Book Review of Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman (1983)

Adventures in the Screen Trade. William Goldman. New York, NY: Grand Central Publishing, 1983. 594 pages

By Patrick Charsky

    Hollywood was in major crisis mode in the early 1980’s. Heaven’s Gate had just crashed and brought an end to the period of American Film History known as The New Hollywood. What was to be done? How would Hollywood survive? It was another existential moment for Hollywood. Chronicling these years and the movie events that made them is William Goldman. Famous Hollywood scribe who made his bones with hits like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men, and A Bridge too Far.

    Adventures in the Screen Trade is the first of three books that deal with Goldman’s career as a screenwriter. Adventures in the Screen Trade is not only a very funny book with plenty of anecdotes, advice, and attitude, it is also deeply insightful into Hollywood during Goldman’s early days as a screenwriter. The book is replete with stories about stars like Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Goldman also divulges numerous tips for aspiring screenwriters to pay attention to. Like not talking too much at meetings. Or how to “protect” the star. Or write for stars. Through the delineation of these details I will show why Goldman’s book is funny, educational, and a joy to read.

    In the beginning of his career as a writer Goldman was a struggling novelist. His big break came when he met up with an actor who thought he had promise as a writer. This actor’s name was Cliff Robertson. Robertson read one of Goldman’s early novels and thought he might be a good screenwriter. This was how Goldman cut his teeth in Hollywood. Still, Goldman faced some travails before his big hit Butch Cassidy. He lost a job. Was taken off a screenplay. It was no walk in the park. And Goldman makes that clear. It took him eight years to write Butch Cassidy. And his screenwriting career see sawed from hit to miss, to walking off a project or winning an Academy Award for Screenwriting. As a matter of fact Goldman won two.

    Some of the most interesting parts of the book are when Goldman writes about his interactions with Robert Redford. Goldman makes clear that Redford, in the 1970’s, was the biggest star in Hollywood. And the writer and actor collaborated extensively during this time. Goldman wrote The Great Waldo Pepper, All the President's Men, and A Bridge Too Far all of which starred Redford. There are many detailed stories that concern the production of each film. They are lucidly recalled and open the door to the mystery and legend of how movies get made.

    Adventures in the Screen Trade also has much advice about how to write a screenplay. A gem of writing advice from Goldman is to “protect” the star. By this he means giving the star of the film a great part. Goldman recalls numerous actors and actresses and the roles they played. He uses Humphrey Bogart, Robert Duvall, and Gene Hackman as examples of how to write for particular actors. It wasn’t just that they were in the movie, it was that they played a big role with memorable lines. Or a role that suited their acting style. He also divulges advice about making descriptions of characters a bit vague and open to interpretation because if you made it too narrow you would leave out a lot of casting possibilities.

    Among his other tidbits of advice concern how to behave as a screenwriter. He talks about two different kinds of meetings. One being audition meetings. The second being rewrite meetings. He also says meetings are the way Hollywood functions. People are taking meetings all the time. Only all the good meetings are taken. Go figure! Alas his most memorable piece of advice to screenwriters at a meeting is to SHUT UP!

    The last part of the book that comes across clearly is Goldman’s attitude. It is clear that he has no fear. His famous saying from the book is “Nobody knows anything” in Hollywood. To back up this statement Goldman writes about film executives or producers who passed on big box office smashes like Star Wars or Jaws or gave the greenlight to films like Heaven’s Gate or some other film that was a “stiff” that no one remembers.

    Goldman knows the mind of executives and producers possibly better than they know themselves. His story about what a “non-recurring phenomenon” is shows just how addicted Hollywood has become to franchise pictures. And even more so comic book films which become franchises. If only Goldman were alive to see all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies; I wonder what he would think? I’m sure he wouldn’t be surprised.

    The other part of Adventures that shows Goldman’s attitude is when he talks about how he wasn’t moved by The Deer Hunter, but how he was really emotional about Bambi. Goldman thought Bambi was the better movie. Another example of Goldman’s attitude coming through was when he wrote about the 1977 Academy Awards race. Goldman’s film All The President’s Men was up for a slew of Oscars including Best Picture. Only his movie didn’t win. The boxing movie Rocky won for Best Picture. Goldman dissects the awards and makes clear that he doesn’t think Rocky deserved to win. He supports his opinion by showing how Rocky became a franchise and none of the films that followed the first movie won any recognition. Goldman thinks Taxi Driver was the film most people will remember from that year at the Oscars.

    The writing sparkles with wit, humor, and erudition. I’ve not read anything quite like Adventures in the Screen Trade. I’m looking forward to reading his next take on Hollywood; Which Lie Did I Tell? More Adventures in the Screen Trade and Goldman’s book of essays Who Killed Hollywood? I also plan on reading some of his screenplays. Really getting into the primary sources and learning about this great scribe. There is much to learn from Adventures in the Screen Trade. Especially for Screenwriters.

Book Review of Hitchcock/Truffaut by Francios Truffaut (1983)

                Hitchcock/Truffaut. Francois Truffaut. New York, NY:                             Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 1983. 367 pages.


