If you thought this was a book you’d be mistaken, with pages that read like quotations it’s quite different. However it was well worth the recommendation I first received to read it.
Cataloguing how gratuitous and immoral/unethical Hollywood is, it’s certainly playing into the hands of truth. Sometimes the truth feels almost too private though, like someone is shouting it for the betterment of everyone else around, not realising that everyone else around isn’t actually bothered. But is this not the hallmark of PR and marketing? Is this not the way to conduct an Interview? Is this not the best way to sell yourself? It’s a shame though, because it’s not just Hollywood, the literary industry can be easily as bad and so can other industries that become ingratiated in their own routines, loving themselves just that little bit too much.
Makes you ask the question is perspective always lost when an industry or job is done for many decades?
But back to the book. It is very good, all of the above aside, it is better as a Hollywood negotiation guide, getting you through life in LA (From what I’ve now heard I’d rather die than even go) and getting you through any negotiations you might go through. Eszterhas with his bulldozer no compromise approach is actually quite inspiring to read about, but if you follow his example and you get lucky, you’re sure to land some pretty hefty options for your work.
Moreover it points the scriptwriter in the direction of what must be done to move forward. It lists and catalogues a lot of things I already do, e.g. write down ideas, write every day, have a routine, stick to it, etc. One other nice thing about this book is that it’s quite up to date, so some of the films mentioned actually have modern relevance (that’s nice for me, seeing as I am only 23!)
I’d still recommend Goldman’s book over this one, partly because he’s gone to the trouble of writing it into a non fiction book, not a series of quotes. But Goldman does also try and teach a few things and he’s modest as hell (Which is a good and a bad thing, but I like it)
Well worth a read if you want to get the lowdown on scriptwriting.
