The Producers Books

It seems that too few have read this well-written book. Sherman has been working with all the great actors and actresses of the 40's and 50's. He seems to have been quite a ladies' man! He has a lot of good stories about famous film personalities. It has not been easy to be a company man for a person who knows what he wants. This memoir belongs to the best ones written about those golden years of Hollywood.

A cineaste may not treat Vincent Sherman with the same regard usually reserved for Welles, Ford, Fellini, or Godard, but a movie buff remembers and appreciates the underrated Sherman's quiet craftsmanship on many popular Hollywood features. Sherman has been an actor, writer, producer, and director -- an all-around "fixer" who could take a bad project and make it saleable, and a promising project and make it successful. He brings the same practicality, insight, and honesty to this fascinating autobiography.

"Studio Affairs" gives the reader an insider's look at the Hollywood studio system, with its stepping stones and setbacks. Vincent Sherman worked with such luminaries as Jack Warner, Harry Cohn, Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart, Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Rita Hayworth, Claude Rains, even The Dead End Kids. Sherman wore many hats, and he details his varied dealings with actors and colleagues with remarkable candor. His personal life is as compelling as his professional career.

"Studio Affairs" is engrossing reading. On more than one occasion this reviewer intended to spend a few minutes with the book, and was hooked for more than an hour at a time. Vincent Sherman deserves a standing ovation for his work, and for this book. Movie fans should enjoy this book very much indeed.

While the interviews are really interesting and personal, I was surpriced that this director's most personal work, Edward Scissorhands, got a single, (admittedly great) space on this book.

The Tim Burton Interviews is a must have for anyone who loves Tim Burton or filmmaking in general. Kristian Fraga's introduction sets the tone for this fun and informative book on Tim Burtons life, love for movies, and insight into the unique mind of Tim Burton.

I've bought them all, Ebert's movie guide, the ones by Maltin and Mick Martin, and the Videohound book. This one is the best of these. This is a huge book (and five pounds heavy) of 1800 or so pages and a large footprint. What makes it so good is that the reviews are not only longer than those in other books (except for Roger Ebert's), but they are more sophisticated in their analyses of the movies. They don't use a star system, but by the time you have read the review you know exactly what the author thinks of the film. The cast lists for each movie are reasonably comprehensive.

The special features include 27 appendixes of movies by category, i.e. drama, thrillers, comedies, Italian movies, etc. There is also a cast and director list. The best thing about the cast list is that it lists all the movies that an actor was in by the year of release, and that is not done in the other books. Sometimes I want to know the most recent movies that an actor was in, and this book tells you all you want to know in this regard. On the negative side a lot of minor and not so minor actors don't make the list. A further index lists movies by subject, i.e. if you have a fixation regarding lighthouses you might want to see "The Oyster and the Wind" or "The Phantom Light.

I still buy the other books so I can compare some of the reviews, but this is the one I always pick up first.

Time Out book guides are impressive but with a website, Time Out Film, readily available, and other sites like IMDB and Box Office Mojo that provide virtually all the information you need to know about movies, books like these are irrelevant, unless you just like the feel of leafing through thin pages to check out how your favorite movies rate.

Really improbable if you think about it, but you'll be too involved to think. The central character, Grandy, is an extraordibnary, really a unique, creation and he dominated me as he did the other characters throughout the book. A mixture, if you can conceive it, of Alexander Woollcott and Fu Manchu (I apologize to the shades of each).

Charlotte Armstrong does suspense well. This book is one of her best.
A famous, charismatic man may have committed murder. Two relatives of the victim enter his household under false pretenses to seek evidence. Their own lives are in peril as they try to gather clues.

I just re-read this book after several years and it is still an enjoyable and informative read. It's a memoir, a remenisance, not a history book or a scholarly effort. As such it is full of revealing anecdotes and amusing stories from one who has worked with some of the biggest (and smallest) artists and most powerful (and least) industry insiders through what may be considered pop recording's golden age. The chapters are short and topical, usually dedicated to some particular artist. It also has some of the usual failings. Thiele has axes to grind, old wounds that have not healed. But he is also justifiably proud of some of his accomplishments and painfully aware of some of his foibles. His style is occasionally full of the kind of bluster that must have helped him in his dealings with the music business and he can be just over the top pompous in describing some of the artists and recordings.

