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Conversations With Billy Wilder
The renowned director talks to Cameron Crowe about 30 years at the very heart of Hollywood. Wilder's distinct voice provides a fascinating insider's view of the film industry past and present.
376 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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About the author
Billy Wilder
47 books49 followersBilly Wilder (born Samuel Wilder) was a Polish-born, Jewish-American journalist, screenwriter, Academy Award-winning film director and producer, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age. Many of Wilder's films achieved both critical and public acclaim.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
May 15, 2018
حتماً برای کسانی که بیلیوایلدر برایشان شخصیت محبوب و مهمیست، این کتاب جالب است اما برای من که چندان علاقهای به کارهای او ندارم (و البته نمیتوانم نقشاش را در سینمای هالیوود نادیده بگیرم) کتاب چندان مفیدی نبود. خصوصاً که کمرون کرو (مصاحبهکننده) هیچ طرح و نقشهای از سؤالات در ذهناش نداشته و بیلی وایلدر هم با آن شخصیت خاصش که انگار هیچ چیز برایش مهم نیست، از این آشفتگی ذهن کمرون استفاده کرده و نتیجه آش در هم جوشی شده است که سه نفر از آن بهره بردهاند: کسی که آثار وایلدر را خیلی خوب میشناسد و ظرایف آنها را بلد است و دو نفر دیگر خود وایلدر و کمرون کرو. مثلاً در ص ۱۸۲ کمرون یک سؤال جدی میپرسد که مرا نیمخیز کرد و با خودم گفتم: آها بالاخره چهار تا حرف حسابی. سؤال این است: برگردیم به اقتصاد جهانی، فرهنگ جهانی. آیا اینها مانعی برای کمدیست؟ و آن وقت پاسخ وایلدر: آره، آره، آره. این پرسش مهمیست. فیلمهای پرفروش کمی سنگینترند، کمی مردانهتر. چرا این قدر فیلمهای علمی تخیلی داریم؟ دیگر هیچکس از بِتمَن نمیترسد. حالا همه تلویزیون تماشا میکنند… راستش برای من از کسی که کمدیهایش در سینمای آمریکا شناخته شده است، انتظار جواب روشنگرتری را داشتم.
اما وایلدر کیست؟ وایلدر کسیست که خودش میگوید «اهل فیلم هنری و این حرفها نیستم. هرگز صحنهای را نمیچینم که آشکارا غلط است (ص ۱۸۷)» که شاید منظورش این است که فیلم هنریها آشکارا غلطاند. او آدمی صادق و عمیقاً متواضع و به دور از هیاهو و حواشیست. تواضعاش هم بدون هیچ اغراقی مشهود است: «کمرون کرو: در فیلم نیمه شب خیلی با نوشتهی شما هماهنگ است. - بیلی وایلدر: با نوشتهی ما! (ص ۳۷۰)» و فردیست که اهل جنگ نیست: «بیلی وایلدر: هیچ تصوری ندارم که ضد زن هستم یا نه. - همسر وایلدر (از اتاق بغلی): آره هست! - بیلی: نخیر! فکر نمیکنم! - همسرش: هست! - بیلی: بسیار خوب هستم. (ص ۳۸۵)» و آدمیست طناز: «کمرون کرو: … سالهای شصت برای شما چه طور بود؟ - وایلدر: حتی متوجه نبودم که سالهای شصت است! (ص۴۰۸)» و کسیست که کاملاً به استعداد داشتن برای نویسندگی (و کار هنری) و نیز الهام شدن معتقد است: «کمرون کرو: چه زمانی فکر شما بهتر کار میکند؟ - وایلدر: بستگی دارد. گاهی وقتی در توالت هستم، گاهی زیر دوش بعضی وقتها وقتی دارم میخورم. (ص ۴۱۰)»
اما وایلدر کیست؟ وایلدر کسیست که خودش میگوید «اهل فیلم هنری و این حرفها نیستم. هرگز صحنهای را نمیچینم که آشکارا غلط است (ص ۱۸۷)» که شاید منظورش این است که فیلم هنریها آشکارا غلطاند. او آدمی صادق و عمیقاً متواضع و به دور از هیاهو و حواشیست. تواضعاش هم بدون هیچ اغراقی مشهود است: «کمرون کرو: در فیلم نیمه شب خیلی با نوشتهی شما هماهنگ است. - بیلی وایلدر: با نوشتهی ما! (ص ۳۷۰)» و فردیست که اهل جنگ نیست: «بیلی وایلدر: هیچ تصوری ندارم که ضد زن هستم یا نه. - همسر وایلدر (از اتاق بغلی): آره هست! - بیلی: نخیر! فکر نمیکنم! - همسرش: هست! - بیلی: بسیار خوب هستم. (ص ۳۸۵)» و آدمیست طناز: «کمرون کرو: … سالهای شصت برای شما چه طور بود؟ - وایلدر: حتی متوجه نبودم که سالهای شصت است! (ص۴۰۸)» و کسیست که کاملاً به استعداد داشتن برای نویسندگی (و کار هنری) و نیز الهام شدن معتقد است: «کمرون کرو: چه زمانی فکر شما بهتر کار میکند؟ - وایلدر: بستگی دارد. گاهی وقتی در توالت هستم، گاهی زیر دوش بعضی وقتها وقتی دارم میخورم. (ص ۴۱۰)»
August 1, 2017
da leggere, rileggere, compulsare. una chiacchierata che incanta, con uno dei registi più straordinari di sempre. non è solo un'intervista allievo-maestro, ma un dialogo che dice infinite cose a tutti gli innamorati del cinema. some like it wilder.
