Status Updates From Adventures in the Screen Tr...

I have absolutely adored every single word of this book so far. It never feels like Goldman is giving a lecture or presenting a bunch of precious information. Instead it just feels like he’s a friend, telling a story about all of the pieces that go into telling a story. I recently learned that he wrote a follow up book many years later, so of course I bought it right away and it’s currently sitting in my room.

I read a couple of chapters about things like Agents and Meetings, but this last one was about the auteur theory. Goldman really hates the auteur theory, and thinks it’s ridiculous to claim that the director is the author of a movie, which is understandable coming from him and he makes some great points. He also says that he thinks it ruined the end of Hitchcock’s career, cause he bought into what people claimed.

This chapter was all about producers, and the role they play in getting a movie made. Goldman tells a fun story about the pre-production process for The Verdict (then still unreleased), and how it jumped between a number of different directors, writers, and stars before ultimately landing on Sidney Lumet, David Mamet, and Paul Newman. He also predicts that movies will just get more expensive. He was very right!

In this chapter, Goldman talks about studio executives, and how none of them have any idea what they’re doing nor do they have any idea which projects will turn out successful. Some things never change I guess. He also talks about how basically all of the execs are ex-agents, so they don’t have any passion for film or creativity, which is the cause of so many Hollywood problems. This is still very true today.

This is so good. First chapter was all about movie stars, what makes a star and how they affect the filmmaking process. Goldman has so many great stories to tell, and it’s interesting to see who were considered the biggest stars back in the early 80s when this was written. He also talks about how he expects the then upcoming Rocky III to make more money than the original. He was right!

Felt like I had to strike while the iron was hot. And by iron, I mean “read another nonfiction book about writing written by a writer”. William Goldman is a legendary screenwriter (and novelist) who wrote some of the most beloved movies of all time like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Princess Bride, and All The President’s Men. Excited to read all of his anecdotes and insight, love the style so far.