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Reviews
Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting by William Goldman
darameja's review against another edition
4.0
All about screenwriting. Not about the writing process, but everything else.
cltnbutcher's review against another edition
4.0
A legendary book by a legendary writer. Written in anecdotal bites, it's a breezy read and filled with interesting insights to old school Hollywood.
cassidymenard's review against another edition
4.0
Man oh man, what to think?! For some, admittedly arbitrary, reason, I have always loved William Goldman. I think this whim found roots when reading Cary Elwes's account of the making of The Princess Bride, a book called As You Wish, in which Elwes describes Goldman as sincere and humble, but simultaneously odd and somewhat hysterical. Now that I've finally read Goldman's writing in its purest form, I would add witty and intelligent to that list of qualities. My favourite section is definitely part 2, because there is nothing more interesting than behind-the-scenes gossip. Goldman's writing takes on even more relatability when discussing his writing projects. He's just so charming! I was ready to give this a 5-star review at that point. But then we entered part 3, and I gotta say, I really don't like barber stories. Don't like barbershops, don't find haircuts dramatic, and especially don't have any patience for artist characters who see their talent as justification for being shitty people (as George Roy Hill so eloquently notes in the book). So the fact that the entire final section of the book required me to read a barber-centric short story, the adapted screenplay for that story and several interviews about how one might produce a film from that story left me far from charmed. It literally pains me to say such harsh things about this random man I admire but never met. Furthermore, around the time of my reading part 3, I also began reading reviews of a different book by Goldman that make note of some concerning remarks he made in said book about the queer, female and other minority communities. From what I can tell, a lot of this can be chalked up to the outdated language and social awareness of the 60s, but it definitely soured my reading. Moral of the story: don't have heroes?
cyrkenstein's review against another edition
5.0
brilliantly written. The last few chapters were incredible to read as he takes you from short story to finished screenplay.
mikolee's review against another edition
2.0
Old movies tales meant to enlighten. Was disappointed but did point out a number of films to check out.
seano's review against another edition
3.0
It was an entertaining book, but it didn't know what it wanted to be. A primer on how to hustle as a screenwriter? Amusing anecdotes about the movies he's worked on? A script workshop for tourists and beginners?
Yes all of these. Good, but not great. It could have been split and expanded into two better books, imho.
For fans of Goldman: He's a good writer and an entertaining read.
Yes all of these. Good, but not great. It could have been split and expanded into two better books, imho.
For fans of Goldman: He's a good writer and an entertaining read.
poultrymunitions's review against another edition
4.0
dishy, delicious, and—shockingly—very, very useful.
a couple years back i thought i'd move to hollywood and write movies for a living.
i love movies.
i write good.
what could go wrong?
everything. everything could go wrong.
because being a screenwriter is exactly like john august describes—except with a simply staggering amount of asslicking and a dash of despair he's too genteel to mention.
the stories, people... the stories. actors are appalling people—and so are studio execs.
recommended.
a couple years back i thought i'd move to hollywood and write movies for a living.
i love movies.
i write good.
what could go wrong?
everything. everything could go wrong.
because being a screenwriter is exactly like john august describes—except with a simply staggering amount of asslicking and a dash of despair he's too genteel to mention.
the stories, people... the stories. actors are appalling people—and so are studio execs.
recommended.
gengelcox's review against another edition
3.0
I had wanted to read this book for years, ever since typing innumerable papers for University of Texas Radio-Television-Film students forced to read and report on it for some beginner class. It wasn't their reports that interested me, but the fact that this text was considered the sine qua non of the university RTF world--the text that you needed to have read, because everyone else had. Goldman's credentials were substantial, having written some quite substantial films both in critical and box-office terms, like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President's Men. He further endeared himself to me by his wonderful book and film, The Princess Bride. But I never read this book for years because I wanted to own a hardback version of it. Browsing this past year in the stacks at the Bellevue, Washington Half-Price Books, I chanced upon just that, and finally was able to fill a decade old longing.
Adventures in the Screen Trade is somewhat dated now, even though it is only 13 years old. The movie trade is moving and shifting at an incredible pace (although not as quite as fast as the Internet), and what is golden one year, can be video-fodder the next. Goldman's expose of the in-and-out of movie-making, from the screenwriter's perspective, is uncomfortably close to the old adage about sausage and politics--you don't want to see either being made. Yet, like an automobile wreck on your way home from work, you find that you just can't help from looking. Goldman does a good job of presenting the business straight-forward, if with a tinge of understandable bias for the writer, that underlines the power of stars and the blockbuster mentality. A sequel, updating this book and adding Goldman's extra thirteen years of experience, would be welcome, I think.
Adventures in the Screen Trade is somewhat dated now, even though it is only 13 years old. The movie trade is moving and shifting at an incredible pace (although not as quite as fast as the Internet), and what is golden one year, can be video-fodder the next. Goldman's expose of the in-and-out of movie-making, from the screenwriter's perspective, is uncomfortably close to the old adage about sausage and politics--you don't want to see either being made. Yet, like an automobile wreck on your way home from work, you find that you just can't help from looking. Goldman does a good job of presenting the business straight-forward, if with a tinge of understandable bias for the writer, that underlines the power of stars and the blockbuster mentality. A sequel, updating this book and adding Goldman's extra thirteen years of experience, would be welcome, I think.
theperfecthour's review against another edition
2.0
1. What value did Goldman think publishing his entire story + his entire screenplay added? Know the power of excerpts!
2. "I think, with few exceptions-- Weaver in Alien and Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde-- women still present problems in action films." He had me until he wrote that! I mean it is not female characters who present problems, it is male writers that don't know what to do with them that causes the problem.
3. The time when he says he couldn't write a script based on a book when the character was requested by the studio to be written as a black character, so he could be played by Richard Pryor. It would be too challenging. What?!
I like the first half of the book. The second half proved to be a disappointment.
2. "I think, with few exceptions-- Weaver in Alien and Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde-- women still present problems in action films." He had me until he wrote that! I mean it is not female characters who present problems, it is male writers that don't know what to do with them that causes the problem.
3. The time when he says he couldn't write a script based on a book when the character was requested by the studio to be written as a black character, so he could be played by Richard Pryor. It would be too challenging. What?!
I like the first half of the book. The second half proved to be a disappointment.
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