BOFFO!: How I Learned to Love the Blockbuster and Fear the Bomb (Hardcover)

by Peter Bart (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Bart, editor-in-chief of Variety (PW's sister magazine) and former studio exec, smartly places 100 years of movies, plays, musicals and TV shows within their pop-culture context, while also illuminating their ongoing cultural effects. For example, when explaining the surprise Broadway megahit Cats, he also points to the concurrent blockbusters of ET and Michael Jackson's Thriller-both of which spread beyond their original art forms to become popular "phenomena." Around this time, he writes, "pop culture had been transmogrified into a multinational, multicultural, all-engulfing monster mega-industry." But it's his behind-the-scenes details that shine-one of the best chapters retells the near-miss negotiations involved in making The Godfather (as remembered by Puzo, Coppola and studio exec Robert Evans) While some of his observations are not new, the breadth of his knowledge and size of his Rolodex are undeniably impressive. The book is organized into 27 chapters roughly arranged in reverse chronology-starting with the likes of Batman (1989) and CSI (2000) and ending with The Birth of a Nation (1915)-and include a seemingly random list of box-office hits. But then again, as Bart tells it, creating a blockbuster itself is random: "the underlying reality about blockbusters is this: With few exceptions, they weren't conceived of as blockbusters."
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Boffo, slang for terrific, is one of the many terms coined in the pages of entertainment business magazine Variety over the years. Bart, Variety's editor in chief, offers a history of the movie business through the lens of the 100-year-old periodical. From the making of The Birth of a Nation in 1915 to The Lord of the Rings trilogy in 2001 and everything in between, Bart examines the many factors that make a movie a success--or a dismal failure. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, now a revered classic, was a risky and expensive venture in 1937. Batman was an odd choice for the next big superhero franchise in 1989, and visionary Tim Burton was a risky pick to direct it, but the movie was a hit, as was the merchandise it spawned. Bart also examines television successes, including how MTV's The Real World launched the reality TV genre in 1992 and how CSI braved almost insurmountable behind-the-scenes troubles to become television's number-one drama. Engrossing reading for anyone interested in the business of Hollywood. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Miramax (June 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401352162
• ISBN-13: 978-1401352165
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #950,237 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A real grab-bag, June 12, 2006

By	StageStruckLad (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews

Peter Bart admits that the book is a grab-bag of essays on blockbuster movies, TV series and stage shows. I found it entertaining enough, but I'm not sure I got much out of it. He basically presents the history of a couple of dozen shows, several of which have already been chronicled in longer, more informative books (Casablanca, I Love Lucy, King Kong, etc.). This book is not unlike a Reader's Digest version of famous show business stories. I did find one item that I think is a mistake. In his "I Love Lucy" chapter, he writes that William Frawley and Lucille Ball hated each other. I've never read that before. I think he meant to write that Vivian Vance and Frawley hated each other.

2.0 out of 5 stars Odd Mixture of Inside Info and Rehashed Material from Other Books, July 9, 2008

By	Mediaman "TVviewer" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: BOFFO!: How I Learned to Love the Blockbuster and Fear the Bomb (Paperback)

This is a quirky book about the entertainment business that isn't devoted to one specific category--it covers movies, Broadway, TV shows and pop culture personalities. That makes it somewhat interesting in concept. But in execution the book is a mess.

Peter Bart has an odd writing style, filled with facts but little finesse. He takes ten or twelve pages to cover each subject, ranging from Easy Rider to I Love Lucy to Cats, but rarely provides any new insight into any of the topics covered.

The most interesting chapters are those that involve his personal stories, but even those often fall flat due to the unusual writing style. For the Godfather chapter, he starts out explaining his first-hand work in trying to get the project off the ground when he worked as vice president of production at Paramount. But then instead of doing any actual interviews with those involved with the movie, he MAKES UP what he THINKS they would say today based on his 30 year old recollections of conversations he had back then! It is totally inappropriate from a journalistic standpoint and embarrassing for a man who is the editor of a major entertainment publication.

His Oprah chapter is a complete waste of time and you have to wonder why he included it in the book--he simply found an old biography of the star, quoted liberally from it and then praises the talk show host for her openness in the James Frey false memoir fiasco. The problem is that Bart overlooks that Oprah flip-flopped after Frey's falsehoods were made public and he doesn't hold Winfrey responsible for any of the many negative things she has done, even glossing over lawsuits filed by former Oprah employees.

The author also kisses up to anyone he has a working relationship with--the first chapter alone is filled with praise for Peter Gruber's production of Batman in 1989. But nowhere is it mentioned in the chapter that he and Gruber are partners on a TV show and the two wrote a book together! On the other hand, in the same chapter he slams co-producer Jon Peters, with whom Bart must not have had a relationship.

He also embarrasses himself by looking down his nose at pop culture favorites, such as saying it took over three years for him to lower himself to see Mamma Mia. He comes across as an old guy who doesn't understand what makes something popular entertainment--and proves the point that people who head Hollywood studios (like he used to) are clueless when it comes to knowing what Americans want for entertainment or why. He has no real answers about what makes something a blockbuster.

The book should have been filled with Bart's personal stories and inside interviews with the many industry big-wigs that he is associated with. Instead it is mostly rehashed factual information that is better written about in the books he liberally borrows from (at least the books are credited in the end).

5.0 out of 5 stars OK, December 24, 2007

By	Leo Dizon Rustia (Philippines) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Boffo!: How I Learned to Love the Blockbuster and Fear the Bomb (Hardcover)

The book and bookcover had no damage or marks whatsoever and it was shipped before the tailend of the date range. THANKS!!!