June 18, 2010
To compare this book to Hitchcock/Truffaut or Bogdanovich interviewing Welles is absurd. Wilder is intermittently interesting, but Cameron Crowe is an insuffurable jackass more fascinated in showing how much Wilder likes him than in actually asking any good questions.
Mostly this is a book of gossip about movie stars. It feels like a third of the book is spent talking about Marilyn Monroe. The biggest problem is that Wilder doesn't have an interest in analyzing his films. He warms up to Crowe eventually, and clearly likes the idea that people might want to read what he has to say, so he's happy to answer questions and talk, but he's just not personally interested in covering any of this material. Mostly we're left with ancient Hollywood gossip.
And we're left with plenty of Crowe trying to convince Wilder that the attitude expressed in his films must be related to a single, powerful event from his childhood, and what was it?! Crowe is full of ideas about what makes Wilder tick, and spends page after page trying to convince Wilder he's right.
Then we have the endless 'informative' passages where Crowe describes going to Wilder's office, hanging out with Wilder's wife, going out to dinner with them, etc. It reads like the longest, most boring Rolling Stone interview of all time.
Wilder has some good one-liners, and here and there we get some compelling info about how he went about making great movies like Double Indemnity, The Apartment and Sunset Blvd, so at least it's not a total loss.
Mostly this is a book of gossip about movie stars. It feels like a third of the book is spent talking about Marilyn Monroe. The biggest problem is that Wilder doesn't have an interest in analyzing his films. He warms up to Crowe eventually, and clearly likes the idea that people might want to read what he has to say, so he's happy to answer questions and talk, but he's just not personally interested in covering any of this material. Mostly we're left with ancient Hollywood gossip.
And we're left with plenty of Crowe trying to convince Wilder that the attitude expressed in his films must be related to a single, powerful event from his childhood, and what was it?! Crowe is full of ideas about what makes Wilder tick, and spends page after page trying to convince Wilder he's right.
Then we have the endless 'informative' passages where Crowe describes going to Wilder's office, hanging out with Wilder's wife, going out to dinner with them, etc. It reads like the longest, most boring Rolling Stone interview of all time.
Wilder has some good one-liners, and here and there we get some compelling info about how he went about making great movies like Double Indemnity, The Apartment and Sunset Blvd, so at least it's not a total loss.
May 2, 2014
لحظات خیلی خوشی را با بیلی وایلدر گذروندم. واقعن خوش گذشت
December 18, 2024
این کتاب درست شبیه به فیلم های بیلی وایلدر شیرین و دوست داشتنیه
حس خوندن این کتاب با ترجمه ی بی نظیر خانم امامی مثل خوردن بستنی تو هوای داغ نیمه ی تابستونه
وایلدر از خاطراتش در حین ساخت فیلمهاش و کار با بازیگران مطرح دوران کلاسیک مثل بوگارت و مونرو و هپبورن میگه اما نکته جالب اینه که به هیچ عنوان از اونا با تمجید های مرسوم یاد نمیکنه و بر عکس خاطرات بانمک و متفاوتی رو تعریف میکنه .
اگر فیلم های وایلدر رو دوست دارین خوندن این کتاب رو از دست ندین.
حس خوندن این کتاب با ترجمه ی بی نظیر خانم امامی مثل خوردن بستنی تو هوای داغ نیمه ی تابستونه
وایلدر از خاطراتش در حین ساخت فیلمهاش و کار با بازیگران مطرح دوران کلاسیک مثل بوگارت و مونرو و هپبورن میگه اما نکته جالب اینه که به هیچ عنوان از اونا با تمجید های مرسوم یاد نمیکنه و بر عکس خاطرات بانمک و متفاوتی رو تعریف میکنه .
اگر فیلم های وایلدر رو دوست دارین خوندن این کتاب رو از دست ندین.
September 2, 2020
WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS ADULT LANGUAGE. BUT TRUST ME, IT’S WORTH IT.
Louis B. Mayer was pissed. He was holding forth on a staircase after the first Hollywood premiere of Sunset Boulevard. How dare this young man, Billy Wilder, bite the hand that feeds him. Mayer felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw a shorter man with large glasses and even bigger eyes. The man said, “Mr. Mayer, I’m Mr. Wilder. Why don’t you go and fuck yourself.”
Brilliant anecdotes like this populate the pages of Conversations with Wilder by Cameron Crowe. A looser and more personal cousin of Hitchcock/Truffaut, Conversations with Wilder is filled with the acid wit and beautiful beating heart of its subject.
Cameron Crowe, an excellent writer-director himself, got a reluctant Wilder to sit for a series of interviews in 1998. The idea was for Crowe to write an article and possibly a book. Wilder agreed because it was suggested by a friend, Karen Lerner, and he was impressed by Crowe’s most recent film, Jerry Maguire.
Crowe asks Wilder about his entire filmography, albeit in a scattered fashion. His subject is much more interested in discussing his hits instead of his misses. So touchstones like Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, The Apartment and Some Like it Hot get plenty of space. But he really sparks when he's discussing his mentor, Ernst Lubitsch.
Wilder and his partner at the time, Charles Brackett, wrote two films for Lubitsch including the classic, Ninotchka. It was from Lubitsch where Wilder learned to let the audience figure out that two plus two equals four. He learned the light, airy Lubitsch touch where jokes build on top of one another and come in unsuspecting ways. Wilder even had a sign hanging over the door to his office that read ‘How Would Lubitsch Do It?’
