Sam Wasson

Hollywood: The Oral History covers the history of Hollywood from the Silent era up to the 21st century. What makes this book unique from any other survey of Hollywoods history is that it is the history of an art form through the words of those people who created it - from Harold Lloyd to Katharine Hepburn to Warren Beatty to Jane Fonda and beyond, including directors, writers, producers, editors, designers of sets and costumes. As such, the authenticity of the text is irrefutable. The material in the book - gathered over the decades by the American Film Institute - has never been published before, has never been heard before. It is comprehensive - a monument that will never age nor be surpassed.

Say Coppola and The Godfather immediately comes to mind. But Coppola isnt Corleone -- hes more than that. Hes a visionary who predicted that digital cameras - no larger than ones hand - would allow anyone to make movies. And then set up a studio, Zeotrope, to make his dreams a reality. The book presents the highs and lows of both his personal and professional life, as Coppola sets out to transform the process of making movies. Sam Wasson masterly captures the larger-than-life figure of a man who pursued a vision of the world of movies and all the wonder of what that would be.

A multifaceted dissection of the infamous noir film ... good reading for any American cinema buffKirkus Chinatown is the Holy Grail of 1970s cinema. Its ending is the most notorious in American film and its closing line of dialogue the most haunting. Here for the first time is the incredible true story of its making. In Sam Wassons telling, it becomes the defining story of its most colorful characters. Here is Jack Nicholson at the height of his powers, embarking on his great, doomed love affair with Anjelica Huston. Here is director Roman Polanski, both predator and prey, haunted by the savage murder of his wife, returning to Los Angeles, where the seeds of his own self-destruction are quickly planted. Here is the fevered deal-making of "The Kid" Robert Evans, the most consummate of producers. Here too is Robert Townes fabled script, widely considered the greatest original screenplay ever written. Wasson for the first time peels off layers of myth to provide the true account of its creation. Looming over the story of this classic movie is the imminent eclipse of the 70s filmmaker-friendly studios as they gave way to the corporate Hollywood we know today.

The definitive account of the legendary Francis Ford Coppola s decades long dream to reinvent American film making if not the entire world Supremely entertaining New York Times Mouth watering Sizzingly vivid and compulsive Daily Telegraph Acclaimed writer Sam Wasson weaves together an extraordinary portrait of Coppola having conducted hundreds of interviews with the director and those who have worked closely with him A man who is charming brilliant but also plagued by restlessness recklessness and a desire to operate perpetually at the extremes It is a story inextricably bound up in the making of one of the greatest quixotic masterpieces ever attempted Apocalypse Now That story already the stuff of legend has never been fully told until this extraordinary book

