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 now 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; 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 screenplay of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

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).