The Devil's Guide to Hollywood by Joe Eszterhas (2006, Hardcover)

What I learned from this book: Joe Eszterhas hates Robert McKee, most producers and almost all directors; Eszterhas loves fellow Hungarians Zsa Zsa Gabor and Tony Curtis.

Eszterhas is the screenwriter who brought us Basic Instinct, Jagged Edge, Showgirls, Jade and many other fine and not so fine movies. Subtitled, The Screenwriter As God, it's full of bitterness, anger, laugh out loud humor, celebrity gossip, affection for an industry he loves even more than he hates it, and a pretty good description of how a screenwriter's baby gets turned into a movie--or doesn't.

If you love Joe Eszterhas movies (and he fights tooth and nail to make sure everyone knows he is the true creator. Well he should, considering without screenwriters, there would be no movies!) read this and hail Joe for his willingness to not merely bite the hand that feeds him, but to gnaw it off at the wrist, carry it into the woods and bury it. This is a must read for anyone interested in celebrity gossip. Aren't we all? If you're looking for a how-to book on writing screenplays, this won't give you what you want, but if you have a script in your hot little hands and are thinking about pitching it to Hollywood, read this so you know what you're getting into.

And don't forget, Joe Eszterhas really hates Robert McKee.