From Hollywood's earliest days to the studio era (when Joan
Crawford refused to cross the street on the MGM lot except in a
chauffeured limousine) to the ups and downs - which are often
precipitous - of today's film industry, this is a hugely
entertaining collection of tales from and about Hollywood's great
and often not so good. No legendary name escapes and, as a bonus,
there is the largest collection of Goldwynisms ever published in
one take. (Kirkus UK)
Hollywood, Walter Winchell quipped, is where they shoot too many
movies and not enough actors. Always looking for an angle, always,
scheming, always the scene of clashing egos, the movie industry is
where they place you under contract instead of observation-and if
you don't have anything nice to say, write it down. "In 1940, I had
my choice between Hitler and Hollywood," French director Rene Clair
recalled, "and I preferred Hollywood-just a little." In Movie
Anecdotes, Peter Hay treats us to a delightful ride through the
world that has captivated audiences for almost a century, with
stories that are often hilarious, sometimes tragic, and always
entertaining. He takes us from the rough-and tumble early days
(when one studio paid Pancho Villa $25,000 to launch his attacks
only in daylight, after a film crew had set up) to the studio era
(when Joan Crawford refused to cross the street on the MGM lot
except in a chauffeured limousine) to the shenanigans of today's
global industry. Here are stories about all the legends: Charlie
Chaplin, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Mae West, Lucille Ball,
Marilyn Monroe, Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Judy
Garland, Sophia Loren, John Wayne, and, of course, Ronald Reagan.
There are the great directors from D.W. Griffith, Hitchcock, and
Eisenstein, to Kurosawa, Bergman, Visconti, Huston, Ford, and Woody
Allen. And Hay has selected tales of the writers, the wits, and the
grand moguls, including perhaps the largest collection of
Goldwynisms-both genuine and apocryphal. Along with the laughter,
this volume recreates the conflicts that have torn the movie world,
from battles over money and contracts, to discrimination, divorces,
and scandals. Colorful, incredible, bitter, funny-the stories about
moviemaking are as fantastic as the pictures themselves. Now they
have been gathered together in an irresistible bouquet that is
certain to delight every movie buff and provide fascinating
insights for serious students of film.
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