One of the funniest stories takes place after a preview for Ninotchka. Lubitsch, Wilder and Brackett were sitting in the MGM limo outside the theater and going through the comment cards, which were very positive. After reading one of the cards Lubitsch let out a huge laugh. Then he read the card which said, “Funniest picture I ever saw. So funny that I peed in my girlfriend’s hand.”
Along with the jokes, which come fast and funny from Wilder, are the stories of what could have been. Wilder was never able to get his friend Cary Grant in one of his films. Grant just didn’t want to break out of the Cary Grant persona to take on a Billy Wilder film. Now while I love Humphrey Bogart, can you imagine Cary Grant in Sabrina? The heart weeps.
Speaking of Bogart, Wilder spills a fair amount of tea about the legend. Bogart was coming over to Paramount from Warner Brothers and had a mammoth chip on his shoulder. Wilder refers to him as “that son of a bitch Bogart” and recalls how the actor did his best to make life tough for everyone on the set. Another little known fact is Bogart used to spit when he talked. I look for it now when I watch a Bogart film.
There is, of course, plenty of discussion about Marilyn Monroe. She could be difficult but the end result was worth it according to Wilder. She might not show up to the studio until four in the afternoon because she said she got lost. Or she might need sixty takes to deliver a three-word line like, “It’s me, Sugar,” but the good outweighed the bad. Wilder speaks with affection for Monroe and, while playfully adversarial, the affection was returned. Such as when Monroe wrapped up a phone conversation with Wilder’s wife Audrey with, “Oh, and tell Billy to go fuck himself.”
There is plenty of discussion about film technique but not nearly as much as in Hitchcock/Truffaut. The biggest difference between the two books is in the personal material. Crowe leads Wilder into discussing his marriage, former girlfriends, and a family history filled with tragedy. Most of Wilder’s family were killed in the Holocaust, including his mother. Wilder knew the clock was running on your life as soon as you’re born, so you better get to it. The result was a life well-lived.
The only criticism I have of the book is it seems like Crowe is straining for questions towards the end. But in an honest fashion, Crowe seems to admit as much himself. It’s not lost on Wilder either. “Let it go,” Wilder tells him. But who could blame Crowe? If you had a chance to talk to Billy Wilder about movies, you’d want it to go on forever too.
Billy Wilder, along with Anthony Mann, take up the most room in my classic film-loving heart. Conversations with Wilder is a goldmine of good jokes, film history, and creative inspiration. It sits on my coffee table so it’s always close. And while it’s usually only a few feet away, the work of its subject is, to borrow the final line from Double Indemnity, “closer than that, Walter.”
Louis B. Mayer was pissed. He was holding forth on a staircase after the first Hollywood premiere of Sunset Boulevard. How dare this young man, Billy Wilder, bite the hand that feeds him. Mayer felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw a shorter man with large glasses and even bigger eyes. The man said, “Mr. Mayer, I’m Mr. Wilder. Why don’t you go and fuck yourself.”
Brilliant anecdotes like this populate the pages of Conversations with Wilder by Cameron Crowe. A looser and more personal cousin of Hitchcock/Truffaut, Conversations with Wilder is filled with the acid wit and beautiful beating heart of its subject.
Cameron Crowe, an excellent writer-director himself, got a reluctant Wilder to sit for a series of interviews in 1998. The idea was for Crowe to write an article and possibly a book. Wilder agreed because it was suggested by a friend, Karen Lerner, and he was impressed by Crowe’s most recent film, Jerry Maguire.
Crowe asks Wilder about his entire filmography, albeit in a scattered fashion. His subject is much more interested in discussing his hits instead of his misses. So touchstones like Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, The Apartment and Some Like it Hot get plenty of space. But he really sparks when he's discussing his mentor, Ernst Lubitsch.
Wilder and his partner at the time, Charles Brackett, wrote two films for Lubitsch including the classic, Ninotchka. It was from Lubitsch where Wilder learned to let the audience figure out that two plus two equals four. He learned the light, airy Lubitsch touch where jokes build on top of one another and come in unsuspecting ways. Wilder even had a sign hanging over the door to his office that read ‘How Would Lubitsch Do It?’
One of the funniest stories takes place after a preview for Ninotchka. Lubitsch, Wilder and Brackett were sitting in the MGM limo outside the theater and going through the comment cards, which were very positive. After reading one of the cards Lubitsch let out a huge laugh. Then he read the card which said, “Funniest picture I ever saw. So funny that I peed in my girlfriend’s hand.”
Along with the jokes, which come fast and funny from Wilder, are the stories of what could have been. Wilder was never able to get his friend Cary Grant in one of his films. Grant just didn’t want to break out of the Cary Grant persona to take on a Billy Wilder film. Now while I love Humphrey Bogart, can you imagine Cary Grant in Sabrina? The heart weeps.
Speaking of Bogart, Wilder spills a fair amount of tea about the legend. Bogart was coming over to Paramount from Warner Brothers and had a mammoth chip on his shoulder. Wilder refers to him as “that son of a bitch Bogart” and recalls how the actor did his best to make life tough for everyone on the set. Another little known fact is Bogart used to spit when he talked. I look for it now when I watch a Bogart film.