Record producers are middle men, riding herd on cats and, at their best, trying to reconcile the often irreconcilable interest of the artists and the music business. They don't make music, they make records and in fact, if you talk to a recording engineer, they don't make recordings either. But the producer leaves his mark on recordings, especially over a body of recordings. Jazz producers, I think with some justification, are a breed apart.

For those reasons, Thiele's book makes an interesting comparison to jazz producer Orrin Keepnews' memoir "The View from within" published nearly 10 years earlier. Both are music businessmen and consider themselves jazz lovers at heart. They share many experiences but they could not be more different in style (style of writing, and of producing). Both started small labels but Thiele went large scale corporate while Keepnews stayed in the bullpen of the big leagues. But where Thiele is wide open and effusive, Keepnews is thorny and buttoned down. Thiele rambles, Keepnews belabors. Both love the music, both experimented and pushed limits. But while Thiele had no compunction about producing a pop-jazz cash cow, Keepnews, though open-minded, was conservative and a purist at heart. Keepnews will talk to you about jazz music, Thiele will talk to you about jazz records. The difference in their style is as apparent in their recordings as it is in their books.
Finally, both have produced some of the finest recorded jazz of the day and like them or not, we have the producers to thank for much of the recorded legacy that has come down to us.

Bob Thiele's career makes for very entertaining reading. Ranging from the great jazz artists of the 1940's to rock & rollers like Buddy Holly, Bob played a large part in many notable careers. I was especially touched by the love story of Bob and singer Teresa Brewer --- who eventually became Mrs. Thiele --- and thoroughly fascinated by the incredible behind the scenes machinations (sometimes funny, sometimes deadly), of the music business. Most particularly the attempts by mobsters to take control of popular singer Alan Dale, and Dale's stubborn refusal to submit. Thiele claims that this cost Dale his career, and almost his life. A fascinating book from one of show business' "good guys".

The promotion poster for this wonderful autobiography of Cubby Broccoli describes it as "A roller-coaster ride throught the life of one of Hollywood's best-loved film producers," and it couldn't be more right. I admit it may be a tad boring if you have no interest in the James Bond films or their creators, but if you do, you will find this book to be a fascinating look at the life of the producer who spent almost 30 years of his life creating the most successful film series in history. The book begins by describing the immigrant experience of his family and continues to chart a real-life example of the American Dream in action -- the story of a poor broccoli farmer from New York who grew up to receive the Thalberg Award and have his name inscribed on a star in Hollywood. In this book, Broccoli also tells fascinating insider stories about such hollywood greats as Howard Hughes and Victor Mature, which will interest even those who could care less about Bond. I dock the book a star only because of the long, boring passages toward the end (written by Donald Zec, I think)regarding the numerous takeovers of United Artists and Broccoli's efforts to keep the company in good hands (ever wonder why there were no Bond movies produced between '89 and '95?). Other than these passages, however, I have found that "When the Snow Melts" is the only autobiography I haven't been able to put down!

Albert R. Broccoli's impressive contribution to the cinema by bringing Ian Fleming's James Bond to the screen from DR. NO up to GOLDENEYE is truly undeniable. He was a great innovator and a survivor thanks to his own abilities to see a vision to its fruition. He had tremendous support from his family, associates and friends along the way. He created this great entourage of love and affection by just being who he was and nothing more. His humanitarianism and magnetic personality cannot be denied. I found this book to be both insightful and moving and remains a glowing tribute for all those who were touched by his vision.

This book is so boring, I can't get past the first CD. In fact it's the first book I've felt this strongly about as to put a comment in about it.

A vacuous book - and its main focus, whom Radziwill still seems to have a kind of schoolgirl crush on (just as she was awestruck by glamorous twins at high school) - Carolyn Bessette - emerges as a shockingly vacuous woman.

The latter only has opinions on the clothes and makeup people wear. She herself bought a wardrobe of Prada clothes for what she thought would be her role as "Mrs Kennedy" - a role that never materialised, Bessette herself seemingly having no cultural, historical or charitable interests whatsover.

