What Just Happened? Bitter Hollywood Tales from the Front Line (Hardcover)

by Art Linson (Author) "'Bog snorkeling, baby.'..." (more)
Key Phrases: Great Expectations, Fight Club, Bill Mechanic (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In this latest addition to the spate of Hollywood tell-alls, the producer of The Untouchables and Fight Club details the planning, handholding and power games involved in making movies. Each film brings its own problems, which Linson recounts in sardonic discussions of his own less-than-boffo features, including Pushing Tin and Great Expectations (the 1998 remake). His account of The Edge is particularly remarkable, as it demonstrates the difficulties of putting together a deal (De Niro had a problem with fighting a fake bear), placating the stars (Alec Baldwin didn't want to shave his beard) and finding a title (The Bear and the Brain was a contender, as was the screenwriter's choice, Bookworm). Linson's insights into why some movies fail are revealing: no one wants to see John Cusack naked (which explains Pushing Tin), for one, and you don't stand a chance if an earlier, bigger release (Titanic) uses the same erotic scene as your movie (Great Expectations). To hear Linson tell it, it's a jungle out there, with loads of fussy, na‹ve, brazen and unlucky monkeys swinging from the trees. He reels out one conversation after another, unearthing the bar banter, telephone exchanges and studio tˆte-…-tˆtes that reveal just how much quibbling goes on behind the scenes. Although Linson's book lacks the polish of William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade or the all-around savvy of Peter Bart and Peter Guber's Shoot Out, it provides a decent bird's-eye view on what a producer actually does and the pressures it involves.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
'Art Linson sings of Hollywood in a low, guttural, animal wail, alternately hysterical, biting, humiliating, and wise.' -- Sean Penn

'I laughed. I cried. I was horrified.' -- Sue Menger

'Wickedly funny and sardonic...It is the best user's manual to Hollywood I know.' -- Peter Biskind, author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (May 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582342407
• ISBN-13: 978-1582342405
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #713,949 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Classy gossip and some insights, May 9, 2005

By	Ian Muldoon (Coffs Harbour, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Sex sells, goes the old maxim, but if the sales of gossip magazines featuring the likes of the late Princess Diana, the present Drew Barrymore et al, then gossip may well be up there with sex as a matter of titilation (no pun intended) for the masses, of which I am one. THe fact is David Mamet is a great writer, Robert De Niro a great actor and the author, Art Linson, is no slouch in the producing arena. So if any of these are of interest to you, this book is a very well written - snappy dialogue, witty observations on the status of restaurant seating, and well constructed vignettes - as well as providing yet another insider's view on the shark aquarium known as Hollywood.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fear, Loathing, and Envy in Tinsel Town, April 30, 2002

By A Customer

Art Linson writes a very funny profile/memoir of uptight execs in Hollywood...and the movies he's produced...with a pen dipped in bile.

Screamingly funny, and you'll zip right through it. I finished the tome in two and a half hours.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The short version of how movies are made, October 14, 2002

By	R. Spell "raspell" (Memphis, TN USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I like books on Hollywood biz and this one fits the bill by a real pro, Art Linson. Anyone involved with classics like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Fight Club and Heat knows his way around the business and how it has changed in the last 30 years. Linson throws one kink in the normal Hollywood tell-all. He introduces a fictitious former studio head that has lunches with Linson generating a lively dialog of the business by to former players.

While I enjoyed this book, I have one major complaint. There are only four Hollywood stories in the book. It's like Linson has found his hit and can issue many sequels so he does so little at a time. The book is only 180 pages and is a very fast read. Also, the stories are not in great depth. For example, he describes the movie The Edge with Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins. He does a good job describing how these two are selected and the great respect he has for both actors. But the story line quickly ends as Baldwin shows up overweight and with a long beard. Linson has to deliver the bad news that he must change his appearance. End of story. Let's move on to the next.

While this story is anticlimactic after a flirtation with Robert Deniro in the movie, I like Linson's writing style for the subjects. It's short, uncomplicated and humorous. Other stories covered include Pushing Tin, Great Expectations and The Fight Club. All interesting stories but all written about very briefly.

Irrespective, I still recommend this book if you enjoy reading Hollywood stories. Linson had a great career and I'm sure there is another book coming in the future.