| Details | | Publication Date: | 2000-03-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 485 pages | | Height: | 9.8 in | | Width: | 6.5 in | | Thickness: | 1.5 in | | Weight: | 28.8 oz |
Publisher's Note
William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade was a classic for moviephiles, revealing all the secrets behind the business of the big screen. Now, screenwriter extraordinaire Goldman returns to give us the latest lowdown on Hollywood moviemaking. He dishes the dirt, adventure by adventure, from his most recent films -- the successes and the failures -- with inside anecdotes from such star-studded sets as The Princess Bride, Misery, and Absulote Power. We find out what it's like to work with Mel Gibson, Michael Douglas, Richard Donner, Rob Reiner, Clint Eastwood, and all the rest of Hollywood's major power players.
But this is much more than just a tourist's guide to the backlot. Goldman conducts a virtual writer's clinic: he tells us exactly what works on film and why, dissecting classic moments in great screenplays ranging from the crop-dusting scene in North by Northwest to the zipper scene in There's Something about Mary. He gives us insider tips on everything from good storytelling to effective pitch-making, and he shows us where his ideas come from and what he does with them when they get there. Finally, he brings together some of today's top screenwriters to analyze, doctor, or destroy a screenplay he created just for this book.
Enlightening as well as entertaining, Which Lie Did I Tell? is certain to follow its predeccesor as the definitive guide to the real workings behind the glitzy facade of contemporary Hollywood.
"Bill Goldman has proven, once again, that he is the most observant, knowledgeable and intuitive screenwriter in the business today."
-- Joe Roth, Producer and former Chairman, Walt Disney Studios
"Almost as great as an evening with the irrepressible, brilliant, sometimes infuriating, always original -- one and only Bill."
-- Joel Schumacher, Director
"If you are thinking of going to film school, don't. Read Which Lie Did I Tell? instead. It will save you a great deal of money and tell you more about the realities of the picture business than any academic course of study. Mr. Goldman has won two Oscars and the Writers Guild Lifetime Achievement Award. He wears his credits like wound stripes, and if there is anything he does not know about the movies, it is not worth knowing. He has a New York bias that I do not buy into (I like Los Angeles), but beyond that, he is entertaining and, more importantly, right."
-- John Gregory Dunne
"Funny, insightful, and brutally honest ... Bill Goldman once again takes us inside the motion picture industry in an intensely personal way. So what if he'll never work in this town again."
-- Alan F. Horn, President and COO, Warner Bros.
"People in the industry love to quote Bill Goldman's line that 'nobody knows anything,' but in fact, Goldman knows a great deal about storytelling and filmmaking and he superbly sets forth this wisdom in his latest book."
-- Peter Bart, Editor-in-Chief, Variety
"If you ever wanted to understand the power of the written word, William Goldman's Which Lie Did I Tell? tells all brilliantly."
-- Peter Guber, Chairman, Mandalay Entertainment
"Which Lie Did I Tell? is funny, tough, honest, true and also beautifully written. It is as personal as a long and delightful letter from the smartest friend you ever had."
-- Robert Benton, two-time Academy Award-winning Screenwriter
"This is entertaining -- even by Goldman's usual standards. Just about the most fun you can have reading."
-- John Cleese
"Bill Goldman has done it again with his highly entertaining and self-deprecating humor. He's one of the best writers I've ever had the pleasure of working with. He takes Hollywood apart -- which, in this case, is a very good thing."
-- Clint Eastwood
Industry Reviews
"Much of [Goldman's] gruff humor and charm derives from emphatic statements of the obvious. In writing about movies, seeing the obvious is an undeniable gift--and pounding it home conveys how difficult it can be for common sense to penetrate hype."
Sragow
"A fun, instructive look into the veteran screenwriter's workshop."
Robb
"Movie buffs of all stripes, even those with no interest in writing for the screen, will enjoy this sublimely entertaining adventure."
Tharsing
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