Carole's and Carolyn's cultural references are "Thelma and Louise" and Wendy's. Well into their thirties, they exchange secret friendship rings in a way most females are over by their late teens. Bessette, in England with her husband, can't be bothered to learn about the Runnymede memorial to his father and whines about the trip. Radziwill opines that "Europeans" use titles the way Americans say "Mr". You can't take the wide-eyed, gullible, lower class girl out of her. In fact, titles are illegal in Germany and rarely if ever used in, for example, France.

Carole and Caroline, conversely, seem to be convinced that Carole and Anthony are somehow "royal". In fact, Upon becoming a British citizen, Radziwill was unable to use his former noble (not royal) title without special license from the Queen. He did not receive such a dispensation, so he was legally Mr. Radziwill, but was called Prince out of courtesy only.

The copious name-dropping adds to the irritation factor and to the feeling that the author is an airhead dazed by cheap celebrity.

I didn't really care for it, from reading the front flap I thought this book would be much more intresting than it really was. I was never able to really get into the book, and was seen forcing myself to finish it. The only reason I made myself finish the book was to read the ending, about John and Carolyn's accident and the way Anthony passes away.

I just finished this book and I loved it. i love carole Radzwill's story telling style, loved it! Her stories are poignant and honest. There is much humor here also. She loves information and she gives it out to others who want it too. I hope she will continue to write.

This is a beautiful memory of four fabulous people who were lucky enough to meet and spend a portion of their lives together. Carole Radziwell wrote a very specific, revealing account of her relationships--with her loving husband, and his famous cousin and wife.

It must have taken a lot to examine her early life and sharply contrast that with the fairytale life with a prince. It had to be very difficult to go through the illness of her husband and lose him and her best friends, but she gently recalls their story without pity.

I couldn't put the book down. I read it first thing in the morning and right before bed at night, fitting it in as often as I could until I finished the story.

I hope that Carole can look back and be glad that it happened instead of sad that it ended. She's an exquisite woman. I highly recommend this book.

Hollywood was transformed in the '60's and '70's. For me, this book is a wonderful reminder of my personal roots in this industry.

Entertaining and easy read on the "1970s" Hollywood era (covers 1968-1980). Covers a lot of ground and includes a look at almost every major or important director from that era, and how their ego and hubris ultimately restored Hollywood to the studio system. Reccommended for any fan of films of that era.

Firstly - I don't think that this book should be mistaken for a spiteful Paul-Johnson-type of takedown of Great Men...Biskind's not a curmudgeon, and I see no evidence of a Grand Thesis in this book smashing down facts to fit the preconceived mold...

I'm made to remember, as I first read & then occasionally re-read this book, that the Seventies was not just the time in which the putative counter-cultural forces stormed & took the tired old film studio citadel (and in the process became, many of them, boring old farts struggling for relevance); nor was it simply the time in which Spielberg & Lucas hatched the modern Big Blockbuster--but it was also the age of the invention of the super-auteur, the well-advertised & vaunting "maverick" filmmaker who compulsively pointed up to the stands every time he came up at bat (Bogdanovich & Coppola, most egregiously)...The super-stardom of these people arrives with the mainstreaming of know-how fetishism, and the over-valuation of the film artiste - the ascension of film-schools, making-of docs, horserace reports on box-office grosses, and so on...Much of what has been taken for slimy "gossip" in this book seems, on reflection, to be intimately connected with the films themselves: and in some wild cases ("Days of Heaven"; "Apocalypse Now"), the prodigal wasn't bankrupted & chastened, but came back home a star...

That said - I'm grateful for Biskind's hard treatment of Altman, and of Paul Schrader--they were begging for it...I don't understand why he treats Robert Towne's "Personal Best" as an ignominous all-'round failure--it REALLY wasn't that bad!

They say they sent it to my address, but i never recieved it. I called them. they told me they sent it, and did not offer further help.

This book reads straight from the gossip columns. It's a fun, juicy read that you won't be able to put down. Peter Biskind gives you a sneek-peek behind Oz's curtain to see the nitty gritty lives of people like Scorsese, Speilberg, Copolla and Lucas. This won't be "classic literature," but you will find it exciting, addicting and a definate page-turner! Read this book just for the fun of it!