There is, of course, plenty of discussion about Marilyn Monroe. She could be difficult but the end result was worth it according to Wilder. She might not show up to the studio until four in the afternoon because she said she got lost. Or she might need sixty takes to deliver a three-word line like, “It’s me, Sugar,” but the good outweighed the bad. Wilder speaks with affection for Monroe and, while playfully adversarial, the affection was returned. Such as when Monroe wrapped up a phone conversation with Wilder’s wife Audrey with, “Oh, and tell Billy to go fuck himself.”
There is plenty of discussion about film technique but not nearly as much as in Hitchcock/Truffaut. The biggest difference between the two books is in the personal material. Crowe leads Wilder into discussing his marriage, former girlfriends, and a family history filled with tragedy. Most of Wilder’s family were killed in the Holocaust, including his mother. Wilder knew the clock was running on your life as soon as you’re born, so you better get to it. The result was a life well-lived.
The only criticism I have of the book is it seems like Crowe is straining for questions towards the end. But in an honest fashion, Crowe seems to admit as much himself. It’s not lost on Wilder either. “Let it go,” Wilder tells him. But who could blame Crowe? If you had a chance to talk to Billy Wilder about movies, you’d want it to go on forever too.
Billy Wilder, along with Anthony Mann, take up the most room in my classic film-loving heart. Conversations with Wilder is a goldmine of good jokes, film history, and creative inspiration. It sits on my coffee table so it’s always close. And while it’s usually only a few feet away, the work of its subject is, to borrow the final line from Double Indemnity, “closer than that, Walter.”
September 3, 2022
После книжки Коу наконец сняла с полки давно купленный сборник интервью Кэмерона Кроу с Уайлдером (долго не могла к нему приступить, потому что разучилась читать на бумаге). Конечно, живой голос Билли не заменят никакие художественные фантазии. Байки, истории из жизни, размышления о кино своем и чужом, раздраженное стариковское отмахивание от въедливых вопросов молодого коллеги - все-таки Кроу невероятно повезло, что он познакомился с Билли. А нам - что можно хоть так поучаствовать в их беседах.
Теперь хочется снова пересмотреть фильмы, лучше которых не снял никто.
Теперь хочется снова пересмотреть фильмы, лучше которых не снял никто.
August 6, 2024
Una biblia para entender como se hace cine. Desde inspiraciones a influencias, Wilder no deja tema sin tocar. Un libro que deja una lista interminable de películas por ver y revisitar.
Fundamental.
Fundamental.
November 6, 2018
Os sábios bitaites do Mestre Billy Wilder (o que justifica as 4 estrelas e não as 3 que pensei dar), autor de um punhado de obras primas imortais do cinema, ajudam a desculpar oa múltiplos defeitos do livro de Cameron Crowe - a desorganização dos temas abordados e a aleatoriedade ocasional em que nos deixa, a desordem cronológica dos filmes abordados (uma dor de cabeça para alguém que, como eu, quis usar esta obra também como objecto de estudo, e também para quem quer o livro pelo simples prazer da leitura), a repetição de ideias do autor (o que denota uma certa falta de filtragem da informação recebida nas incontáveis entrevistas, algo que não acontece noutros livros de cinema maiores como "Hitchcock/Truffaut"), bem como a necessidade de Crowe em mostrar, sempre que pode, a empatia que Wilder sentiu por ele (o que no desfecho do livro é tocante, mas que em boa parte do que ficou para trás não deixa de ser irritante). Fora tudo isso, é um livro essencial para cinéfilos, Wilderianos, escritores e comediantes (até porque a comédia cinematográfica está nas ruas da amargura), e mesmo que precisasse de umas quantas limadelas aqui e ali, não se percebe como é que se encontra out of print há tantos anos...
February 22, 2008
William Holden, Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Sunset Boulevard,Some Like it Hot, Double Indemnity... you know you love them all. Why not spend a couple evenings in the company of Billy Wilder and Cameron Crowe listening to great conversations about old Hollywood. Heavily illustrated with photos of the tinseltowns greatest stars, this book will have you updating your "must see" movies list and lingering on the TMC channel just a little longer...
June 26, 2008
This is a marvelous book. Crowe was the perfect person to do this book, as he has years of experience as a journalist and as a writer/director of film. He was able to ask some tough questions of Wilder as a journalist, but also had huge insights into the realities of both writing and directing films that no journalist would ever have. I felt like I was sitting right there in the room with the two of them. I found the snippets of Billy's wife Audrey, who was sometimes nearby, wonderful as well.
October 3, 2025
I head over to Billy Wilder’s grave about once a year, just behind the Westwood branch of the LA Public Library. “I’m a writer,” the gravestone reads, “but nobody’s perfect.” That’s an allusion to the last line of his 1959 movie “Some Like It Hot,” Wilder’s romp with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon.
Wilder had an ability to mix comedy with something just shy of pathos, of surprising us with an understated scene ending (like “Shut up and deal,” the last line of “The Apartment.” He also piles a surprise second joke atop another joke, a trick he learned from mentor Ernst Lubitsch, who hired the young Wilder to write “Ninotchka” with Greta Garbo.
These conversations in the late 90s with Cameron Crowe are gold. (Wilder famously refused Crowe’s pleas to play a bit part in his “Jerry Maguire.”)
A big lesson to learn here is how to ask the right questions. Wilder, who lost his mom and stepdad in the Holocaust, had to be on his good behavior with Lindbergh to film his “Spirit of St. Louis” but during a bumpy plane ride to DC couldn’t help tweaking the 1930s Nazi sympathizer: Imagine the headlines if we cashed, he quipped. “Lucky Lindy crashes with his Jewish friend.” Wilder denied intimate relations with his leading ladies—but not with their stand-ins. He had a deep admiration for the pros he worked with - Charles Laughton, Marlene Dietrich, and Lemmon (whose grave is just a few feet away).
