Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade (Paperback)

by William Goldman (Author) "I don't think I was aware of it, but when I started work on Adventures in the Screen Trade, in 1980, I had become leper..." (more)
Key Phrases: lopping scene, screen trade, marathon man, New York, The Princess Bride, Butch Cassidy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Something odd, if predictable, became of screenwriter William Goldman after he wrote the touchstone tell-all book on filmmaking, Adventures in the Screen Trade (1983), he became a Hollywood leper. Goldman opens his long-awaited sequel by writing about his years of exile before he found himself--again--as a valuable writer in Hollywood.

Fans of the two-time Oscar-winning writer (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men) have anxiously waited for this follow-up since his career serpentined into a variety of big hits and critical bombs in the '80s and '90s. Here Goldman scoops on The Princess Bride (his own favorite), Misery, Maverick, Absolute Power, and others. Goldman's conversational style makes him easy to read for the film novice but meaty enough for the detail-oriented pro. His tendency to ramble into other subjects may be maddening (he suddenly switches from being on set with Eastwood to anecdotes about Newman and Garbo), but we can excuse him because of one fact alone: he is so darn entertaining.

Like most sequels, Which Lie follows the structure of the original. Both Goldman books have three parts: stories about his movies, a deconstruction of Hollywood (here the focus is on great movie scenes), and a workshop for screenwriters. (The paperback version of the first book also comes with his full-length screenplay of Butch; his collected works are also worth checking out). This final segment is another gift--a toolbox--for the aspiring screenwriter. Goldman takes newspaper clippings and other ideas and asks the reader to diagnose their cinematic possibilities. Goldman also gives us a new screenplay he's written (The Big A), which is analyzed--with brutal honesty--by other top writers. With its juicy facts and valuable sidebars on what makes good screenwriting, this is another entertaining must-read from the man who coined what has to be the most-quoted adage about movie-business success: "Nobody knows anything." --Doug Thomas --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Two-time Oscar-winning screenwriter Goldman follows up his irreverent, gossipy and indispensable screenwriting bible, Adventures in the Screen Trade (1983), with this equally wise, tart and very funny account of the filmmaking process. He begins with the surprising admission that he was a "leper" in Hollywood between 1980 and 1985: after Magic (1978), he was unable to get any screenplays produced until The Princess Bride (1987). (Moviegoers' loss was readers' gain: during those years he wrote six novels.) Wildly opinionated ("Vertigo--for me, the most overrated movie of all time") but astute, Goldman is a 35-year industry veteran with lots of tales and a knack for spinning them. He knows how to captivate his audience, peppering his philosophical advice with star-studded anecdotes. Whether he's detailing why virtually every leading actor turned down the lead in Misery before James Caan offered to be drug-tested to get the part, or how Michael Douglas was the perfect producer but the wrong actor for The Ghost and the Darkness, Goldman offers keen observations in a chatty style. In the last section of the book, he gamely offers readers a rough first draft of an original screenplay. Even more bravely, he includes instructive, intuitive and sometimes scathing critiques by fellow screenwriters, including Peter and Bobby Farrelly (There's Something About Mary), Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise) and John Patrick Shanley (Moonstruck). Movie buffs of all stripes, even those with no interest in writing for the screen, will enjoy this sublimely entertaining adventure. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (February 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375703195
• ISBN-13: 978-0375703195
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #36,301 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #15 in	Books > Entertainment > Movies > Industry
  #32 in	Books > Entertainment > Movies > Screenwriting
  #47 in	Books > Entertainment > Movies > History & Criticism

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to get the toys over the mountain, September 15, 2001

By	Mike Stone (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

William Goldman's follow-up to "Adventures in the Screen Trade" follows much the same form as that book. It's intended for an audience of prospective Hollywood screenwriters, but can be equally enjoyed by those interested in frank Hollywood gossip and tales from an insider. Goldman is a perfect tour guide across this terrain, for he loves to teach from his experiences, and is an entertaining and economical writer. Most of this book feels like a private chat with a friendly old uncle who's lead an exciting and adventure filled life.

Goldman starts by revisiting a successful section from his earlier memoir: anecdotes from his experiences writing his most recent work. Tales of adapting his own "The Princess Bride", his love for the material and for Andre the Giant; the good intentioned but eventual failures of "The Year of the Comet" and "The Ghost and the Darkness" (the latter is a good example of how the material can get away from the writer once an egotistical star is on board, in this case Michael Douglas); and how he went about adapting "Misery" and "Absolute Power". This last example was my favourite, for even though the book it's based on was pulp, and movie barely registered, Goldman uses it as a fine example on the problems of adapting, and how you need to be ruthless just to make the thing work. He takes you through his process step-by-step, and the parts where he's racking his brain on how to make the sucker work are tangible in their frustration. Also, there were some nifty Clint Eastwood moments that make you respect the Man with No Name even more.

The second section takes a look at several of Goldman's favourite film scenes (from a screenwriter's point of view), and proposes to analyze why they worked. While his passion for these moments is palpable, Goldman skimps on the analysis. Why was the zipper scene in "There's Something About Mary" so effective? Why does the chess scene in "The Seventh Seal" resonant still? He does a fine job, though, finding the importance of the cliff scene from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". But then he should know that one inside out, because he wrote it (Warning: if you have never seen or do not at all appreciate "Butch and Sundance", I'd stay away from this book; Goldman has enthusiastic affection for his first big hit, and returns to it often for examples; I myself love the movie and was glad to read more about it). The best part of this section is his attempt to wrestle credit for the crop-duster scene in "North by Northwest" from Alfred Hitchcock, and give it to the screenwriter, Ernest Lehman. I was convinced.

