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William Goldman, Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting (Warner Books, 1983) Reissued by Warner in paperback in 1989 Journalists wanting to know more about how Hollywood functions can probably skip Part Three of this veteran screenwriter's memoir-cum-textbook, in which the author interviews various "elements," as the Hollywood parlance goes, of moviemaking. But for a notably penetrating guide to the sensibility of Hollywood, Adventures in the Screen Trade is indispensable. Goldman is the screenwriter of The Stepford Wives, All the President's Men, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Misery, The Princess Bride, and some flops as well. Alternately grizzled and elated by the constant deal negotiations, script meetings, and ego maneuvers, Goldman comes across as a flinty, occasionally haughty instructor for those foolhardy enough to try out life as a screenwriter in Hollywood. For journalists, though, Adventures in the Screen Trade (also see Goldman's sequel of sorts, Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade, Pantheon Books, 2000) glibly gives the low-down on Hollywood's modus operandi (as a mere example: "In Hollywood, often success comes not from being best but from being first"). MORE: Screenwriters Utopia has interviews with noted screenwriters Writers Guild of America interview with Goldman Filmmaker.com short profile of Goldman |
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