- 304 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER
“This funny, insightful, and deliciously dishy memoir” (Town & Country) from the director of Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall, and Glory, creator of thirtysomething, and executive producer of My So-Called Life, “takes its place alongside Adventures in the Screen Trade and Easy Riders, Raging Bulls as one of the indispensable behind-the-scenes books for fans of movies and television” (Aaron Sorkin).
“I’ll be dropping a few names,” Ed Zwick confesses in the introduction to his book. “Over the years I have worked with self-proclaimed masters-of-the-universe, unheralded geniuses, hacks, sociopaths, savants, and saints.”
He has encountered these Hollywood types during four decades of directing, producing, and writing projects that have collectively received eighteen Academy Award nominations (seven wins) and sixty-seven Emmy nominations (twenty-two wins). Though there are many factors behind such success, including luck and the contributions of his creative partner Marshall Herskovitz, he’s known to have a special talent for bringing out the best in the people he’s worked with, notably the actors. In those intense collaborations, he seeks to discover the small pieces of connective tissue, vulnerability, and fellowship that can help an actor realize their character in full.
Talents whom he spotted early include Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Denzel Washington, Claire Danes, and Jared Leto. Established stars he worked closely with include Leonardo DiCaprio, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Daniel Craig, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Jennifer Connelly. He also sued Harvey Weinstein over the production of Shakespeare in Love—and won. He shares personal stories about all these people, and more.
Written mostly with love, sometimes with rue, this memoir “is not just a wonderfully intimate memoir. It's also an indispensable guide to the shark-infested waters of artistic integrity” (Cameron Crowe). Destined to become a new Hollywood classic, Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions is “a must-read for any film fan, and a sacred text for any aspiring filmmakers out there” (Forbes).
“This funny, insightful, and deliciously dishy memoir” (Town & Country) from the director of Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall, and Glory, creator of thirtysomething, and executive producer of My So-Called Life, “takes its place alongside Adventures in the Screen Trade and Easy Riders, Raging Bulls as one of the indispensable behind-the-scenes books for fans of movies and television” (Aaron Sorkin).
“I’ll be dropping a few names,” Ed Zwick confesses in the introduction to his book. “Over the years I have worked with self-proclaimed masters-of-the-universe, unheralded geniuses, hacks, sociopaths, savants, and saints.”
He has encountered these Hollywood types during four decades of directing, producing, and writing projects that have collectively received eighteen Academy Award nominations (seven wins) and sixty-seven Emmy nominations (twenty-two wins). Though there are many factors behind such success, including luck and the contributions of his creative partner Marshall Herskovitz, he’s known to have a special talent for bringing out the best in the people he’s worked with, notably the actors. In those intense collaborations, he seeks to discover the small pieces of connective tissue, vulnerability, and fellowship that can help an actor realize their character in full.
Talents whom he spotted early include Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Denzel Washington, Claire Danes, and Jared Leto. Established stars he worked closely with include Leonardo DiCaprio, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Daniel Craig, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Jennifer Connelly. He also sued Harvey Weinstein over the production of Shakespeare in Love—and won. He shares personal stories about all these people, and more.
Written mostly with love, sometimes with rue, this memoir “is not just a wonderfully intimate memoir. It's also an indispensable guide to the shark-infested waters of artistic integrity” (Cameron Crowe). Destined to become a new Hollywood classic, Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions is “a must-read for any film fan, and a sacred text for any aspiring filmmakers out there” (Forbes).
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions by Ed Zwick in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Social Science Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Filmography
- Epigraph
- Introduction: Taking Note
- Chapter One: An Origins Story: Claire, Nina, Marshall, and the AFI, 1975
- Chapter Two: The Learn-As-You-Earn School of Filmmaking: Family, 1978–1980
- Chapter Three: The Year of Loving Dangerously: Special Bulletin and thirtysomething, 1982–1991
- Chapter Four: The Anxiety of Influence: Drawing Fire and About Last Night, 1985–1986
- Chapter Five: In Search of Glory: Glory, 1989
- Chapter Six: The Nobility of Failure: Leaving Normal, 1991
- Chapter Seven: Julia, Harvey, and the Bard: Shakespeare in Love, 1991–1998
- Chapter Eight: The Griefs of a Man’s Life: Legends of the Fall and My So-Called Life, 1993–1994
- Chapter Nine: Heroes: Courage Under Fire, 1996
- Chapter Ten: Politics, Pop Culture, and a Pyrrhic Victory: The Siege, 1998
- Chapter Eleven: A War Won and Lost: Traffic, 2000
- Chapter Twelve: If at First: Once and Again, 2000
- Chapter Thirteen: Gaijin: The Last Samurai, 2003
- Chapter Fourteen: The Child Is the Jewel: Blood Diamond, 2006
- Chapter Fifteen: Shadows of Valiant Ancestors: Defiance, 2008
- Chapter Sixteen: In Sickness and in Health: Love & Other Drugs, 2010
- Chapter Seventeen: Onward: Pawn Sacrifice, Jack Reacher, Trial by Fire, 2012–2020
- Photographs
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Copyright