Rebels on the Backlot: Six Maverick Directors and How They Conquered the Hollywood Studio System (P.S.) - Softcover

Waxman, Sharon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060540184 ISBN 13: 9780060540180

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks, 2006

Synopsis

The 1990s saw a shock wave of dynamic new directing talent that took the Hollywood studio system by storm. At the forefront of that movement were six innovative and daring directors whose films pushed the boundaries of moviemaking and announced to the world that something exciting was happening in Hollywood. Sharon Waxman of the New York Times spent the decade covering these young filmmakers, and in Rebels on the Backlot she weaves together the lives and careers of Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction; Steven Soderbergh, Traffic; David Fincher, Fight Club; Paul Thomas Anderson, Boogie Nights; David O. Russell, Three Kings; and Spike Jonze, Being John Malkovich.

About this title

Review:

“Admirably reported . . . Waxman unearths juicy anecdotes that’ll keep film fans cackling and turning the pages.” (Salon.com)

“Riveting tales of Hollywood hubris . . . a fun read.” (Entertainment Weekly)

“Vivid . . . fascinating . . . delightful . . . [Waxman’s] background as a hard news reporter serves her well.” (New York Times Book Review)

“A behind-the-cameras fireball of wicked insider revelations . . . Love it!” (Liz Smith, syndicated columnist)

“[Waxman’s] thorough reporting results in a compulsively readable chronicle of the decade’s auteurs and their work.” (Premiere)

“Enjoyably dishy.” (Variety)

“Addictively readable . . . fascinating” (Miami Herald)

“A lively book with gossipy and readable stories about some obsessive guys who are as much rascals as rebels.” (Los Angeles Times Book Review)

“Terrific . . . wildly informative and readable about the plight of the biggest young talents in modern movies” (Buffalo News)

“[Rebels on the Backlot] makes a case for creating a new film canon of this late ‘90s renaissance.” (Pittsburgh Tribune)

Synopsis:

By the Hollywood correspondent for "The New York Times", "Rebels On The Backlot" is a revealing and page-turning account of the new generation of film directors who are changing the face of today's Hollywood. Very much as the 1970s gave rise to a defining group of filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, the 1990s witnessed a new generation who captured the imaginations of audiences, and opened the pursestrings of the Hollywood film machine. "Rebels On The Backlot" follows six top-level film directors, from the origins of their careers through the making and release of their signature films. They are: Quenton Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction"), Paul Thomas Anderson ("Boogie Nights"), David Fincher ("Fight Club"), Steven Soderbergh ("Traffic"), Spike Jonze ("Being John Malkovich"), and David O. Russell ("Three Kings"). The book uses the development, writing, shooting, editing, and release of each director's major film to explore the lives and struggles each of them faced.

It will dip in and out of each filming experience, drawing in the stories of other figures along the way, creating a chronological portrait of contemporary Hollywood, and the rebel generation of the 1990s. This is also a story of an emerging community of talented artists - directors, writers, actors of young Hollywood - who supported each other, burn with envy at one another's success, swap girlfriends and boyfriends, and ultimately spur each other to greater accomplishments.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0060540184
• ISBN 13: 9780060540180
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 386