Now in paperback in time for the 60th anniversary of the film version Breakfast at Tiffanys the New York Times bestseller and first-ever complete account of Audrey Hepburn and the making of the film that Janet Maslin called a bonbon of a book filled with delightful anecdotesWith a cast of characters that includes Audrey Hepburn, Truman Capote, and Gerald Clarke, this book offers a slice of social history seen through the lens of one of Americas most iconic filmsThe images of Breakfast at Tiffanys are branded into our collective memory: we can see Audrey Hepburn stepping out of that cab on the corner of 57th and 5th, and we can picture her again with George Peppard, huddled in an alleyway and wrapped in a kiss, as the rain pours down around them. Those moments are as familiar to us as any in whole the history of movies, but few of us know that that ending was not the films original ending. In fact, it was only one of two endings the filmmakers shotand it almost didnt make it in. The reasons why have to do with Tiffanys cutting-edge take on sex in the city, namely, when to show it, and how to do it, without getting caught. If Truman Capote had it his way, his beloved Marilyn Monroe would have been cast as Holly, but crafty executives knew that shed have the censors on red alert. So they went for Audrey. But would she go for them? Frightened at the prospect of playing a part so far beyond her accepted rangenot to mention the part of call girlAudrey turned inside out worrying if she should take her agents advice and accept the role. What would people think? Americas princess playing a New York bad girl? It seemed just too farThe First Little Black Dress is the first ever complete account of the making of Breakfast at Tiffanys. Drawing upon countless interviews with those involved in the films production, from actors to producer Richard Shepherd to Gerald Clarke, Capotes biographer, Wasson brings us inside the world and indeed inside the mind of one of Americas greatest cinematic icons.Wasson immerses us in the America of the late fifties, before Woodstock and birth control, when a not-so-virginal girl by the name of Holly Golightly raised eyebrows across the nation, changing fashion, film, and sex, for good. But that was the easy part. Getting Audrey thereand getting the right people behind herthat was the tough part.With the heart of a novelist and the eye of a critic, Wasson delivers us from the penthouses of the Upper East Side to the pools of Beverly Hills, from script to screen and from rehearsal to Action! The First Little Black Dress presents Breakfast at Tiffanys as we have never seen it beforethrough the eyes of those who made it.This page-turning work of pop culture history goes behind the camera to explore:A Reluctant Star: Discover why Audrey Hepburn was terrified to play Holly Golightly and how the producers convinced Americas princess to take on the role of a New York bad girl. The Author vs. The Studio: Uncover Truman Capotes original vision for the film, including his passionate, and ultimately ignored, plea to cast Marilyn Monroe. A Fashion Revolution: Learn the story of Hubert de Givenchys collaboration with Hepburn and how one iconic little black dress changed womens fashion forever. Hollywood Censorship: Go inside the h...

From the author of the beloved Fifth Avenue, Five A.M. and The Big Goodbye comes the definitive account of one of the quintessential American artists, Frank Capra, visionary behind the iconic and timeless Its a Wonderful Life.Frank Capra, the director of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, It Happened One Night, and, supremely, Its a Wonderful Life remains one of the great chroniclers of the American heart, how we love, lead, dream, hope, and fight for our individuality. But Frank Capra was a more complex artist than is usually reckoned and a more complicated man than anyone knows. As his most famous collaborator Jimmy Stewart put it, the best Frank Capra story is the story of his own life. Its got more highs and lows than a roller coaster. Its heartwarming. Its kind of hard to believe, really. And it could only happen in America.Like many great American stories, this story begins in Ellis Island where a penniless family of Sicilian immigrants arrives in 1903. Frank Capras life goes on to take in the explosive growth of Southern California and the film industry, the depths of the Depression, the enormity of the Second World War, and Americas uneasy post-war as an empire riven by a loss of unity. It is a life as shot through with both moonbeams and melancholy as that of his greatest creation, George Bailey. Capra is both the exemplar of American ideals, as in his truly vital work for Roosevelts war effort, and of American failings, as in his informing during the McCarthy period.This extraordinary book, making full use for the first time of Capras own archives, including deeply personal writings from his later years, has brought this seminal artist into urgent life. At the same time, in its epic richness, it offers a dazzling portrait of both a lost America and an enduring one.

"So smart and entertaining it should come with its own popcorn"--PeopleCoinciding with the sixtieth anniversary of the film version of Truman Capotes Breakast at Tiffanys, the acclaimed, New York Times bestseller that is the definitive account of Audrey Hepburn and the making of the cultural landmark film--now updated with a new introduction by the author.In Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M., Sam Wasson goes beyond the legend to explore the woman inside the little black dress and the film that captured the imagination of the nation in 1961--when the staid propriety of the Eisenhower years gave way to the glamorous modernity of the Kennedys. With a colorful cast of characters including Truman Capote, Edith Head, Givenchy, Moon River composer Henry Mancini, and, of course, the iconic Audrey Hepburn herself, Wasson immerses us in the America of the late fifties and early sixties before Woodstock and birth control, when an alluring, not-so-virginal girl by the name of Holly Golightly melted hearts, raised eyebrows, and forever transformed Americans notions of fashion, film, sex, and culture.Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. includes an 8-page black-and-white photo insert.