Wilder learns even from his rough collaborations, citing a classic line that Raymond Chandler gave him: “There is nothing as empty as an empty swimming pool.”
Wilder had an ability to mix comedy with something just shy of pathos, of surprising us with an understated scene ending (like “Shut up and deal,” the last line of “The Apartment.” He also piles a surprise second joke atop another joke, a trick he learned from mentor Ernst Lubitsch, who hired the young Wilder to write “Ninotchka” with Greta Garbo.
These conversations in the late 90s with Cameron Crowe are gold. (Wilder famously refused Crowe’s pleas to play a bit part in his “Jerry Maguire.”)
A big lesson to learn here is how to ask the right questions. Wilder, who lost his mom and stepdad in the Holocaust, had to be on his good behavior with Lindbergh to film his “Spirit of St. Louis” but during a bumpy plane ride to DC couldn’t help tweaking the 1930s Nazi sympathizer: Imagine the headlines if we cashed, he quipped. “Lucky Lindy crashes with his Jewish friend.” Wilder denied intimate relations with his leading ladies—but not with their stand-ins. He had a deep admiration for the pros he worked with - Charles Laughton, Marlene Dietrich, and Lemmon (whose grave is just a few feet away).
Wilder learns even from his rough collaborations, citing a classic line that Raymond Chandler gave him: “There is nothing as empty as an empty swimming pool.”
March 19, 2024
Always cool to hear about the opinions and processes of directors who went on to influence many of my favorite filmmakers.
January 27, 2025
Considering how infamously coy Billy Wilder was about his personal life and filmmaking process, this is a priceless treasure.
November 25, 2008
Tuesdays with Billy. This book is a casually fascinating glimpse of two filmmakers in dialogue, with the younger visiting the retired elder to study and celebrate his life and work. Cameron Crowe was contemplating an autobiographical film at the time of these interviews, which became Almost Famous. And Billy Wilder was retired, with afternoon physical therapy sessions to keep the blood flowing followed by evening martinis. Crowe revisits every Wilder film to capture the thoughts of its filmmaker. One of the surprises is the lack of interest in celebrating those films that were not successful with the public. Some of these are fascinating and critically celebrated, but Wilder's spin is pragmatic, nostalgic, and independent. A great read if you have ever seen Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd., The Apartment, Some Like It Hot, Stalag 17, Witness For the Prosecution, Sabrina, Ace in the Hole....
June 13, 2008
This book isn't perfect, Wilder comes off as something of an asshole sometimes when he decides to talk shit about the likes of Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Fred McMurray, and Steven Spielberg (Of course if every asshole could create something like The Apartment which is possibly the loveliest movie ever made I'd find assholes in general alot more tolerable). And Crowe misses some real opportunities by missing some juicy questions (Come on did you really think Wilder wouldn't have a good Klaus Kinski story, or wouldn't want to talk about The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes?)
But this is still an invaluable book. A refreshingly honest look into the mind of a true genius. While it might not reach the heights of Hitchcock Truffaunt, it's still a fantastic look at the relationship between a crotchety old master and a willing eager disciple.
But this is still an invaluable book. A refreshingly honest look into the mind of a true genius. While it might not reach the heights of Hitchcock Truffaunt, it's still a fantastic look at the relationship between a crotchety old master and a willing eager disciple.
Read
November 1, 2009Wonderful conversation with a great filmmaker. Took a while to read because I kept putting the book down so I could watch some of the films (some for the first time, some for the nth). This is the man behind The Apartment, Double Indemnity, Witness for the Prosecution, Stalag 17, Sunset Blvd., Some Like It Hot and more. I think Sabrina is his worst film I've seen and others consider that a classic; if his worst is a classic, the others must be pretty good. Nice to have Crowe as the interviewer as he a) knows his film history and b) elicits respect from Wilder as one filmmaker talking to another.
May 13, 2015
Wilder is one of my top ten favorite directors, and this book essentially let me spent the afternoon in his company, hearing his opinions on more things than I would have ever thought to ask myself. The structure of the book is not perfect, and some serious editing should have been done on some descriptive passages and repetitions from Wilder. Nonetheless, if you're a fan of great cinema and writing/directing technique from a master, then this book comes highly recommended.
July 6, 2014
This is one of the best books I've ever read about filmmaking and filmmakers. It's so obvious Cameron Crowe -- writer and director of Almost Famous, Say Anything, and many more -- loves and respects Billy Wilder -- that comes through throughout this collection of interviews.
October 1, 2008
If you want a great book about early Hollywood and the writers and directors who did the best work, pick this book up.
July 9, 2009
My all-time favorite film director in lively, penetrating, often very funny conversations with Cameron Crowe. What's not to love?
May 19, 2014
Riveting and insightful look at a great journalist/filmmaker talking to his mentor and peeling back the layers if one of the masters of cinema.
