sexuality, 183–184
studio executives and, 192–194
aggressiveness, in self-promotion, 70
AIDS, 63–64
Alba, Jessica, 18
alcohol
abuse of, 98
avoidance of, 67–68, 353
hotel bills, 74
writing process, 159, 362
Alexander, 224
Alien, 223
Allen, Woody, 15, 63, 100, 251
Altered States, 352
Altman, Robert, 232, 250, 344
“ambiance chaser,” defined, 230
ambiguity, writing process, 168–169
An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn, 134, 136, 143–144, 173, 211, 218, 244, 317, 332, 363, 364
“analysis paralysis,” defined, 356
Anderson, Paul Thomas, 170
Anderson, Robert, 178
Anderson, Sherwood, 7
Andrews, Julie, 248
Aniston, Jennifer, 305
Annaud, Jean-Jacques, 144
Annie Hall, 177
Anspach, David, 375
anti-Semitism, 123, 129
antitrust actions, Writers Guild, 87
anxiety attacks, 127
“a Paulette,” defined, 344
Apocalypse Now, 246, 247, 248, 311
“a quality of availability,” defined, 333
“a quality of eruptibility,” defined, 332
“are my nipples even?” defined, 139
arguments, with directors, 244–246
artistry, 6–7, 13, 351
Ashby, Hal, 239, 287
Ashley, Elizabeth, 71
Ashley, Ted, 191
Astor, Mary, 71
astrology, 83
Attanasio, Paul, 79, 340
auctions, celebrity, 100
audience
characters, 164
pandering to, 163
producers, 257
writing process, 157
“audience-attuned,” defined, 36
auteur theory, 25, 230, 232, 233, 234, 241, 246, 249–250, 332. See also directors
Avalon, Frankie, 82
Avildsen, John, 234
Avnet, Jon, 233
Ayres, Gerald, 84, 239
Bacall, Lauren, 329
Bach, Danilo, 235
“back-end points,” defined, 207
back story, limits to, 164
bad news, 17
Baird, Stuart, 134, 136
Baldwin, Alec, 100, 327
Baldwin, Billy, 142, 327
Ball, Alan, 113, 234
Barish, Leora, 102
Barr, Roseanne, 196
Barrymore, Drew, 28, 71, 331
Barrymore, John, 302, 325
Bart, Peter, 362–363
Bartók, Béla, 114
Basic Instinct, 101, 102–103, 118, 120, 123–124, 143–144, 152, 153–154, 156, 157, 159, 168–170, 172, 176, 178–179, 189–190, 202, 203–204, 206, 215, 303, 305–306, 343, 345, 355
Basic Instinct 2, 102–103, 104
Basinger, Kim, 100
Bass, Ron, 120, 211–212, 229–230, 276, 363
bathtub, 155
Baum, Marty, 192
Baumgarten, Craig, 379
Bazin, André, 234
Beals, Jennifer, 11, 12, 81, 125, 211, 323
Bean, Henry, 102
beats
dialogue, 175
writing process, 170
Beattie, Stuart, 70
Beatty, Ned, 69
Beatty, Warren, 84, 184, 223, 239, 293, 303, 307, 311, 322, 344, 369
Beck, Marilyn, 347
Beckett, Samuel, 74
Beeney, Erica, 236
Begelman, David, 18, 22, 42, 62
Behan, Brendan, 40
Belushi, John, 81
Benigni, Robert, 241
Benioff, David, 9, 253
Berenger, Tom, 105, 166, 207, 313
Berg, Jeff, 69–70, 188, 189–190
Berg, Tony, 188
Berger, Dick, 374
Bergman, Ingrid, 334
Berkley, Elizabeth, 173, 242
Berle, Milton, 96
Bern, Paul, 320–321
Bernhard, Sandra, 332
Berry, Halle, 139
Betrayed, 105, 166, 171, 177, 243, 257
Big Shots, 128, 177, 204, 238
Bill, Tony, 375, 378
A Biographical Dictionary of Film, 83–84
Birns, Shondor, 295
bisexuality, 139, 140. See also sexuality
Black, Shane, 10, 57, 76, 204, 334
blacklist, 111–113, 250
“black shirt,” defined, 164
Blake, Michael, 52, 53, 63
Blatty, William Peter, 242
Blaze of Glory, 136, 152, 354
Bloodlines, 261, 262
blood money, 77
“blood star,” defined, 322
Bloom, Orlando, 139
The Blue Dahlia, 355
Boam, Jeffrey, 216–217, 224–225, 362
Bochco, Steven, 215, 357
Bodenheim, Maxwell, 365
Bogart, Humphrey, 312, 329
Bogdanovich, Peter, 233, 251, 340
Bolaños, José, 320
Bolster, Joe, 156–157
Bolt, Robert, 235
“bomb thrower,” defined, 285
The Bone Collector, 327
Bon Jovi, Jon, 114
Bonnie and Clyde, 293
Boone, Richard, 359
Bottoms, Timothy, 278
Bow, Clara, 143
Bowling for Columbine, 109
Boyle, Barbara, 184
Bradbury, Ray, 24
Brando, Marlon, 66, 74, 211, 242, 302, 305, 307, 311, 316, 326, 330
