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Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade |
Author: William Goldman
Published: 2001-02-20 |
List price: $16.00
Our price: $10.88
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As of: January 08th, 2009 07:43:32 AM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 Entertaining, informative, and yet...
"Which Lie Did I Tell" covers some of the "adventures" of Oscar-winning screenwriter William Goldman. Some are entertaining, some are informative. For struggling screenwriters, it is always good to read about what a respected and well-known screenwriter went through to "make it," and William Goldman doesn't mince words. He relates enough humorous tales to keep the reader's interest... but then, quite often, unfortunately goes off on endless non-related tangents, forcing the reader to go back several pages to see if he missed anything.
The best part of the book is when he decides to share a portion of a new screenplay he has written and then actually asks for notes from fellow famous screenwriters. Most of the notes were merciless; in fact, they were quite similar to those that I received for my first screenplay (and I'm not famous and I don't have an Oscar). It was really quite unbelievable that he was willing to let the reader see his new baby screenplay torn to shreds. The thing is, you could easily see his craft in his writing of the screenplay; on the other hand, I agreed with almost all of the harsh notes he received, which essentially questioned the screenplay out of existence.
In this way, the book is also educational. Nonetheless, I found myself struggling to get to the end of it and only did in the hopes of stumbling upon another gut-busting bon mot. There are definitely a few scattered throughout the book, so, yes -- a one-time read is good; going back and using it as a resource -- probably not. Still, I have to give him thumbs up for being so honest with the audience.
 Which Lie Did I Tell?
The best of it's kind for anyone interested in screen writing. Easy to read, full of help, Excellent.
 The Trials and Tribulations of a Hollywood Screenwriter. And Some Advice.
"Which Lie Did I Tell?" is a follow-up to William Goldman's 1983 book "Adventures in the Screen Trade" in which the screenwriter gives us the inside scoop on Hollywood moviemaking from a unique point of view -that of the writer- and provides some lessons in screenwriting through examples from his own and others' attempts to create movies from the raw materials of experience and imagination. This book has 4 parts, but if you're only interested in the stories Goldman has to tell about his Hollywood experiences, those are found in Part 1. Parts 2-4 address the craft of screenwriting: what works, what doesn't, why, and how to pitch it. Goldman is opinionated, blunt, and he refers to his Oscar-winning "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" screenplay far too often. It's obviously his pride and joy. "Which Lie Did I Tell?" is briskly paced, personal, and it gives us the lowdown on what it takes -not just the writing talent, but the mettle- to write movies in Hollywood.
Goldman starts with the 9 years he didn't work, 1978-1986, after having written 7 movies in the prior 8 years. Not exactly encouraging to aspiring screenwriters. Then Goldman takes us through his experiences writing -and in some cases filming- seven screenplays he wrote 1986-1997: "Memoirs of an Invisible Man", "The Princess Bride", "Misery", "The Year of the Comet", "Maverick", "The Ghost and the Darkness", and "Absolute Power". These screenplays provide insight into a variety of writing challenges, as some are original, some adapted, one adapted from Goldman's own book, some from novels, some entirely fictional, and one is based on a true story. And, of course, some were hits, some flops, and one didn't make it. Goldman relates the ideas behind these movies, his intentions and struggles in writing them, with plenty of commentary on studio executives, stars, directors, and test audiences. Goldman's goal is to tell it like it is in the screen trade.
In Part 2, Goldman examines the screenplays for some famous -and famously successful- movie scenes from "There's Something About Mary", "When Harry Met Sally", "North by Northwest", "The Seventh Seal", "Chinatown", "Fargo", and his own "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". He presents analysis and opinion on why these scenes work so well and shares his technique for finding the heart of the material when adapting work for the screen. In Part 3, Goldman looks at some real-life dramas that might make interesting movies, but notes the difficulties in adapting them and discusses the problems inherent in writing about real people. Part 4 is a screenplay that Goldman wrote in order that others might criticize it for this book, followed by critiques from 6 successful screenwriters. This is a worthwhile exercise that really illuminates the pitfalls of creating characters for the screen.
Which Lie....?
a hilarious account of the 'politics of hollywood' from the perspective of a brilliant writer...
Another Great Read from Goldman
I loved Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade and loved this book almost as much. It's interesting, funny and revealing, written in a casual and frank manner that you'd expect from a good friend. Goldman writes books and screenplays in multiple genres because he focuses on whether each story is one he wants to tell - not whether it's the same type of story he succeeded with before. What amazes me about this versatile writer is his generosity. In this book he discusses his creative processes and offers detailed, useful guidance to aspiring writers (for comparison, Joe Ezterhaus did not do this in his interesting but mean spirited memoir). At the end of the book, Goldman even has the guts to offer up a new script draft for criticism by top screenwriters whose comments he includes. Who else would dare to expose his work-in-process like that? Not I! He is my hero.
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