Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions
My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood
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3.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $20.99
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- $20.99
Publisher Description
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER
This heartfelt and wry career memoir from the director of Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall, About Last Night, and Glory, creator of the show thirtysomething, and executive producer of My So-Called Life, gives a dishy, behind-the-scenes look at working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
“I’ll be dropping a few names,” Ed Zwick confesses in the introduction to his book. “Over the years I have worked with self-proclaimed masters-of-the-universe, unheralded geniuses, hacks, sociopaths, savants, and saints.”
He has encountered these Hollywood types during four decades of directing, producing, and writing projects that have collectively received eighteen Academy Award nominations (seven wins) and sixty-seven Emmy nominations (twenty-two wins). Though there are many factors behind such success, including luck and the contributions of his creative partner Marshall Herskovitz, he’s known to have a special talent for bringing out the best in the people he’s worked with, especially the actors. In those intense collaborations, he’s sought to discover the small pieces of connective tissue, vulnerability, and fellowship that can help an actor realize their character in full.
Talents whom he spotted early include Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Denzel Washington, Claire Danes, and Jared Leto. Established stars he worked closely with include Leonardo DiCaprio, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Daniel Craig, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Jennifer Connelly. He also sued Harvey Weinstein over the production of Shakespeare in Love—and won. He shares personal stories about all these people, and more.
Written mostly with love, sometimes with rue, this memoir is also a meditation on working, sprinkled throughout with tips for anyone who has ever imagined writing, directing, or producing for the screen. Fans with an appreciation for the beautiful mysteries—as well as the unsightly, often comic truths—of crafting film and television won’t want to miss it.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Last Samurai director Zwick debuts with a rollicking career retrospective that looks back at temperamental actors, vengeful studio heads, and the mysterious alchemy that governs great filmmaking. He recaps his triumphs, including the 1980s TV drama Thirtysomething; 1989's Civil War saga, Glory; and 1994's Legends of the Fall; as well as occasional flops, like the 1992 road odyssey Leaving Normal. Along the way, Zwick folds in plenty of showbiz gossip: Matthew Broderick insisted that the director let his mother revise the script for Glory; "I'll kill your whole family, you little fuck," Harvey Weinstein hissed at Zwick during a dispute over the producer credits for Shakespeare in Love. Though Zwick offers rich, funny dissections of Hollywood phoniness ("When an actor does something you don't like, never say, ‘I have a better idea.‘ Say, ‘You've just given me a great idea!' "), he's also alive to the emotional truths that can emerge from artifice, as when Denzel Washington cried during a particularly brutal scene in Glory: "That a single tear appeared and slid down his face, catching the light at the perfect moment, is the magic of movies." The result is a wildly entertaining portrait of moviemaking that combines wry humor with irrepressible passion. For film buffs, it's a must-read. Photos. Agents: Gail Ross, Ross Yoon Agency, and John Burnham, Atlas Artists.