                                        By Patrick Charsky


    In the future when Cinema as we know it is something far different from what it is today, Historians will look back on the Golden Age of Cinema and find one of their key texts will be Hitchcock/Truffaut by François Truffaut. Written by an essential director of the French New Wave about the most famous British director of Film’s first Golden Age, the book is a treasure trove of information about how to make films, what makes a film a success and the life and times of the Master of Suspense; Sir Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock/Truffaut presents Sir Alfred’s long career of hits and misses with a discussion about the Master Director’s methods for creating timeless masterpieces and forgotten misfires.

Hitchcock/Truffaut is not a biography. There is little background to Hitch’s personal life or upbringing. The book focuses on Hitch’s filmmaking career and how he made his films. Hitchcock/Truffaut came about from Truffaut’s idea to get down Hitch’s views on filmmaking after a long career that reached its climax with Psycho and then declined in the 1970’s and ended with Sir Alfred’s death on April 29th, 1980.

The first question I asked myself before writing this review was what made Hitchcock films Masterpieces? Was there a special formula that Hitch used in his films? When Truffaut began to interview Hitch he stated that many critics of Hitch’s films at the time they were released said his films were “empty” and had “no meaning.” It was only in the 1970’s and 1980’s that Hitch’s critical reputation grew and he became considered a legend. His films influenced many filmmakers, especially those working in the horror or suspense genre.

The reasons why Hitch’s films succeeded have to begin with his technical virtuosity. Hitch aspired to be an engineer before getting into the British Film Industry during the days of Silent film. Throughout the book Hitch goes into great detail about camera setups, shooting films so editing isn’t necessary, and how to get the perfect shot of a scene or sequence. The most famous example is Psycho. In one chapter Hitch talks about how he got the sequence of Norman Bates’ mother killing the detective without showing her face. The shot took a lot expertise not to show Bates’ face and reveal the secret that Norman was dressing up as his mother and murdering people. The camera was suspended above the scene and moved carefully to catch the killing without giving away the conclusion to the audience. A fantastic sequence that shows Hitch’s immense creativity when shooting scenes.

Perhaps the biggest reason Hitchcock’s films succeeded was the use of the star system. In the beginning most of Hitch’s films used famous people from the London stage. When he moved to Hollywood to work with David O. Selznick, Hitch began to use big stars like Ingrid Bergman, Jimmy Stewart, and Cary Grant. His biggest hits used the Star System to his advantage.

The last reason Hitch’s films were a success was the thrilling conclusion. The best of Hitch’s films had the most thrilling conclusions in Film History. Of course there are the most famous; Vertigo, Psycho, but in his other films the conclusions are just as thrilling. In the first talkie of British Cinema, Blackmail, there is a great conclusion. Just as well in Notorious or North by Northwest. Hitch always gave the audience their money’s worth.

During the course of the interview Truffaut would invariably press Hitch for his opinions about why some films just didn’t work. Hitch would always remember each film in intricate detail. Sometimes, Hitch would refuse to talk about a film. Most of the time Hitch blamed poor casting for his film flops. When he couldn’t get a big name actor or actress to play the lead, Hitch would blame that reason for the film's failure. This reason was why Hitch became obsessed in his later years with Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, and Tippi Hedren. Hitch saw them as great components in his machine. Without them it was like missing a cog in his giant wheel.

In his later career Hitch turned dark against his leading women. He says he wasn’t impressed with Kim Novak in Vertigo even though, as Truffaut makes clear, audiences loved her. Further on Hitch became despondent about Grace Kelly’s departure for a royal marriage. In his efforts to replace her he found Tippi Hedren who never rose to Hitch’s standards. It was decisions like these that Hitich obsesses over in his talks with Truffaut about why a picture succeeded or failed.

The last reason Hitch’s films didn’t work were audience changes. Hitch was a commercial filmmaker. He worked in the Film Industry during a time when Film was the dominant form of communication. As the film industry changed, so did Hitch’s fortunes. He bore the difficult times of the 1950’s well, but when the sea change in filmmaking happened in the late 1960’s and through the 1970’s decline inevitably set in. In his defense Hitch was able to cite box office as the reason to keep making films. Psycho was a big success. Hitch could continue to make small stories with low budgets and create a small and tidy profit. By The Birds and his later films, the audience had left. And so had the profit. Whereas Hitch made films that avoided politics or sex or graphic violence; the New Hollywood made films that dealt explicitly with politics and had graphic depictions fo sex and violence.

Film Directors would benefit the most from reading this book. Hitch, after all, was a Director. His ruminations about filmmaking will educate aspiring Directors. His talk about camera techniques, acting, and dealing with source material and writers shed substantial light on how directors work. Film has changed, but Hitch’s lessons still have relevance. His attention to detail, his directing of actors, and his innovative ways of telling simple stories are lessons to be learned by filmmakers.

Writers would also benefit from reading Hitchcock/Truffaut. Hitch talks extensively about finding source material from plays, novels, and newspaper articles. Hitch was not a writer, but the book shows how Directors and Writers collaborate on a film. Lastly Film Historians and film fans who are interested in Hitch’s films and career would enjoy the book. Hitchcock/Truffaut is a treasure trove of information, stories, and advice. This book, like Hitchcock and Truffaut, will remain an essential document about a time when films were the only media in town. When going to a theater was commonplace. Not an event. Hitchcock is gone forever. His films will last an eternity and this book is the best way to engage with his films.