Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3317 in Books
• Published on: 1996-03-07
• Binding: Paperback
• 432 pages

Synopsis
As befits more than twenty years in Hollywood, Oscar-winning screenwriter William Goldman's sparkling memoir is as entertaining as many of the films he has helped to create. From the writer of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men and Marathon Man, Adventures in the Screen Trade is an intimate view of movie-making, of acting greats such as Redford, Olivier, Newman and Hoffman, and of the trials and rewards of working inside the most exciting business in the world.

Customer Reviews

Absolutely superb
This is a superb book. I came to it via recommendations from people who want to become screenwriters but I say it's a brilliant book for anyone interested enough in film to sit and watch one every couple of weeks.

The major part of the book is memoir about working in Hollywood as a screenwriter but he talks about many other aspects of the industry from his perspective. We get to hear the inside dope on stars and directors. Sure, this book was written in 1982 but we can assume a lot of what he says remains true... and the names he mentions are big enough to be instantly recognisable today.

I was all set to give the book five stars as I reached the final pages of the book. And then something almost miraculous happened: it got better. The final section gives you a short story of Goldman's and he takes you through the process of creating a screenplay for a short film based on that story. And then he interviews people (a production designer, cinematographer, director and more) as to how they would approach their aspect of making this proposed film. It's a brilliant insight into how films are made. I put the book down with three times as much passion for films as I had when I began. I think I will watch films with new eyes now.

I always knock a review down to four stars, at most, if I finish a book feeling something could be improved. I can't recall the last five star review I gave. I give this five stars without hesitation.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going off to buy Goldman's follow up book, "Which Lie Did I Tell". Unfortunately it's not available from Amazon UK. However, there are some related sellers supplying second hand copies. It is not hard for me to take a risk on them.

Very well written, but glossy
This book is extremely witty and anecdotal, and a great read. However, there are a few flaws. One is that the author doesn't mention his academic qualifications that got him into the business. Perhaps he wants people to go on believing you break into the screenwriting business by chance. That gives him less competition. The other flaw is that all the script samples he gives are actually "shooting" scripts, not screenplay samples. Deciding what shot will be next is the job of the director, not the screenwriter. This is a proper script: >>> INT.HOUSE Jeff looks up. JEFF There's something up there! >>> And this is a shooting script: >>> CUT TO: Jeff in House CUT TO: Jeff, close-up, looking shocked JEFF There's something up there! >>> A shooting script will not get you into the industry. I'm surprised Goldman writes his scenes like this in the book, and I suspect he doesn't in real life. Minor flaws aside, the book is a lot of fun, but reads more like one of his popcorn films than any kind of advice.

Well written account from a premier screen writer
William Goldman account of how and why Hollywood works. Written in 1982 it has stood the test of time, even if the top 10 box office stars that he talks about have not quite made it (burt reynolds, ryan o'neal etc)

Goldman vividly describes how he works in a never dull way. Often indiscreet and opinionated - in one of his down moments he predicts, nay guarantees the film that would win the following years oscar because it was a comic book film which was all that Hollyood seemed to want to produce, he was describing E.T - the eventual winner was Gandhi, hardly comic book.

The final third of the book is the short story, built into screenplay called Da Vinci. A slightly bizzare concept of an artistic barber is critiqued by some leading Hollywood players.

Really good effort.