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Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting by William Goldman
gregbrown's review against another edition
4.0
Charming and interesting with the requisite gossip, but man was it deflating to reach the point where he shows off full screenplays (Butch and Da Vinci) only to find them suffocating. The way Goldman writes out the shots is way too prescriptive to make for an pleasant read, and frankly tries to do something more in the domain of the director.
tcatsninfan's review against another edition
3.0
It's an interesting look at Hollywood, but it's really outdated now. Business models in Hollywood and the current list of celebrities are quite different from what's discussed in this book. Some of the information is timeless, sure, but this book isn't as interesting to me because he spends a lot of time talking about older movie stars like Humphrey Bogart and Sam Peckinpah.
gneumatic's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t know how practical most of the advice in this book is, as it was published in 1982. Though I’m sure the politics of Hollywood are, in many ways, much the same today as they were in the ‘80s or the ‘40s, for that matter. Which is fine, because Goldman is at his curmudgeonly best when he’s in tea-spilling, tell-all mode. Certainly, he is a great writer - Butch Cassidy, Marathon Man, All the President’s Men, etc. But his insights into craft and process are a hodgepodge that never quite amount to more than the sum of their parts. Still, a fun read that definitely feels like a look behind the curtain into a bygone era.
yanivmintus's review against another edition
3.0
A charming and educational autobiography that’s a must read for any aspiring screenwriter
jeremychiasson's review against another edition
3.0
From the man who wrote: The Princess Bride, All the President's Men, Butch Cassidy and more, "Adventures in the Screen Trade" is a very funny and engaging guide/memoir about the Hollywood Screenwriting Trade.
This book is an interesting patchwork of chapters, and jumps around a lot. You really feel like you're out to dinner with Goldman and he is just dazzling you with hilarious anecdotes about Robert Redford and keen insights into the mind of movie execs. Goldman possesses a lively, conversational voice, opinionated yet down to earth. You can hear the Brooklyn in his writing (or what I as a Canadian imagine Brooklyn sounds like) and sense his sheer passion for movies.
I love how he constantly vacillates between ridiculing movie stars for their ego, but also lionizing them for their sheer presence and charisma. He is fascinated by movie stars above all else, and obsessively analyzes what gives them their ineffable quality.
This book also contains a very reader friendly version of his Butch Cassidy screenplay.
This book is an interesting patchwork of chapters, and jumps around a lot. You really feel like you're out to dinner with Goldman and he is just dazzling you with hilarious anecdotes about Robert Redford and keen insights into the mind of movie execs. Goldman possesses a lively, conversational voice, opinionated yet down to earth. You can hear the Brooklyn in his writing (or what I as a Canadian imagine Brooklyn sounds like) and sense his sheer passion for movies.
I love how he constantly vacillates between ridiculing movie stars for their ego, but also lionizing them for their sheer presence and charisma. He is fascinated by movie stars above all else, and obsessively analyzes what gives them their ineffable quality.
This book also contains a very reader friendly version of his Butch Cassidy screenplay.
tome15's review against another edition
5.0
Goldman, William. Adventures in the Screen Trade. Grand Central, 1983.
William Goldman was the screenwriter for many of my favorite movies, from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, to All the President’s Men to Princess Bride (which, sadly, had not been made when the book was published). This memoir lets us know how he went about his work. His strength as a writer is an unwavering sense of where the backbone of a story lies, so his movies don’t get off track as frequently as many others. Most surprisingly, we learn how much he hated working on All the President’s Men because there were divas wherever he turned, from Robert Redford to Woodward and Bernstein themselves. Goldman takes us through the elements of a screenplay and provides insight into the important and ambiguous role of the writer in the movie-making process. Highly recommended.
William Goldman was the screenwriter for many of my favorite movies, from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, to All the President’s Men to Princess Bride (which, sadly, had not been made when the book was published). This memoir lets us know how he went about his work. His strength as a writer is an unwavering sense of where the backbone of a story lies, so his movies don’t get off track as frequently as many others. Most surprisingly, we learn how much he hated working on All the President’s Men because there were divas wherever he turned, from Robert Redford to Woodward and Bernstein themselves. Goldman takes us through the elements of a screenplay and provides insight into the important and ambiguous role of the writer in the movie-making process. Highly recommended.
codeslinger's review against another edition
Dropped.
William Goldman is a major A**
William Goldman is a major A**
mynameiskate's review against another edition
4.0
OMG .. if we think sexism in Hollywood is bad in 2018, reading this showed me what it was like in the late 70s and early 80s. Not that Goldman himself is necessarily sexist, but in a book about the movie business, there was an interview with one woman (a film editor) and a mention of a female screenwriter. The rest of the book was dudes, dudes, dudes and dudes. I have new-found admiration for any woman in Hollywood in this time.
The stuff about the industry was fascinating .. and I am left wondering if it all still works that way 30-40 years laters.
But the best part of definitely when Goldman talks about writing. Both the core of the craft and screenwriting basics, but also when he is critiquing his own work. That man has been around the block and is refreshingly open and honest about the craft. I only wish he had done an update to cover his work on The Princess Bride.
If you're interested in movie making or screenwriting, this is definitely worth a read for Goldman's wisdom, but also for the very frank look into Hollywood.
The stuff about the industry was fascinating .. and I am left wondering if it all still works that way 30-40 years laters.
But the best part of definitely when Goldman talks about writing. Both the core of the craft and screenwriting basics, but also when he is critiquing his own work. That man has been around the block and is refreshingly open and honest about the craft. I only wish he had done an update to cover his work on The Princess Bride.
If you're interested in movie making or screenwriting, this is definitely worth a read for Goldman's wisdom, but also for the very frank look into Hollywood.