September 14, 2016
Cameron Crowe felt a little boring in the beginning. It was interesting to see his encounters with Wilder & how they influenced him. Awesome photos ;)
August 13, 2024
Writer/director Cameron Crowe (
Say Anything
,
Almost Famous
, Jerry Maguire) talked with 90-year-old writer/director Billy Wilder over a period of months in the late 1990s and it came out pretty cool. The pair talk mostly about movies including Wilder's classic films
Double Indemnity
,
Sunset Boulevard
,
Ace in the Hole,
Stalag 17
,
Sabrina
,
Some Like It Hot
,
The Apartment
, and many others I haven't seen but need to see now! They also talk about the actors Wilder worked with such as Humphrey Bogart, Gary Cooper, Tony Curtis, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Walther Matthau, Ray Milland, Marilyn Monroe (a troubled relationship!), Barbara Stanwyck, and Gloria Swanson as well as the one actor Wilder never got to work with: Cary Grant. Fellow directors Ernst Lubitsch, William Wyler, Stanley Kubrick, Woody Allen, and Stephen Spielberg are also analyzed.
The interviews are presented verbatim in chronological order which makes the topics jump around with a lot of repetition as Wilder and Cameron return to things they discussed earlier. I vacillate between thinking this book would've been better if Crowe had edited it to give it more structure or liking it just as it is. The benefit of the latter is that we get to see Wilder reluctant to even participate in these conversations to forming a warm friendship with Crowe and fully supporting the idea of a book. Either way it's a great view into Classic Hollywood writing and directing from the point of view of one of the industry's most notable mavericks.
Favorite Passages:
The interviews are presented verbatim in chronological order which makes the topics jump around with a lot of repetition as Wilder and Cameron return to things they discussed earlier. I vacillate between thinking this book would've been better if Crowe had edited it to give it more structure or liking it just as it is. The benefit of the latter is that we get to see Wilder reluctant to even participate in these conversations to forming a warm friendship with Crowe and fully supporting the idea of a book. Either way it's a great view into Classic Hollywood writing and directing from the point of view of one of the industry's most notable mavericks.
Favorite Passages:
"The director, the director ... wearing a buttonhole here ... the director is just another guy that helps with the making of the picture. I have a little louder voice, I've got a little more freedom, the choice is min, and it's fun. But many people make the movie. It's fun to make pictures because you live, actually live five, ten, or fifteen or twenty different lives. Because you're moving in different backgrounds. You're not going every day to the shop and selling hats your whole life. No. I have a hat shop, but also I am a brain surgeon, and .... I've lived many lives. It all depends how interesting the background is. And, of course, character." - p. 100-101
"CC: Given the choice of comedy, charisma, or dramatic prowes, which do you value most in a leading actor?
BW: The comedian. The comedian can sometimes be serious, but the serious actor can rarely be comic." -p. 240
"Sentimentality, or 'sentimentality,' in quotes, is to show one's sentiment - to be affected by a scene which makes you sit back and react in a way you cannot help. You cannot help it. That can be a wonderful thing. But then there is a false sentimentality, obvious sentimentality, and that you reject, that you hate. It's better if the picture just goes on, you like it, you don't like it. Some directors are very, very sentimental, and they get away with it. Some others, the try for it, they try for, they try for it ... the try to keep levelheaded and impartial, but they cannot." - p. 280-281
"WILDER'S TIPS FOR WRITERS
The audience is fickle.
Grab 'em by the throat and never let 'em go.
Develop a clean line of action for your leading character.
Know where you're going.
The more subtle and elegant you are in hiding your plot points, the better you are as a writer.
If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act.
A tip from Lubitsch; Let the audience add up two plus two. They'll love you forever.
In doing voice-overs, be careful not to describe what the audience already sees. Add to what they are seeing.
The event that occurs at the second-act curtain triggers the end of the movie.
The third act must build, build, build in tempo and action until the last event, and then --
-- that's it. Don't hang around." - p. 357
December 26, 2025
No me esperaba que este libro me terminara gustando tanto.
Es un vistazo a la mente de uno de los mayores directores de todos los tiempos, pero sobre todo, es una serie de entrevistas a alguien que ama el cine con todo su ser. A lo largo de esas conversaciones vemos a Wilder soltar anécdotas, opiniones, desventuras, y triunfos de la industria, a través de los cuales es palpable una admiración por el proceso de hacer películas y un cariño enorme por la gente con la que disfrutó trabajar. Todo matizado por la visión realista de alguien que entiende el negocio y no se pierde en divagaciones sobre la pureza de su arte ni pretensiones de grandeza.
Wilder es todo un personaje, excéntrico, gracioso, y chapado a la antigua. Lo que hace que sea un placer leer todo lo que tiene para compartir sobre la evolución de la industria.
Mi único problema es quizás el entrevistador, que si bien tiene buenas preguntas, creo que por momentos se cierra demasiado en intentar encontrar un centro trágico que motiva a Wilder cuando él mismo le dice que no hubo un momento definitorio que lo empujara a dirigir. En según qué entrevistas se siente que fuerza la máquina para intentar conseguir la respuesta que quiere, solo para nunca conseguirla y que esa sección quede algo extraña.
Dicho eso, un muy buen libro que seguramente gane enteros si sos alguien familiar con el trabajo de Wilder. No es mi caso, pero aún así pude apreciar su perspectiva y pasión por el séptimo arte. ¡Y ahora tengo más películas por ver!
"I don't make cinema, I make movies."
Es un vistazo a la mente de uno de los mayores directores de todos los tiempos, pero sobre todo, es una serie de entrevistas a alguien que ama el cine con todo su ser. A lo largo de esas conversaciones vemos a Wilder soltar anécdotas, opiniones, desventuras, y triunfos de la industria, a través de los cuales es palpable una admiración por el proceso de hacer películas y un cariño enorme por la gente con la que disfrutó trabajar. Todo matizado por la visión realista de alguien que entiende el negocio y no se pierde en divagaciones sobre la pureza de su arte ni pretensiones de grandeza.
