The Penguin Book of Hollywood - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140275274 ISBN 13: 9780140275278

Publisher: Penguin, 1999

Synopsis

Hollywood has been a household name for almost a century. It has become established not just as a place, but as a byword for a powerful industry and a state of mind. Christopher Silvester has distilled this anthology from memoirs and biographies, novels and short stories, letters and articles. Hollywood is represented here by the full range of its moods and voices. There are numerous accounts of the scandals and shenanigans, the eccentricities and the excesses, and the abiding charm of this peculiarly American institution.

About this title

Review:

Hollywood, they say, is "less a locality than a state of mind". The only people who aren't curious about it are those who have peeped into its heart and seen the rotten core. It is from their bilious outpourings that this magnificent volume has been drawn.

Starting in 1909 in a barn outside Los Angeles, the organic growth of Hollywood proceeded at a blistering pace, described here by directors, writers, daughters and yet more writers. Highlights include Frances Marion's hilarious account of how MGM came to turn down the young Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse, and William Faulkner's quest to write for the 10-foot rodent. He was not the only novelist to fail to master screenwriting; those who managed it often had newsprint in their veins. Christopher Silvester divides the development into decades, and his skilful and non- intrusive editing focuses in on the industry's major issues, such as the advent of sound in 1927, the McCarthy purges of the late 1940s and the post-war decline of the independent producer. As the present day draws closer, with the dawn (yawn) of the "whammy movie", the talk is more cynical and corporate, driven by "audience research" and endless meetings. The only constant is, of course, money.

Crucially, all the people included here know how to spin a yarn and sell a story. It is wonderfully bitchy, movingly nostalgic, and certainly never understated; its breathless momentum carrying the reader on far beyond the final page, probably into the nearest cinema. The story of Hollywood is the story of America in the 20th century. It makes a fabulous book.--David Vincent

About the Author:

Christopher Silvester is a freelance writer. For several years he was a reporter for Private Eye and he has contributed to numerous newspapers and magazines. He is the editor of THE PENGUIN BOOK OF INTERVIEWS, THE PIMLICO COMPANION TO PARLIAMENT andTHE PENGUIN BOOK OF COLUMNISTS. He lives in London W11.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0140275274
• ISBN 13: 9780140275278
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 720
• Editor: Silvester Christopher