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
Average Customer Review
A "Must Read" for Every Screenwriter, September 28, 2008
By
Michael B. Druxman (Los Angeles)
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: From the Secret Files of Harry Pennypacker
Shadow Watcher
Nobody Drowns in Mineral Lake
This is perhaps the best book about screenwriting and the film business ever written.
Oscar winner William Goldman, who wrote such classic films as HARPER, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, MARATHON MAN and ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN shares his unique, often difficult, experiences working with top directors, producers and stars like Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier.
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.
According to Goldman, the single most important fact in the movie industry is that "Nobody Knows Anything".
Most of the book's second-half is a primer on how to write a successful screenplay.
What does Goldman feel is the most important lesson to be learned about writing for films?
1. "Screenplays Are Structure"
2. You protect the "spine" of that structure "to the death".
If you want to work (and succeed) in Hollywood, then this is a book that you must carry around with you...like a Bible.
© Michael B. Druxman, author of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
Removing Some of Hollywood's Glitter, March 22, 2008
By
Franklin the Mouse (Gorham, ME USA)
Mr. Goldman has written a classic. A great panacea for anyone that gets too starry-eyed over celebrities and aspires to "make it big" in show business. I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Goldman's no-holds-barred approach to explaining just how Hollywood works. His book is instructive and illuminating. His sarcastic approach is extremely funny and a great stress reliever. His quasi-sequel, Which Lie Did I Tell?, was also very enjoyable. I would highly recommend both books.
Thoroughly Enjoyable, October 5, 2007
By
Frederic Woodbridge (ID, USA)
What kind of book can the writer of such great screenplays as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Marathon Man, A Bridge Too Far, Dreamcatcher, and my sentimental favorite, The Princess Bride write? A romping, great ride through the movie making business, complete with behind-the-scenes stories. It opens with an astutely worded history of Hollywood, covers splendid tales about movie stars--both good and very, very bad, and the screenwriting process. `Adventures In The Screen Trade' is a true classic.
Goldman understands movies and more than that, he truly understands how to tell a story and be funny at the same time. In the book, he writes that comedy is not his forte. Nonsense! I was laughing half the time I was reading; I had to put the book down occasionally, I was laughing so hard.
More than simply comedy, the book is filled with insights not only on human nature, but also on writing about human nature. Near the end of the book, after a most enjoyable read about what parts he played in the many good movies he's written or had a part in writing (including only the last line from the Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman movie, Papillon), he shows his true genius. He actually demonstrates his thinking process in adapting a short story of his into a screenplay.
After reading that story, but before I read his working plan of adaptation, I decided to experiment and see what angle I could come up with on the story in a rough outline. After doing that, I read his plan of attack in comparison and I was simply blown away. Here is a master storyteller at work--I'm not worthy.
I enjoyed reading this book and if you're a fan of film, you'll like this one too.
great book, July 12, 2007
By
B. Perkins (Cold Spring, NY United States)
this is a must for everyone interested in screenwriting...a little slow in the beginning but riveting after that
A great read on a fascinating subject by a fine writer, August 27, 2005
By
A C SHIELDS (melbourne , australia)
Reading this book makes you feel the writer is talking to you personally - it is written in a conversational style .
The author sometimes can't believe the sort of conditions he himself works in or the type of surroundings , he is as confused by them as we are . He is also as captivated by them as we are , coming from a pure love of movies and their magic .
If you are a film fan , do not delay in buying this book .
It will bring a new perspective to viewing a film .
Once you've read it , go and watch BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID , for which the author wrote the screenplay .
A fantastic book !!
