Writing in a direct, refreshing and honest style, Bart (Variety's editor-in-chief and a former v-p for production at Paramount) and Guber (the founder and head of Mandalay Entertainment and one-time production head at Columbia Pictures) offer an intimate view of the film industry and its unending economic, political and artistic clashes. While a reliable guide to the mechanics of movie making, the book is best at telling fascinating illustrative anecdotes that range from the scary (e.g., Frank Sinatra sending "one of his goons" to ensure that Roman Polanski would ask Sinatra's wife, Mia Farrow, to do only two takes of each scene on the set of Rosemary's Baby) to the charming (as when Guber is thrilled that Jimmy Stewart asks his opinion of a scene, only to realize that the star is interested in everyone's opinion, even the cleaning man's). This isn't a tell-all exposé, à la Julia Phillips's You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again, but rather an informal, highly entertaining step-by-step survey of how all the parts of filmmaking fit together. From a succinct history of how TV spots and trailers have been developed to the problem of casting and managing megastars (e.g., Bruce Willis ended up in the huge hit The Sixth Sense
because he needed an $18 million loan to get out of an independent film), the authors convey with irony and good humor the reality that "[t]he so-called 'creative industries' are big business," but despite the huge economic stakes involved, "the vision keepers will win in the end." (May 13)
Forecast:
Shoot Out's curious mix of behind-the-scenes mechanics and funny anecdotes will help it reach two audiences: die-hard industry followers and curious moviegoers. Bart and Guber are high-profile guys with plenty of PR and publicity contacts; expect boffo sales.
