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Who Killed Hollywood?: How Tinseltown Let Its Golden Era Get Tarnished

by Peter Bart

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Overview
Readers reviews (5)

Product Details

Publisher: Renaissance Books
Publishing date: 15/01/2000
Language: Français
ISBN-13: 9781580631167
ISBN: 1580631169

Synopsis

In a period when Hollywood is not just doing okay but has become positively enthroned as justification for the octoplex, what is Peter Bart asking, exactly? In this guileful series of columns first published in the pages of Variety and GQ, Bart paints his bull's-eye on the new cipher-titans of Tinseltown--the media megalopolises, the conglomerate tycoons, the deal-making super-agents and, oh yeah, the $20 million actors: "Given the mania to develop new Disney Worlds," he writes, "movies themselves have all too often become special-effects odysseys devoid of personal story or point of view." Bart has bite too. With a history as an executive at Paramount and Sony, where he put together movies such as The Godfather and Chinatown, he has a Rolodex that includes truth-tellers like Terrence Malick and Robert Towne and insider scoops galore. So whether he's analyzing the "golden gut" that tells Robert Redford what script to choose, describing Warren Beatty's care with words even during "sexual congress," rehashing the Eisner-Katzenberg show, or writing acid memos to Joe "Basic Instinct" Eszterhas, Bart's credentials are undeniable. Still, the really good stuff is buried in stories of lesser-knowns like David Begelman and his protégé William Tennant, who crashed and burned, respectively, on a check-forging scandal and cocaine addiction. Tennant's tale is a weird Hollywood epic. At one point he'd risen to being Roman Polanski's agent, but his addiction lowered him to earning his bones selling sandwiches off a catering truck. Years later Bart saw him rise again, via video sales in London, which made him millions. "This is a business book," he concludes coldly of Michael Eisner's autobiography. Same goes for Who Killed Hollywood--but with the difference that this book combines juicy gossip with that rare thing, a moral backbone. --Lyall Bush

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It takes chutzpah
From Amazon

It takes chutzpah, or arrogance, or an attitude of "maybe there's a buck in it" to put out a book such as this which is a collection of columns written by self opinionated Mr Bart for GQ and Variety. On the other hand it may be just another sign of the "dumbing down of the West" . I'm one of the dumb ones who bought it and in HARDCOVER (albeit remaindered). Not particularly well written but cashing in on the fact that he mixes with the rich and famous so suckers like me will fork out good money to find out his "insights" into the way Hollywood works. Save your money. Can be read IN TOTAL in about 30 minutes.

Who killed Hollywood? Actually, nobody despite what
From Amazon

Peter Barts thinks. He is an insider who longs for the good old days when people like him welded more power. He cries about it in his book consisting mostly of his old columns. He tackles all the players in the movie making business. First, the old mogols & new money men, people we have all have heard of. He heaps scorn on agents we haven't heard of. People whose inflated egos are only surpassed by their greed according to Mr. Bart. He moves on to the stars, the directors & their movies. The well known flops & hits are reviewed. It is a bit dated now as this book consist of columns from as far back as ten years ago. He points to the acendency of agents & managers over the money suppliers, thru their access to the actors & directors. Many agents & managers fancy themselves as producers which they are not, merely as a way to make more money for their clients & in turn themselves. The lose of the the studio system, that Mr. Bart was a part of is what he misses. So he wrote about it & in the process was able to squeeze some more $$$ out of his old columns without too much effort. Nice gig for him. He is a pretty good writer & I enjoyed this audio version.

Only for those who don't read variety or GQ
From Amazon

Bart's book is essentially an amalgamation of his Variety and GQ articles, rather than the more thought provoking discussion that the title implies. Nevertheless, Bart's articles are compelling and extremely well written, not to mention easily digestible with their 3-6 page lengths. Bart has some intriguing insights and his popularity in Hollywood has given him extraordinary access to his subjects. However, Bart seems to waver as to whether the Hollywood blockbusters he evicerates in his prologue are really killing Hollywood. In some essays, he longs for the days of Hollywood past, saying that the integrity and purity of these simpler times is long lost. Doubtlessly true. Yet, at other times, especially when talking about studio executives, Bart champions the idea of blockbusters and "summer tent-pole" movies. Rather than proposing a solution to Hollywood's woes, he sometimes champions its current status. With Bart's insight and the promise of the prologue, one should expect more out of this book. Yes, it is entertaining and insightful, but it would have been interesting for Bart to have given more extensive elaboration inbetween his articles. Too often, the seams show.

That's Entertainment
From Amazon

Here are articles that offer insights into the way the entertainment industry really works and what the stars and directors are really like. It provides an antidote to celebrity journalism which is just a collection of puff pieces. It's a fascinating read.

Variety readers beware!
From Amazon

letter to Mr. Bart:

Is Hollywood that boring that you have to collect old essays to tell us Who Killed Hollywood? Your laziness is exactly what you criticize people in Hollywood for, doing things for the sake of a profit. I was exepecting a new book with your views of what's going on in Hollywood not old essays from Variety and the dreaded GQ. Shame! Shame!