Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade

by William Goldman

Hardcover, 2000

Status

Available

Call number

384.80979494

Collection

Publication

Pantheon (2000), Edition: 1st, Hardcover, 496 pages

Description

William Goldman'sAdventures in the Screen Tradewas 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 successesandthe failures -- with inside anecdotes from such star-studded sets asThe Princess Bride, Misery, andAbsulote 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 inNorth by Northwestto the zipper scene inThere'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… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member jolyon
Well-written and entertaining tales from the movie business. Refreshingly free of BS (indeed, an antidote to it)
LibraryThing member jwrudn
Goldman wrote the original screenplay for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the screen plays for his novels, The Princess Bride and Marathon Man, and many others, including All the President’s Men, Misery, and Maverick. This is an insider’s at what goes into a screen play, why and how movies
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get made and why they do not, working with actors and directors, what makes a movie good and why movies often differ from the books they are based on. Goldman dissects several famous scenes including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid jumping off the cliff, the orgasm scene in When Sally Met Harry and the crop duster scene in North by Northwest. In the final part of the book Goldman presents an original screen play and invites the reader to diagnose it as he goes along. Then he has four screen writers critique the screen play. Their comments are insightful but brutal. Along the way, Goldman shares details of his personal history. Although the book is somewhat rambling, I found it fascinating. It will be interesting to anyone who enjoys film.
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Language

Original publication date

2000

Physical description

496 p.; 9.2 inches

ISBN

0375403493 / 9780375403491
Page: 0.2646 seconds