BILLY WILDER ON ASSIGNMENT

A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year chosen by Tom Stoppard A revelation Marc Weingarten Washington PostAcclaimed film director Billy Wilder s early writings brilliantly translated into English for the first timeBefore Billy Wilder became the screenwriter and director of iconic films like Sunset Boulevard and Some Like It Hot he worked as a freelance reporter first in Vienna and then in Weimar Berlin Billy Wilder on Assignment brings together more than fifty articles translated into English for the first time that Wilder then known as Billie published in magazines and newspapers between September 1925 and November 1930 From a humorous account of Wilder s stint as a hired dancing companion in a posh Berlin hotel and his dispatches from the international film scene to his astute profiles of writers performers and political figures the collection offers fresh insights into the creative mind of one of Hollywood s most revered writer directors Wilder s early writings a heady mix of cultural essays interviews and reviews contain the same sparkling wit and intelligence as his later Hollywood screenplays while also casting light into the dark corners of Vienna and Berlin between the wars Wilder covered everything big city sensations jazz perfor