''Adventures in the Screen Trade'' is a book about Hollywood written in 1983 by American novelist and screenwriter

William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. Among other accolades, Goldman won two Aca ...

. The title is a pun on Dylan Thomas's unfinished book ''Adventures in the Skin Trade''.

Overview

The book is divided into three parts. "Part One: Hollywood Realities" is a collection of essays on various subjects ranging from movie stars and studio executives to his thoughts on how to begin and end a screenplay and how to write for a movie star. "Part Two: Adventures" has stories from 11 projects that Goldman has been involved with, from '' Charly'' and '' Masquerade'', to ''

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' is a 1969 American Western (genre), Western buddy film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, k ...

'' and '' All the President's Men'', to some projects that remained unrealized, such as a musical remake of '' Grand Hotel''. In "Part Three: Da Vinci", Goldman shows the reader how he would go about adapting his own short story "Da Vinci" into a screenplay. The full text of "Da Vinci" and the subsequent screenplay that he wrote are included, followed by interviews with key movie industry figures, including director George Roy Hill, cinematographer Gordon Willis, and composer Dave Grusin. There is also an expanded edition of the book, which includes the full screenplay of ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'', plus Goldman's analysis of the screenplay's strengths and weaknesses, as "Part Three", and moves the "Da Vinci" section to "Part Four".

Background

In the late 1970s, Goldman did several hours of interviews with John Brady for a book that became ''The Craft of the Screenwriter'' (1981). Some of Goldman's answers were edited into a magazine piece for ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

''; this was read by an editor at a publishing house who contacted him about writing a book on screenwriting. Goldman agreed and hired Brady to work on the book with him, getting Brady to interview him over several sessions. These conversations were taped and transcribed, which Goldman used as the basis for the book.

Reception

''Adventures in the Screen Trade'' was a best-seller and has since become recognized as an industry classic.Egan p 182 Film producer Art Kleiner wrote, "This is one of the three most engrossing 'creative confessional' books I've ever read."

References

Notes

* * *Egan, Sean, ''William Goldman: The Reluctant Storyteller'', Bear Manor Media 2014 1983 non-fiction books Film production Books about film Books by William Goldman Show business memoirs Works about screenwriting Warner Books books {{film-book-stub

Overview

Background

Reception

See also

References

Notes