Great style of writing, but somehow the book lost me somewhere in the middle. It is about John Self, newly rich who burns his life and chases more money. Dialogues are funny, some parts of the novel are very entertaining. But unlike "London Fields", which arouses more and more interest as the plot develops, "Money" becomes repetitive and boring. At least for me.

Sure Martin drops the ball at the very, very end. But, until then, this is "in my opinion" the best, the funniest, the greatest celebration of pure loutishness every written. i lent it to a friend, he read it, and i asked him what he thought. his reply was simple and encapsulating; he responded, very matter-of-factly, "it's the Bible". i couldn't concur more. now, i'm not one to burst out laughing alone on the subway, but i couldn't help myself. if you have have never read Money, you're in for a treat. Like being a thirty-year-old virgin - lot to look forward to. i once described it as "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" with a bit less drugs and a lot more sex. That one also caused me to laugh out loud. but, if you happen not to like it, don't let it discourage you from reading "Money". it's more or less a totally different experience. it has everything: sexism, racism, alcoholism - what more could you ask for in a book! oh, as far as it being politically correct, it couldn't be further from it. - david

This is a novel written in the early 80's and is one long monologue about money and what chasing money, having money( and not having money) does to John Self the central character. He is a successful Ad director but at heart a fast talking East end boozing womaniser addicted to fast food and porno. And if you still like him, he beats up women, tends to be a racist, and hates gays... and horror of horror smokes. But he does have a turbulent broth of family relationships to deal with!

This could be an echo of real life as Martin Amis had a troubled relationship with his father Kingsley Amis. Who incidentally was critical of the device of having the author as a character in the story which allows Martin to take some sly digs at the pretensions of writers and writing.

John Self meets a producer in New York and spins him a story based on his own life (drunkard father, two timing mother, time waster son) and is then embroiled in the nightmare of putting the money, script and casting together. He lurches between New York and London loving money and suffering from excesses of drink, food and sex and looses girlfriend, friends and family along the way in a glorious buffoon way.

As he tries to deal with actor's egos, money men demands and scripts he is also hounded by a stalker . Or is he? We can only understand what john understands and as he is drinking several bottles of whiskies on week long benders he is a little hazy some times on the details. During the story we get to find out what the truth of his rise to the Money as well as family secrets and who cheats who.

As the novel is set up to be a long suicide note you can sense the depths of his pain. So is this a gloomy, slash your wrist Leonard Cohen fun feast? No it's a very funny and savage satire on money, money and money and oh the film industry. Normally, I dislike first person novels but I strongly recommended this one.

Martin Amis's Money flies in the face of the nostalgic critic who would say that the best of British fiction is in the past. This meta-fictional post modern styled novel not only subverts conventional novel structures but is also able at the same time to present social messages which were relevant to its initial 1980's audience and can still find relevance in the society of readers today.

Broadly, Amis's novel satirizes the boom of consumerism and excess experienced in the 1980's. The central protagonist would-be-film maker John Self, rolls between London and New York, binging on cigarettes, alcohol, pornography, women, drugs and anything else that money can buy. John Self's complete lack of self control or restraint can be seen as reflective of the political policies of Thatcher (and to an extent Regan) which were being implemented in England and America at this time, policies which assigned a fiscal value to everything and turned virtually anything into a saleable commodity, promoting capitalist values en masse with very little attention to the development of accompanying policies of social responsibility.

Without revealing too much of the plot, Self eventually reaps the consequences of his lifestyle however it is not a social or moral lesson, Self does not develop, grow or undergo any kind of mental or emotional transformation, in moral essentials he leaves the novel, much as he entered it. This lack of moral justice inflicted upon Self is arguably one of the major centres of dislike pitted against this novel. Amis does not provide a social or (using the words of his father, realist author Kinglsey Amis) "human lesson." It presents the seamy, grimy underside of the epicentres of western (and capitalist) society but presents no exoneration or punishment for John Self or the societies which he populates. The frustration of the reader in not seeing the protagonist regretful or even adequately reflective of his lifestyle seems to deny a perceived need of the novel to distribute and/or advocate for some kind of social justice or responsibility.