The third section offers the reader a chance to be screenwriter. Goldman presents several newspaper clippings as examples of possible source material for an original screenplay. He then takes us through the process of molding and shaping the materiel to the demands of the screen. It's pedantic Goldman at his best.

In the final section, Goldman presents an original screenplay he's written to various professional screenwriters, to show the function of a "script doctor" (Goldman's latest and most notorious Hollywood incarnation). The screenplay he's written, a tired detective adventure called "The Big A", is still in process, and it's a treat reading Goldman thinking out loud. He doesn't know where to go with the story at some points, and presents the reader with various possibilities. He's unsure about a scene he's just written, and admits to its inadequacies. He's having problems with character, and admits to that too.

But Goldman is not nearly as hard on himself as those he's solicited for help are. This was my favourite section of the book. On the one hand, the submissions he's received are biting, witty, and malicious in the most entertaining of ways. On the other hand, they full of a variety of great ideas, all of which would turn "The Big A" into a bona fide movie. Tony Gilroy (who wrote "The Devil's Advocate") is particularly effective on both of these fronts; his writing is lovable curmudgeonry at its best.

If Goldman ever decides to finish off this trilogy, I'll be right there waiting. Whether in narrative prose or memoir form, his writing is easily digestible, fun, and most importantly, informative. He wears his passions on his sleeve, and invites the reader to do the same. I was right there with him the whole time, lapping up his nuggets of wisdom. I guess the best praise I have is that everytime I finish a Goldman book, I get the itch to go write a screenplay myself. And feel perfectly equipped to do so.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Like most sequels, this ain't quite as good BUT.., March 26, 2000

By	Scott Bailey (Los Feliz, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade (Hardcover)

...it still is very much worth a read. (Goldman has such an easy going, conversational writing style, you can polish off this book a few hours.) One of my favorite all time books is his first Adventures in the Screen Trade, which was the first book that I ever read about how Hollywood really works. (His analysis of The Great Santini is classic.) This book is highly entertaining, but it does not have the sheen of originality that the first book had. And I was really getting a bit tired reading about Butch Cassidy (he even acknowledges that the book's reader might hurl the thing across the room, due to his constant references of that film.) I would much rather have read his thoughts on The Last Action Hero. What the hell was going through the movie makers minds on that one? But overall, this book was lots of fun, especially his analysis of There's Something About Mary and Fargo. And it was fun reading about why that Chevy Chase Invisible Man movie was so horrendous. So, if you like movies, go ahead and read this, but make sure you read the first Adventures in the Screen Trade first.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book for the aspiring writer, March 10, 2004

By	Tom Hughes (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews

I haven't enjoyed a book about the film industry so much since reading the mesmerising The Kid Stays in the Picture, by Robert Evans (an appalling man, a great book). As an aspiring and horribly procrastinating writer, I found this a deeply moving and energising book. Did I know that every writer hates writing, finds reading their own stuff mortifying and hates people criticising it? To be honest, I didn't.

The other thing is that is truly extraordinary, is his revelation that the only book thing he has written, really loves, and is proud of, is the Princess Bride, again a very worthy and inspirational one. Having read a lot of books, and often the whole works of individual authors, I really believe that even great authors only have one world class book in them.

For me, there were two episodes from the book that really moved me. The first, is his meeting with his hero author, and makes a complete prat out of himself. His treatment of him as a god, upsets his hero, because he ignores the pain and suffering that his writing has caused. While his moving writing on the life and death of Andre the Giant, really brought tears to my eyes.

This isn't a gossipy book about Hollywood. It isn't even a book about screen writing. It's about the fundamental process of being a writer, and how to do it. I now know two major things about writing. You don't have a hope of being a successful writer unless you find someone to criticise your work, deeply, and thoroughly, and you can't ever hope it will get any easier. You're always going to want to be somewhere else, doing something more interesting, than putting stuff on paper.

Just for the record I've only read this and The Princess Bride, I don't think I will be reading any more, because I don't want my illusions about the man destroyed. But thank you, my friends for buying me the book to try and give me a kick, and thank you Mr Goldman, for having written a self help book for one aspiring and horribly procrastinating writer.

The only points of discord for me are niggles, and not related to the value of the book. His repect for David Lean, for example, puts my teeth on edge, as he was a monomaniacal abomination who destroyed a large number of lives, to make one great film, and a number of very bad ones (Ryan's Daughter anyone).

The other is that he sometimes doesn't see the wood for the trees. Simply put, in his screenplay at the end of the book, it all works if set in the noir era (1930's to 1940's). The other point is that if his great film (The Princess Bride, obviously) had been put throught the proper Hollywood marketing machine and had the right budget, it would not have come out with the same wonderful cheesy feeling (bad sets, etc), that is part of its joy. So he, very luckily in my opinion, traded a hit film with a beautiul looking Zoo of Death, for a eternal classic. An ironic example of the luck, that he is so at pains to emphasise, is all part of the movie business.