Dont dance for the audience. Dance for yourself.The basis for a lavish new drama series from Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, Fosse is the definitive book on one of Broadways and Hollywoods most complex and dynamic icons.The only person ever to win Oscar, Emmy and Tony awards in the same year, Bob Fosse revolutionised almost every facet of American entertainment. A ground-breaking dancer, choreographer, and theatre and film director, his innumerable achievements include Cabaret, All That Jazz and Chicago, one of the longest-running Broadway musicals ever. Yet his offstage life was equally dramatic, marked by deep psychological wounds and insatiable appetites.In this richly detailed and beautifully written biography, Sam Wasson draws on a wealth of unpublished material and over 300 interviews with Fosses family, friends, enemies, lovers and collaborators, many of them speaking publicly about Fosse for the first time. Fosse is a book bursting with energy and style, pleasure and pain - much like the man himself.

A finalist for the 2017 George Freedley Memorial Award A compelling, absolutely unputdownable story . . . And, in case youre wondering, yes, the book is funny. In places, very funny. A remarkable story, magnificently told. Booklist In this richly reported, scene-driven narrative, Sam Wasson charts the meteoric rise of improv from its unlikely beginnings in McCarthy-era Chicago. We witness the chance meeting between Mike Nichols and Elaine May, hang out at the after-hours bar where Dan Aykroyd hosted friends like John Belushi, Bill Murray, and Gilda Radner, and go behind the scenes of cultural landmarks from The Graduate to The Colbert Report. Along the way, we befriend pioneers such as Harold Ramis, Chevy Chase, Steve Carell, Amy Poehler, Alan Arkin, Tina Fey, Judd Apatow, and many others. Wasson shows why improv deserves to be considered the great American art form of the last half century. One of the most important stories in American popular culture . . . Wasson may be the first author to explain [improvs] entire history . . . For that reason alone, its a valuable book. New York Times Book Review A compelling history . . . It holds the element of surprisetrue to the spirit of its subject. Entertainment Weekly

Audrey Hepburn fue –y sigue siendo– una de las estrellas más icónicas que ha dado Hollywood. Sin embargo, la imagen que muchos conservamos de ella se aparta bastante de la realidad. En "Quinta Avenid

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERSo smart and entertaining it should come with its own popcorn PeopleA bonbon of a book As well tailored as the little black dress the movie made famous. Janet Maslin, New York TimesFifth Avenue, 5 A.M. by Sam Wasson is the first ever complete account of the making of Breakfast at Tiffanys. With a cast of characters including Truman Capote, Edith Head, director Blake Edwards, and, of course, Hepburn herself, Wasson immerses us in the America of the late fifties, before Woodstock and birth control, when a not-so-virginal girl by the name of Holly Golightly raised eyebrows across the nation, changing fashion, film, and sex, for good.With delicious prose and considerable wit, Wasson delivers us from the penthouses of the Upper East Side to the pools of Beverly Hills presenting Breakfast at Tiffanys as we have never seen it beforethrough the eyes of those who made it.

Chinatown es uno de los filmes más memorables de la que posiblemente sea la decada más memorable del cine estadounidense. Incluido de manera habitual en las listas de las mejores películas de la historia, su exquisita mezcla de clasicismo y modernidad, nostalgia y desencanto, belleza y sordidez, le han garantizado un lugar especial en el corazon de numerosos cinefilos, pero hasta ahora nadie habia contado al detalle la increible historia real que rodeo tanto la preparacion como el rodaje de este autentico hito de Hollywood. Tomando la realizacion de Chinatown como punto de partida, Sam Wasson va mucho mas alla del simple "como se hizo" para explorar y contextualizar el filme como un punto de inflexion en la cultura general, retratando el glorioso periodo que lo alumbro y entretejiendo de paso las vidas de cuatro individuos sumamente imperfectos (Jack Nicholson, Roman Polanski, Robert Evans y Robert Towne) y el modo en que llegaron a coincidir una sola vez para crear una obra de arte casi perfecta.

