Bambi vs. Godzilla: On the Nature, Purpose, and Practice of the Movie Business - Hardcover

Mamet, David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375422536 ISBN 13: 9780375422539

Publisher: Pantheon, 2007

Synopsis

A subversive, inside glimpse of the complex world of the film industry provides candid descriptions of every aspect of filmmaking, from initial concept, to script, to screen, covering topics that range from "How Scripts Got So Bad" to "Hollywood Manners," as well as his personal choices for favorite actor, favorite film, and more. 30,000 first printing.

About this title

Review

"Sharp, savvy. . . . Icily hilarious. . . . Mr. Mamet writes with insight, idiosyncrasy and a Godzillian imperviousness to opposition." --Janet Maslin, "The New York Times" "Winningly pugnacious. . . . ["Bambi vs. Godzilla"] is funny and angry and intemperate and passionate enough to tell the truth about movies." --"San Francisco Chronicle" "This is a book infused with love - the sweet, helpless love Mamet has for film, and the communal process that makes it." --"Los Angeles Times" "Playful . . . deft. . . . Mamet the dramatist has developed a career as a prolific philosophical essayist." --"Chicago Sun-Times" ""Bambi vs. Godzilla" is far and away the best commentary on how movies are made thus far written by an American . . . Citing everyone from Aristotle to Preston Sturges's The Lady Eve, Mamet demonstrates what works and what doesn't in a movie narrative, while noting what does not work, as we have been witnessing for the last decade or so: statistically, in 1958, Hollywood turned out 2,000 films which listed in their credits 230 producers, while in 2003 Hollywood produced 240 films with 1,200 producers listed. "Happily, Mamet keeps on in theater and film pretty much on his own terms, and now, with "Bambi vs. Godzilla," like his great predecessor George Bernard Shaw, he can illuminate as a critic-practitioner the not-always-friendly Darwinian world he has been obliged to flourish in." -Gore Vidal "No other director has written about the movies with such a fearless mixture of amusement, anger, frustration, and rueful love." -Roger Ebert "What fun to dive into this book of Mamet musings and words of wisdom! But be warned: Like munching popcorn (or Raisinets) at the movies, once you get started it's hard to stop." -Leonard Maltin "David Mamet is supremely talented. He is a gifted writer and observer of society and its characters. I'm sure he will be able to find work somewhere, somehow, just no longer in the movie business." -Steve Martin "From the Hardcover edition." " "Bambi vs. Godzilla" is far and away the best commentary on how movies are made thus far written by an American . . . Citing everyone from Aristotle to Preston Sturges' s The Lady Eve, Mamet demonstrates what works and what doesn' t in a movie narrative, while noting what does not work, as we have been witnessing for the last decade or so: statistically, in 1958, Hollywood turned out 2,000 films which listed in their credits 230 producers, while in 2003 Hollywood produced 240 films with 1,200 producers listed. " Happily, Mamet keeps on in theater and film pretty much on his own terms, and now, with "Bambi vs. Godzilla," like his great predecessor George Bernard Shaw, he can illuminate as a critic-practitioner the not-always-friendly Darwinian world he has been obliged to flourish in." - Gore Vidal " No other director has written about the movies with such a fearless mixture of amusement, anger, frustration, and rueful love." - Roger Ebert " What fun to dive into this book of Mamet musings and words of wisdom! But be warned: Like munching popcorn (or Raisinets) at the movies, once you get started it' s hard to stop." - Leonard Maltin " David Mamet is supremely talented. He is a gifted writer and observer of society and its characters. I' m sure he will be able to find work somewhere, somehow, just no longer in the movie business." - Steve Martin "From the Hardcover edition."

About the Author

David Mamet’s work includes the Oscar-nominated films The Verdict and Wag the Dog. He has taught at the Yale School of Drama, New York University, and Goddard College, and he is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company in New York City.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pantheon
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0375422536
• ISBN 13: 9780375422539
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 272