The title of this book says it all. Joe Esztherhas is one of the most polarizing personalities in Hollywood lore. He made a fortune with big seven-figure screenwriting deals through the 1990s. He wrote one of Hollywood’s biggest hits during that decade—Basic Instinct—and also one of its biggest bombs—Showgirls.
It’s a very opinionated piece, written directly by himself, as he details his writing process and goes into various rants and raves about Hollywood, screenwriting, and the individuals within.
This book may be the ultimate cautionary tale of how not to be, but anyone would be a fool to disclude the observations he makes and the lessons to be learned from both his successes and failures as a screenwriter and Hollywood persona.
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I would add Secrets of theScreen Trade by Allen B Ury. My projects started getting more attention after I absorbed the knowledge contained in this book.
Missed one -
The Complete Book of Scriptwriting
by J. Michael Straczynski
A huge omission: ON FILM-MAKING by Alexander Mackendrick