Wilder es todo un personaje, excéntrico, gracioso, y chapado a la antigua. Lo que hace que sea un placer leer todo lo que tiene para compartir sobre la evolución de la industria.
Mi único problema es quizás el entrevistador, que si bien tiene buenas preguntas, creo que por momentos se cierra demasiado en intentar encontrar un centro trágico que motiva a Wilder cuando él mismo le dice que no hubo un momento definitorio que lo empujara a dirigir. En según qué entrevistas se siente que fuerza la máquina para intentar conseguir la respuesta que quiere, solo para nunca conseguirla y que esa sección quede algo extraña.
Dicho eso, un muy buen libro que seguramente gane enteros si sos alguien familiar con el trabajo de Wilder. No es mi caso, pero aún así pude apreciar su perspectiva y pasión por el séptimo arte. ¡Y ahora tengo más películas por ver!
"I don't make cinema, I make movies."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2023
Fue Karen Lerner, periodista de Newsweek, amiga de los Wilder, quien le propuso al director Cameron Crowe hacer un libro con entrevistas con Billy Wilder, similar al Hitchcock de François Truffaut. Cuenta Cameron que nunca se habían caído bien. “Aunque en general, es mejor que los héroes permanezcan a cierta distancia: en una estantería, en una colección de discos. A una distancia heroica”.
Lerner le insistió y le dijo que Wilder había leído su diario en la revista Rolling Stone y le había gustado. Así comenzó la aventura que hizo posible este maravilloso libro. Durante este mes he acompañado el libro viendo las películas del director, no todas, pero casi.
Wilder cuenta en el libro su aprendizaje de Ernst Lubitsch, su llegada en los años 20 a Hollywood, “llegamos una avalancha de europeos, actores, directores… vinieron llamados por Louis B. Mayer, que había ido a Europa en busca de talento. Mientras que yo vine porque no quería acabar en un horno” (su madre murió en Austchwitz), sus comienzos como guionista junto a Brackett, también con I.Z.Diamond con el que realizó la mayor parte de su carrera cinematográfica y una cantidad infinita de curisosidades y anécdotas sobre sus películas, historias sobre actores y otros directores. Es una guía maravillosa para entender su cine. Un libro al que volver de vez en cuando. Recomendable para todo buen cinéfilo.
Lerner le insistió y le dijo que Wilder había leído su diario en la revista Rolling Stone y le había gustado. Así comenzó la aventura que hizo posible este maravilloso libro. Durante este mes he acompañado el libro viendo las películas del director, no todas, pero casi.
Wilder cuenta en el libro su aprendizaje de Ernst Lubitsch, su llegada en los años 20 a Hollywood, “llegamos una avalancha de europeos, actores, directores… vinieron llamados por Louis B. Mayer, que había ido a Europa en busca de talento. Mientras que yo vine porque no quería acabar en un horno” (su madre murió en Austchwitz), sus comienzos como guionista junto a Brackett, también con I.Z.Diamond con el que realizó la mayor parte de su carrera cinematográfica y una cantidad infinita de curisosidades y anécdotas sobre sus películas, historias sobre actores y otros directores. Es una guía maravillosa para entender su cine. Un libro al que volver de vez en cuando. Recomendable para todo buen cinéfilo.
September 5, 2023
"Conversations with Wilder" is a delightful backstage pass to the world of one of Hollywood's greatest directors, Billy Wilder. If you're a film buff, this book is like striking gold in the archives of cinema history.
The first thing to note is that this book assumes a basic familiarity with Billy Wilder's filmography. If you're not well-versed in his works, some of the discussions might go over your head. So, it's a good idea to brush up on his movies before diving in.
In this collection of interviews with Cameron Crowe, you get to eavesdrop on the witty, sharp, and often irreverent mind of Wilder. It's like sitting down for coffee with the legendary director himself and hearing him spill the beans on his iconic films.
What makes this book stand out is Wilder's unfiltered candor. He doesn't hold back, whether he's sharing stories about the making of classics like "Sunset Boulevard" or dishing out his thoughts on the film industry.
In summary, "Conversations with Wilder" is a treasure trove for cinephiles and anyone interested in the art of filmmaking. Billy Wilder's irreverent charm and wisdom shine through every page, making it a must-read for anyone who loves movies. So, grab your popcorn and settle in for a cinematic chat with one of the greatest directors of all time.
The first thing to note is that this book assumes a basic familiarity with Billy Wilder's filmography. If you're not well-versed in his works, some of the discussions might go over your head. So, it's a good idea to brush up on his movies before diving in.
In this collection of interviews with Cameron Crowe, you get to eavesdrop on the witty, sharp, and often irreverent mind of Wilder. It's like sitting down for coffee with the legendary director himself and hearing him spill the beans on his iconic films.
What makes this book stand out is Wilder's unfiltered candor. He doesn't hold back, whether he's sharing stories about the making of classics like "Sunset Boulevard" or dishing out his thoughts on the film industry.
In summary, "Conversations with Wilder" is a treasure trove for cinephiles and anyone interested in the art of filmmaking. Billy Wilder's irreverent charm and wisdom shine through every page, making it a must-read for anyone who loves movies. So, grab your popcorn and settle in for a cinematic chat with one of the greatest directors of all time.
