Sydney Pollack

Collected Interviews

Patrick McGilligan, Paul Cronin

• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
• Year: 2026
• eBook ISBN:
  9781985904217
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

Sydney Pollack was a true actor's director—a filmmaker who came up through the ranks, starting as a bit-part TV performer before turning to directing. From his debut feature The Slender Thread (1965) to his final film, The Interpreter (2005), Pollack built a reputation for intelligent, emotionally resonant storytelling. He forged creative partnerships with stars like Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Barbra Streisand, and Tom Cruise, guiding iconic performances in American films for four decades. An Academy Award winner for Out of Africa (1985) and a nominee for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) and Tootsie (1982), Pollack left behind a legacy of popular and personal films marked by their superior craftsmanship.

Sydney Pollack: Collected Interviews brings together more than twenty in-depth conversations with the acclaimed director, spanning from 1970 to 2007. Sourced from a range of international publications, these interviews offer candid tales and intimate glimpses of Pollack's big-name collaborations. More than just a portrait of one man's career, the book is a wide-angle view of post-1960s Tinseltown itself: the wheeling and dealing, the creative clashes, and the evolution of American cinema. This collection revisits an immense talent who epitomized the best of Hollywood and sheds light on the nuts and bolts of moviemaking in Pollack's own words.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Praise for Sydney Pollack
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Copyright
• Contents
• Timeline
• Introduction: Patrick McGilligan and Paul Cronin
• Chapter 1: The Director: 1970 interview by Jason E. Squire
• Chapter 2: Meeting Sydney Pollack: 1970 interview by Jean A. Gili and Christian Viviani
• Chapter 3: Where Strength Ends and Cruelty Begins: 1970 interview by Bertrand Tavernier and Max Tessier
• Chapter 4: The Complexity of Human Behavior: 1975 interview by Paul J. Vanderwood
• Chapter 5: Nine Films and Counting: 1975 interview by Larry Salvato
• Chapter 6: The Way We Are: 1975 interview by Patricia Erens
• Chapter 7: Serious Entertainment: 1975 interview by Patrick McGilligan
• Chapter 8: The Purpose of Our Wanderings: 1977–1995 American Film Institute interviews, edited by George Stevens, Jr.
• Chapter 9: “A Kind of Traditionalist”: 1979 interview by Judith Crist
• Chapter 10: “What Most Interested Me Was Romanticism”: 1980 interview by Michel Ciment
• Chapter 11: Roots and Journeys: 1983 interview by Tom Ryan and Scott Murray
• Chapter 12: Out of Africa: 1986 interview by Michael Henry
• Chapter 13: Havana: 1990 interview by Michael Henry
• Chapter 14: Waltzing with Actors: 1991 interview by Carole Zucker
• Chapter 15: Working with Woody: 1992 interview by Michael Henry
• Chapter 16: “Acting Is Doing”: 1994 interview by John Boorman
• Chapter 17: What Stanley Wanted: 1999 interview by Michael Henry
• Chapter 18: “A Lot of Tricks”: 2001 interview by Philip Noyce
• Chapter 19: Making Music with Dave Grusin: 2002 interviews by Ray Bennett
• Chapter 20: The Interpreter: 2005 interview by Anthony Minghella
• Chapter 21: Miles to Go Before I Sleep: 2007 interview by Angelo Acerbi and Luciano Barisone
• Acknowledgments and Permissions
• Filmography
• About the Contributors
• Index
• Screen Classics