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Adventures In The Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood Paperback – 7 Mar. 1996

by William Goldman (Author)

4.6 146 ratings

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'I don't know if it's ever been equalled: both a guide to how to write and a guide to how to navigate the experience of being a professional in the industry. Even though he existed at the most exalted level, it never felt like that. It felt democratic and egalitarian in the way he wrote. Before his book, people never really gave thought to screenwriters, their craft, or their place in the ecosystem of movie-making. Bill not only shone a light on that and inspired a whole new generation of writers, he also made movie-making and showbusiness understandable to a vast general audience' Peter Morgan, writer of The Crown and Frost/Nixon

As befits more than twenty years in Hollywood, Oscar-winning screenwriter William Goldman's sparkling memoir is as entertaining as many of the films he has helped to create. From the writer of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men and Marathon Man, Adventures in the Screen Trade is an intimate view of movie-making, of acting greats such as Redford, Olivier, Newman and Hoffman, and of the trials and rewards of working inside the most exciting business in the world.

Print length

432 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Abacus
Publication date

7 Mar. 1996
Dimensions

12.8 x 2.7 x 19.7 cm
ISBN-10

034910705X
ISBN-13

978-0349107059
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Product description

Review

This is the real Hollywood. ― DAILY TELEGRAPH

William Goldman's book is the best I have read on Hollywood. ― DAILY MAIL

Fast and witty...a brave and very funny book. ― Time Out

About the Author

William Goldman was a screenwriter on such films as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President's Men. He lives in New York City.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Abacus; 22nd edition (7 Mar. 1996)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 034910705X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0349107059
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.8 x 2.7 x 19.7 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 66,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 94 in Film Direction & Production (Books)
- 1,469 in The Performing Arts
- 8,393 in Biographies & Memoirs (Books)

Customer reviews:
4.6 146 ratings

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William Goldman

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William Goldman (b. 1931) is an Academy Award–winning author of screenplays, plays, memoirs, and novels. His first novel, The Temple of Gold (1957), was followed by the script for the Broadway army comedy Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole (1961). He went on to write the screenplays for many acclaimed films, including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and All the President’s Men (1976), for which he won two Academy Awards. He adapted his own novels for the hit movies Marathon Man (1976) and The Princess Bride (1987).

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4.6 out of 5

146 global ratings

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SGM Ashcroft

Unparalleled insight into the cut-throat world of Hollywood

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 September 2023

Verified Purchase

William Goldman was a giant of Hollywood screenwriting, having stumbled into the craft through being a highly successful novelist.
Peppering this book are wonderful first-hand insights into legendary screen stars such as Bogart, McQueen, Redford, Hoffman and Olivier. It is a compelling account of Hollywood's shadowy dealings, involving stars, agents, producers, studio heads and directors.
Yet throughout, Goldman leaves us in no doubt just how low down the movie food chain writers are ('Somewhere between the security man and catering staff on movie sets', as Goldman puts it.)
Throughout, he lays bare the grinding, thankless Sisyphean reality of the screenwriter's life, as project after project swallows him at one end and spits him out the other.
Most shocking of all is the betrayal he felt after Robert Redford presents him with a rival script for All the President's Men, after Goldman had been working on the project for endless months. His sense of hurt virtually drips off the page.
I'm a published novelist myself, with a hankering to write screenplays. It's why I bought this book. I'm glad I did. After reading this, I'll be sticking to novels.

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The Village

It's as good as they say it is

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 February 2023

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It's an all rounder for anyone interested in learning more about the industry. Although it's written from the writer's perspective there's so much information about the other roles and major players. Written in 1983, quite a bit of what he says remains relevant today. The writing is engaging the stories are thrilling and despite the length - it isn't short - I couldn't put it down.

One person found this helpful

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Bodnotbod

Absolutely superb

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 March 2008

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This is a superb book. I came to it via recommendations from people who want to become screenwriters but I say it's a brilliant book for anyone interested enough in film to sit and watch one every couple of weeks.

The major part of the book is memoir about working in Hollywood as a screenwriter but he talks about many other aspects of the industry from his perspective. We get to hear the inside dope on stars and directors. Sure, this book was written in 1982 but we can assume a lot of what he says remains true... and the names he mentions are big enough to be instantly recognisable today.

I was all set to give the book five stars as I reached the final pages of the book. And then something almost miraculous happened: it got better. The final section gives you a short story of Goldman's and he takes you through the process of creating a screenplay for a short film based on that story. And then he interviews people (a production designer, cinematographer, director and more) as to how they would approach their aspect of making this proposed film. It's a brilliant insight into how films are made. I put the book down with three times as much passion for films as I had when I began. I think I will watch films with new eyes now.

I always knock a review down to four stars, at most, if I finish a book feeling something could be improved. I can't recall the last five star review I gave. I give this five stars without hesitation.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I am going off to buy Goldman's follow up book, "Which Lie Did I Tell". Unfortunately it's not available from Amazon UK. However, there are some related sellers supplying second hand copies. It is not hard for me to take a risk on them.

3 people found this helpful

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Anon

Brilliantly wry humorous insider perspective

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 July 2022

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For anyone interested in this space, a very frank and realistic portrayal that pulls no punches , his statement that “nobody knows anything” has the ring of truth for anyone who has ever worked in any kind of corporate structure not just Hollywood. The sample screenplay part is a bit heavy going and rather tedious but most of the book is a very amusing and frank take on the lot of a screenwriter.

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Tilly85

Are you ready for this one?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 June 2015

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Lots of information to take from this book... a book i keep returning to! Worth sharing with others!

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Weshty

An essential cinephile purchase

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 May 2014

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There are only two books so enjoyable I've never wanted them to end, Alan Jay Lerner's autobiography "The Street where I live", and this.

William Goldman was screenwriter on "A Bridge too far", "Princess Bride", "Butch Cassidy", "All the President's men" and "Marathon Man". Apropos this is a witty, observant and very readable bible on the art of screenwriting, with it's most oft quoted line being

"Nobody knows anything...... Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what's going to work.
Every time out it's a guess and, if you're lucky, an educated one."

It deconstructs brilliantly the complex and necessarily reductive process of adapting a play/book/idea to the visual medium of the big screen. He explains how what works on the page will NOT work on screen, and how backstories and exposition can be subtly added by glances, actions and scenery.

The author's style is joyfully self deprecatory, with a wonderful hint of Borsch-belt witticisms. Buy it, read it and proudly mount on your bookshelf.

2 people found this helpful

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Bobbie

A completely fascinating read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 June 2020

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In part a brilliant analysis of how films actually get made, in part a star-studded memoir, and in part an insightful guide to the art of screenwriting. Goldman is the Oscar-winning writer of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the president’s men, and Marathon man. It’s a completely fascinating read, published in 1983, but, I suspect, in many ways timeless, human nature and the various crafts of movie-making being constant. One preconception of mine was confirmed: Paul Newman was a great guy. Another was challenged: apparently off the boards and onto a film set, Laurence Olivier became unsure of himself. I have sent off for the sequel...

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Mr. David Evans

The most educational book on the subject that I have read and totally fascinating

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 December 2018

Verified Purchase

This book really paints the picture of what it was like to be a screen writer of William Goldman's caliber.
His observations, experiences and conclusions regarding his role and those of the other big players of film making show
just how extraordinary the process is. For any film fan who wants to know the reality of film making, this book is not to be missed.

2 people found this helpful

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