false 74201 6 In <i>Bambi vs. Godzilla</i>, David Mamet, the award-winning playwright and screenwriter, gives us an exhilaratingly subversive inside look at Hollywood from the perspective of a filmmaker who has always played the game his own way.<br><br>Who really reads the scripts at the film studios? How is a screenplay like a personals ad? Whose opinion matters when revising a screenplay? Why are there so many producers listed in movie credits? And what the hell do those producers do, anyway? Refreshingly unafraid to offend, Mamet provides hilarious, surprising, and bracingly forthright answers to these and other questions about virtually every aspect of filmmaking, from concept to script to screen. <br><br>He covers topics ranging from &#8220;How Scripts Got So Bad&#8221; to the oxymoron of &#8220;Manners in Hollywood.&#8221; He takes us step-by-step through some of his favorite movie stunts and directorial tricks, and demonstrates that it is craft and crew, not stars and producers, that make great films. He tells us who his favorite actors and what his favorite movies are, who he thinks is the most perfect actor to grace the screen, and who he thinks should never have appeared there.<br><br>Demigods and sacred cows of the movie business&#8211;beware! But for the rest of us, Mamet speaking truth to Hollywood makes for searingly enjoyable reading. 1292509 6 2 2007 Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business total:271|5:37|4:90|3:102|2:37|1:5| 271 930 403 44 3 1 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Apr 30 22:24:45 -0700 2007 Mon May 28 09:19:52 -0700 2007 Q. Is it possible to engross the audience when the end of the quest is already known?
Yes. Mark Twain wrote of U.S. Grant's personal memoirs that they were so well written as to make one wonder who was going to win the Civil War.


The book itself was a tough ...more...]]> 3 2 false false Fri Jun 27 17:28:23 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 27 17:45:24 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 1 false false Sat Aug 11 15:46:52 -0700 2007 Sat Aug 11 16:15:16 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 09 14:11:18 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 09 14:21:50 -0700 2009 1
“For critics are a plague . . . And what of the ‘democratization of criticism,’ e.g., online critics? Well, this approaches pure gossip, and, as such, it is of necessity messier and more truthful than its licensed brother {print critics}....more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Aug 28 09:52:27 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 28 09:52:35 -0700 2008
Favorite quote: "The audience will no...more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 02 11:28:45 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 02 11:41:35 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon May 21 13:51:15 -0700 2007 Mon May 21 13:52:43 -0700 2007 3 1 false false Mon May 28 20:48:08 -0700 2007 Mon May 28 20:49:17 -0700 2007 3 0 true false Mon Feb 04 21:35:43 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 26 20:58:51 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 true false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Mar 09 12:12:40 -0800 2007 Fri Mar 09 12:22:35 -0800 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Jun 02 16:50:48 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 13:56:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Mar 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 11:23:42 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 16:29:07 -0700 2009
i fucking love tem

this one is about how the movie business sucks and aside from finding mamet's kneejerk defense of israel kind of annoying in an early essay this book was fucking de...more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jan 27 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 11 11:33:40 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 08 08:19:06 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Mar 27 11:46:34 -0700 2008 Thu Mar 27 11:49:58 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jun 11 04:07:29 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 11 04:09:45 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Dec 09 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Dec 09 21:46:46 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 09 21:47:28 -0800 2008 4 0 false false Mon Jul 20 16:03:58 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 16:04:23 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Sun Apr 27 12:22:14 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 05 22:24:39 -0700 2008

Upon reflection, I have revised my opinion of this crop of essays. This guy started on a God-like level after reading/seeing Glengarry Glen Ross for the first time. And I feel like it's been downhill ever since. He's been gliding on reput...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jul 20 13:05:45 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 13:05:48 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon May 25 07:21:16 -0700 2009 Thu Nov 20 20:36:08 -0800 2008 Mon May 25 07:21:16 -0700 2009 more...]]>