had three plays produced on Broadway before
he went on to write the screenplays for many acclaimed films,
including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President's
Men, for which he won two Academy Awards. He adapted his own novels
for the hit movies Marathon Man and The Princess Bride. He also wrote
for the stage, penning the play Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole, and
the stage adaptation of Misery (having already adapted Stephen King's
novel for the screen).