September 30, 2024
While making "Jerry Maguire", one of the best films of the 90s, Writer-Director Cameron Crowe took on the ambitious project of interviewing the masterful 90 year old directing legend, Billy Wilder. The result is a delightful book that gives great insights into Wilder's library of incredible films as well as his charming (and sometimes obstinate) personality. Crowe gets Wilder into some deep dives as far back as his childhood in Vienna, his early films in the 20s, his eventual escape to America, and a no-holds-barred look at his great and (occasinally) mediocre films. By the end, you'll want to hug Wilder, although he probably won't let you. What is evident throughout the book is that, even though Crowe himself is a great screenwriter, he is completely in awe and deference to Wilder. This hard-to-find book is a glimpse into genius and a real treat for all fans of old Hollywood and great movies. "Some Like It Hot", "Sunset Boulevard", "The Apartment" and "Double Indemnity" all from one director? C'mon! It's just not fair.
My only minor criticism is the design of the book. It's filled with hundreds of great photos, but they seem out of synch with the text. Usually, the photos are a page before or after the descriptive narrative from the interview, which I found odd. Otherwise, film fans, read this!
My only minor criticism is the design of the book. It's filled with hundreds of great photos, but they seem out of synch with the text. Usually, the photos are a page before or after the descriptive narrative from the interview, which I found odd. Otherwise, film fans, read this!
May 14, 2025
Steven Spielberg called Billy Wilder "the greatest writer-director in Hollywood history", and he did not exaggerate, not one bit.
This is a book for fans of Billy Wilder's many great movies. (And those movies that didn't please the fickle public, but are now seen as terrific for pure style, inspired performances, and witty dialogue.) For me, it felt like I was experiencing another Wilder movie I had not seen before!
CONVERSATIONS WITH WILDER is the closest we cinephiles out here can get to sitting down with The Master and asking him about DOUBLE INDEMNITY, SOME LIKE IT HOT, THE APARTMENT, SUNSET BOULEVARD, THE FORTUNE COOKIE, etc. Cameron Crowe, a writer-director, asked many of the questions I would have loved to ask Wilder, and, at age 90, his subject was sharp and funny about his career, even the few disappointments that even a great talent has to get through.
If you are not a Billy Wilder film fan, I envy you because if you are reading this review, it must be because you are thinking about watching some of his movies. Well, do so! Start tonight with any of the above films, and keep going to any others I didn't mention. Meanwhile, in between catching up to his work, get this book and enjoy some of the best conversations about movie making (and life in general) you could ask for!
This is a book for fans of Billy Wilder's many great movies. (And those movies that didn't please the fickle public, but are now seen as terrific for pure style, inspired performances, and witty dialogue.) For me, it felt like I was experiencing another Wilder movie I had not seen before!
CONVERSATIONS WITH WILDER is the closest we cinephiles out here can get to sitting down with The Master and asking him about DOUBLE INDEMNITY, SOME LIKE IT HOT, THE APARTMENT, SUNSET BOULEVARD, THE FORTUNE COOKIE, etc. Cameron Crowe, a writer-director, asked many of the questions I would have loved to ask Wilder, and, at age 90, his subject was sharp and funny about his career, even the few disappointments that even a great talent has to get through.
If you are not a Billy Wilder film fan, I envy you because if you are reading this review, it must be because you are thinking about watching some of his movies. Well, do so! Start tonight with any of the above films, and keep going to any others I didn't mention. Meanwhile, in between catching up to his work, get this book and enjoy some of the best conversations about movie making (and life in general) you could ask for!
July 16, 2025
Uno abre este libro y no sabe muy bien qué opinar de él. Por una parte, tenemos las palabras de Billy Wilder, una de las personas con mayor cerebro que ha pisado Hollywood. Por otra, lo que parece ser las transcripciones de una serie de entrevistas entre el también guionista y director Cameron Crowe y Billy Wilder. En aquella época, Crowe era un valor en ascenso. Wilder, un ser legendario del Hollywood clásico que se resistía a morir.
El conjunto tiene la apariencia de un montón de transcripciones sin editar, en las que parece que lo más incidental es más importante que el contenido. Saltos y reiteraciones, falta de un plan, de un orden. Se rescatan declaraciones de Wilder pero se tiene la impresión que esto podría haber sido mucho más. Crowe pretende hacer una novela de iniciación o el guion de una película en que se narra el encuentro de un director primerizo con alguien que tiene toda la veteranía y la por detrás.
Podrá ser más veraz para reflejar lo que pasó en esos días, pero quizá un poquito de truco no hubiera venido mal para que este conjunto de preguntas soltadas al viento hubiera cuajado mucho más. Como dijo Wilder, si tiene un fallo en el tercer acto, examina el primero. Por lo menos nos queda un poquito de Billy Wilder, y eso ya es mucho.
El conjunto tiene la apariencia de un montón de transcripciones sin editar, en las que parece que lo más incidental es más importante que el contenido. Saltos y reiteraciones, falta de un plan, de un orden. Se rescatan declaraciones de Wilder pero se tiene la impresión que esto podría haber sido mucho más. Crowe pretende hacer una novela de iniciación o el guion de una película en que se narra el encuentro de un director primerizo con alguien que tiene toda la veteranía y la por detrás.
Podrá ser más veraz para reflejar lo que pasó en esos días, pero quizá un poquito de truco no hubiera venido mal para que este conjunto de preguntas soltadas al viento hubiera cuajado mucho más. Como dijo Wilder, si tiene un fallo en el tercer acto, examina el primero. Por lo menos nos queda un poquito de Billy Wilder, y eso ya es mucho.
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