Some critics (and even authors) of contemporary British literature suffer the belief that the 'hey-day' of English literature is passed, that nothing written in the present can possibly match that which was written in the past. One reason attached to this negative opinion of current British literature is that it is unable to produce a 'state of the nation' style novel, that is a book which encompasses what DH Lawrence in 1956 described as "the whole man alive."

This is ultimately a flawed ideal though, as modern society is a highly complex beast- arguably much more so than the 1950's world in which Lawrence wrote his comment. The expectation of a modern novel to be able to swallow the moral, ethical and social dilemmas faced each day by the modern citizen seems implausible and runs the risk of producing fiction which critic Nick Rennison describes as "dead on the page."

In Money, Amis seems to have disregarded these nostalgic, backward looking critics and instead of aiming for an all encompassing view of society he has set his satirical sights on a few principle social issues which were pertinent to his time. The fact that his comments on the dangers of excessive consumerism, capitalism and the potential banality and emptiness of modern life are as relevant in 2007 as they were in 1984 is testament to the sharpness of his political and social awareness.

Although the book centres around a self proclaimed 'yob' protagonist, the text is not lacking in sophistication, Martin's lush and innovative prose style and structure prove as much. His constant references to highbrow literature seem to reinforce this idea. For instance there is an underlying allegory to Shakespeare's Othello which underlies a great majority of the novel and Amis peppers the texts with the names of great writers, such as the pub named the Shakespeare, the characters Martina Twain and Fielding Goodney, as well as references to literary places such as Room 101 (from Orwell's 1984) which is also ironically, Self's hotel room.

This novel is a high speed ride through modern life as seen through the eyes of perhaps one of its worst inhabitants. It has a particular brand of satirical and ironic humour which is confronting, but also enlightening in terms of the ultimate message which the book is attempting to make.

Writing doesn't get any funnier than this. Readers who find deep vein humour in black, sexual comedy such as Portnoy's Complaint and (even blacker), Lolita, will revel in Money. The unreliable narrator, John Self is a brilliantly drawn character. Physically and emotionally repulsive, materialistic, a string of unwholesome vices - drugs, porn, fast food, dirty women and most of all money, and a stunning voice which is at one yobbish yet shamefully poetic.

In fact, Martin Amis has declared this to be a voice novel. When form goes out the window and the voice takes over. Like Saul Bellow finding his broad, socially and intellectually panoramic style in The Adventures of Augie March, Amis finds the voice to skewer the absurditites of Western Urban Capitalism, and the disorientated place of the modern male within the system. Money contains so many of the classic Amis riffs and set pieces - the tennis match, the dinner party, the brothel visits, the porn shows - as John Self is put through one humiliation after another in his pursuit of Mammon. The comic detail is stunning. There are so many exquisite phrases. Amis learns from another of his major literary heroes, Nabokov, and distorts the aesthetic, baroque high style into a low life screamer of a book. Marvellous.

I must confess. I have not as yet read the entire book on David Geffin. I am reviewing the first 80% simply because this biography stands as the best book on a Hollywood celebrity I have ever read. The first thing that impressed me about the book was how ruthless Geffin was in his quest for power and how sad it was that he seemed to have finally realized that money was NOT in fact the thing that really made him happy. I think virtually everyone who makes multi millions comes to realize this. IF you have one Porsche turbo thats green does having ones in blue, red and black made you three times happier? No... Geffin coveted money over all else, and the book goes into minutea about this topic, because he grew up with an unambitious father who his mother, named Batya, thought was shiftless. The reader can make his or her own conclusion but my take is Geffin wanted to make dollars delux to ensure his mother's love. In the book Geffin shows no mercy in his quest for fame and glory and tramples on his closest associates. But I came away fascinated with Mr. Geffin in spite of, or maybe because of, these traits. A GREAT READ. And again, even if the last 15% of the book isn't as interesting as the first 85% its still an unbelievable tale of rags to riches unbridled ambition.