The real story of Hollywood as told by such luminaries as Steven Spielberg, Frank Capra, Katharine Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Harold Lloyd, and nearly four hundred others, assembled from the American Film Institutes treasure trove of interviews, reveals a fresh oral history of the American movie industry from its beginnings to today. From the archives of the American Film Institute comes a unique, behind-the-scenes picture of what it was like to work in Hollywood, from the silent era to its present day. Gleaned from nearly three thousand interviews, involving four hundred voices from the industry, Hollywood: The Oral History, lets a reader listen in on candid remarks from the biggest names in front of the cameraBette Davis, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Harold Lloydto the biggest behind itFrank Capra, Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, Jordan Peele, as well as the lesser known individuals that shaped what was heard and seen on screen: musicians, costumers, art directors, cinematographers, writers, sound men, editors, make-up artists, and even script timers, messengers, and publicists. The result is like a conversation among the gods and goddesses of film: lively, funny, insightful, historically accurate and, for the first time, authentically honest in its portrait of classic Hollywood. Its the insiders story. Legendary film scholar Jeanine Basinger and New York Times bestselling author Sam Wasson, both acclaimed storytellers in their own right, have undertaken the monumental task of digesting these tens of thousands of hours of talk and weaving it into a definitive portrait of workaday Hollywood. What was it really like to build Hollywood from the ground up?The Golden Age of Hollywood: Discover the real stories behind legendary films and stars, as told by the people who were therefrom Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn to Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Capra. The Studio System: Go behind the gates of MGM, Paramount, and Warner Bros. to understand how the Hollywood machine really worked, from the moguls in the executive suite to the artisans on the backlot. Legendary Filmmakers: Go beyond the myths with candid, funny, and insightful stories from hundreds of industry luminaries, including Steven Spielberg, Katharine Hepburn, and Alfred Hitchcock. The Crafts of Filmmaking: Discover the secrets of the costumers, art directors, editors, and cinematographers who shaped what was seen on screen and gave classic films their iconic look.

"Sam Wassons supremely entertaining book tracks the ups and downs, ins and outs, of a remarkable career. . . . A marvel of unshowy reportage."New York TimesThe New York Times bestselling author of Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. and The Big Goodbye returns with the definitive director biographyan account of Academy Awardwinning director Francis Ford Coppolas decades-long dream to reinvent American moviemaking, if not the entire world, through his production company, American Zoetrope.A true icon of the New Hollywood era, Francis Ford Coppola is one of the great American dreamers, and his most magnificent dream is American Zoetrope, the production company he founded in San Francisco years before his gargantuan success, when he was only thirty. Through Zoetropes experimental, communal utopia, Coppola attempted to reimagine the entire pursuit of filmmaking. Now, more than fifty years later, despite myriad setbacks, the visionary filmmakers dream persists, most notably in the production of his decades-in-the-making film and the culmination of his utopian ideals, Megalopolis.As Wasson makes clear, this deep dive into cinema history reveals the story of Zoetrope is also the story of Coppolas wife, Eleanor Coppola, and their children, and of personal lives inseparable from artistic passion. It is a story that charts the divergent paths of Coppola and his cofounder and onetime apprentice, George Lucas, and of their very different visions of art and commerce. And it is a story inextricably bound up in the legendary behind-the-scenes making of one of the greatest quixotic masterpieces ever attempted, Apocalypse Now, and in what Coppola found in the jungles of the Philippines when he walked the razors edge. That story, already the stuff of legend, has never fully been told, until this extraordinary book.This definitive work of Hollywood history explores the passion, chaos, and genius of a cinematic icon:A Utopian Dream: Chart the rise of American Zoetrope, the revolutionary production company Coppola founded to reinvent filmmaking away from the Hollywood machine. Art vs. Commerce: Witness the divergent paths of collaborators Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas as they pursue radically different visions of creativity and commercial success. The Making of a Masterpiece: Go inside the legendary, chaotic production of Apocalypse Now and discover what Coppola found on the razors edge in the jungles of the Philippines. A Family Saga: Understand the story of Eleanor Coppola and their children, whose personal lives were inseparable from the artistic passions that fueled films like The Godfather.