The Studio [Paperback]

John Gregory Dunne (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Simon and Schuster; Cover Torn Along Spine edition (1969)
• ASIN: B002MZUV2S
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inside the insider's view of a major Hollywood Studio, February 27, 2006

By 

David M. Berner (Vancouver, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Studio (Paperback)

This is a terribly funny and telling documentary. Mr. Dunne, who had a considerable reputation and experience as a screenwriter, somehow convinced the powers at Twentieth Century Fox to give him carte blanche and complete access to every peculiar nook and sneaky cranny at the studio. Sitting in on major meetings with the Zanucks,writers, producers, agents, stars, attending gala openings and hanging about sets, Dunne was the ultimate fly-on-the-wall. The movies in production during the year (1967)he spent soaking up this rarified atmosphere included "Dr. Doolittle," "Star," and "Hello Dolly," which means we get great dish on Rex Harrison, Barbra Streisand, Anthony Newley, Gene Kelly and Walter Matthau, to name only a few.

The stories are told in a droll, straight-ahead manner, which makes the gags even funnier. One can scarcely believe the kinds of things that Hollywood Heavies utter, apparently unashamed and on a fairly regular basis.

For the record, Mr. Dunne, also the author of a number of first-rate novels, was the late husband of writer Joan Didion, whose current memoir about dealing with his death - "The Year of Magical Thinking" - is deservedly at the top of the charts these days.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Classic Should Never Be Out Of Print..., April 14, 2004

By 

Edwin Graf Diemer (Red Bank, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Studio (Paperback)

Absolutely brilliant-people in Hollywood still refer to "AD" (After Dunne), and you know a book like this won't happen again. The attitude is "Where you find clowns there is usually a circus", and the level of amaturism on display here is astounding. The best section has to be the one on the making of the legendary flop "Dr. Dolittle"-you are there as they read the disastrous preview cards. A $18 million investment is on the line, and all the producer's girlfriend can think of is stealing a silver tray from a restaurant and what dress to wear for the premiere. Hilarious, and still required reading at film study courses today.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A tame look at the studios, January 3, 2011

By 

Jerry Wilt "JBW857" (Katy, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Studio (Paperback)

Unlike the other reviewers here, I thought the book (considering when it was written) is a bit of tame, high-level overview of the studio workings. I didn't find it boring, nor did I find it to be a great page-turner. I would have preferred a more in-depth review of the studio workings. However, it was interesting to read the names from the past and the TV shows that were described...Lost in Space, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea...and the movies...Dr. Doolittle, Planet of the Apes...and more. I did find the parts on how Richard Zanuck decided which movies would get made and which ones didn't to be interesting - pretty much a gut feeling and a whim. I think this book is only for diehard studio fans and not the casual reader of Hollywood history.