The meteoric rise of David Geffen is told by Wall Street Journal reporter, Tom King. King's business background was invaluable in researching and explaining Geffen's deals... in some parts there is a different deal on every page.

Geffen seems to be living on adrenalin be it his hard charging in your face negotiating or his indulgence of artists and friends. He crashes hard too, finds therapies and cries when hurt or moved. To paraphrase one of his artists, it's like the sound of his own wheels drive him crazy.

When he bet on a star he went all the way, as he did with his first artist-Laura Nyro. He housed and fed them. Sometimes he provided lawyers for them and sometimes took them on trips. He gave his top managers wide decision making authority. Besides salaries they could be surprised by bonuses of cars or houses. Not knowing the industry norm, it's hard for me to judge if those who felt he didn't do enough them (after their/his success) have legitimate complaints.

Years, differences and feuds can separate him from family, friends, mentors and staff. There can be a kiss and make up (Cher, Spielburg, etc.), sometimes just separation (Nyro, Roberts, etc.) and sometimes a continuing freeze (Ovitz, Loddengaard etc.). He can be very generous, for instance giving Jackson Browne his copyrights or subsidizing cousins he doesn't know. He can also give to get, for instance rescuing his friend Calvin Klein paid him well at the end.

His success began with falsifying his resume, opening others' mail and forging mail. He intimidated, reneged, spread disinformation, brown nosed and bad mouthed. A lot of these very same tactics were used against him.

His talent was knowing entertainment that would sell, and he was usually right on the mark. His mistakes seemed to come when he worked with established stars, not the artists he "discovered".

This is an almost 600 page book, but you have the feel that there is much more to be written.

I had never heard of David Geffen before this book was recommended to me...Now, I say WOW!!! What an OPERATOR he was and is...What a fitting title. I highly recommend this book to all serious business people...Mike Stokes

Bottom line, Geffen slept on couches as a kid in Brooklyn, and w/ nothing but intense drive, charisma, and extremeley hard work he built a 4.5 billion dollar fortune from scratch. If you are considering going in the entertainmetn industry, and particualrly starting a record company..... read this book and act like Geffen does to acheive your goals because you will see exactly all that is required of you to build a record company from nothing to 250 million in revenues in under 10 years..... and ultimatly how to build a net worth that puts you in the top 30 of the Forbes 400 ...... read it and take action and if you create 10% of it you'll be in the top 1% of America. Blake---- bldgassets247@yahoo.com

This is a book that's basically for the show business junky and even then it can get to be a bit much. About two-thirds of the way into it, I had to put it aside for awhile. The paranoia, betrayal, double dealing, etc. had happened over and over so many times, with so many people, that I wondered if there was anything more to the story. In some ways, there is. We are given a sometimes convincing portrait of Geffen coming out as a philanthropist, although I came to the conclusion that it's mostly just another persona. King hedges his bets, by reminding us that, as the book ends, Geffen is estranged from his remaining family and various other pivotal people in his life.

One thing that would help make the unrelenting scuzziness of Geffen's business life and the lack of meaningful long-term relationships in his personal life more bearable would have been some perspective. Despite pulling off some major deals, Geffen also took on some very weak clients and found himself with some very bad breaks, like taking on Donna Summer as a client just as she found religion and homophobia. He was an uneven judge of talent and largely out of touch with the popular culture his business helped shape. Even the most vile of studio moguls, like Harry Cohn, could have an acute appreciation and respect for talent. It's also telling that some of his greatest feuds were with people like Jerry Wexler, who understood music, built careers and helped open new doors for different styles of music. Geffen was fortunate to be on the ground floor of trends, in popular culture, but did little to actually shape them. Buried in the details is something else that's interesting--much, if not most, of Geffen's money came from his trading in junk bonds, rather than his show business wheeling and dealing. I came away thinking "yes, he's a talented deal maker", but a good salesman is someone who can believe in their product and maintain long-term business relationships. Geffen, like Jack Welch, is overrated and it will probably take a more analytical volume to make this more clear. Someone also needs to figure out a way to get his long-time secretary to tell her story (right now a settlement precludes that). Knowing how to survive for 20 years with a megalamaniac would be almost as interesting as the further betrayal and double dealing she could add to Geffen's story.