breakfast meetings, 208
Brenon, Herbert, 237
Brest, Martin, 18, 140, 235
Brickman, Marshall, 177
Bridges, Jeff, 137, 166, 175, 211, 308
Bridges, Lloyd, 377
Brillstein, Bernie, 35, 327
Brooks, Jim, 140, 318
Brooks, Mel, 59
Brown, David, 70
Brown, James, 97, 208, 259
Brown, Tony, 130
Bruce, Tammy, 343
Bruckheimer, Jerry, 81, 206
Brynner, Yul, 191
buddy movies, 141
budgets, writing process, 159
“built-in sphincter,” defined, 164
“built-in spine,” defined, 167
Bukowski, Charles, 6, 43, 53, 56, 66–67, 237
“bullet points,” defined, 297
bullshit, recognition of, 62
Burnett, Carol, 330
burn out, 356
Burton, Richard, 304, 331
Bush, George H. W., 270, 374, 378
Bush, George W., 64, 104, 379
business, art and, 13. See also money
“calling-card script,” defined, 202
camera angles, writing process, 159
Cameron, James, 129, 133, 250
Campbell, Joseph, 151
Canby, Vincent, 235
Canton, Mark, 289
Capone, Al, 362–363
Capote, Truman, 19, 304, 320
Capra, Frank, 114
Capshaw, Kate, 188, 378
Carey, Drew, 304
Carr, Allan, 22, 352
Carrey, Jim, 107, 305
Carruthers, Bill, 195
Carson, Johnny, 66
Carson, L. M. Kit, 22
Carson, Robert, 51–52
Caruso, David, 314, 332
Casablanca, 356
casting
advice on, 364
studio executive meetings, 211
“categorical imperative,” defined, 167
catharsis, climax, 165
celebrity auctions, 100
cell phones, 23
Cesaretti, Gusmano, 248
chair selection, 151
Champlin, Charles, 345
Chan, Jackie, 211
Chandle
r, Raymond, 3, 36, 70, 86, 90, 92, 106, 108, 125–126, 127, 147, 157, 179, 231, 249–250, 252, 273, 284, 288, 290, 344, 355, 361–362, 364, 366–367
Chapman, Mark, 222
characters
back story, 164
centrality of, 162–163
cigarette smoking, 165
development of, 164, 165
female, 140–141
individuality, 164
listening to, 163
naming of, 172–173
“stereotypes,” 293
writing process, 159, 161, 162
character sketches, 147
Charles, Ray, 354
Chase, Chevy, 378
Chasen, Dave, 135
Chateau Marmont (hotel), 22
“chatter chippie,” defined, 348
Chayefsky, Paddy, 49, 55, 71, 75–76, 82, 84, 90, 91, 98, 99, 100, 113, 117, 128, 138, 176, 212, 216, 230, 234, 240, 262, 307, 345, 352, 358, 360, 366, 369
Checking Out, 127
check paying, 43, 74
Chekhov, Michael, 329
Chesterfield Film Company (Writer’s Film Project), 356
children’s books, 136
China Syndrome, 351
“chocolate life,” defined, 361
churches, 23
cigarette smoking
characters, 165
dangers of, 156
writing process, 159
Cimino, Michael, 22, 231, 235, 236
cinematic writing, 157
Citizen Kane, 249
“civilian question,” defined, 288
Clancy, Tom, 113
Clayton, Jack, 249
Cleese, John, 304
Clift, Montgomery, 71, 305, 329–330
climax
catharsis, 165
writing process, 168
Clinton, Hillary, 333, 378
Clinton, William Jefferson, 44, 59, 374, 378–379
Close, Glenn, 166, 175, 273
CMA Agency, 192
Coburn, James, 142
cocaine highway, 65
Cocks, Jay, 340
Cohen, Mickey, 331
Cohn, Harry, 7, 8, 45, 288, 291–292, 296, 331
Cold Mountain, 141
collaboration, 50, 88, 214
Collins, Joan, 102
comedy, 96, 137–138
comic books, 136
committee syndrome, studio executives, 283, 284–285
competitions, 356
Confederacy of Dunces, 354, 355
conflict
“theory of creative conflict,” 218
writing process, 165–166
Conn, Billy, 36
Connery, Sean, 211, 272
Conway, Kevin, 321
Coolidge, Martha, 241
Cooper, Chris, 310
Cooper, Gary, 332
Coover, Robert, 9
Coppola, Carmine, 247
Coppola, Francis Ford, 22, 67, 82, 128, 231, 246–247, 248
Coppola, Sofia, 247
copyright, titles, 177
“core of the character,” defined, 162
corruption
family, 74
success, 16–17, 88
Costa-Gavras, Constantin, 106, 170, 172, 235, 242, 243, 251, 257
Costner, Kevin, 211, 319, 360
country music, 129–130
courtroom dramas, 82
“cover the waterfront,” defined, 202
cowriters, 60
“crack of the ass,” defined, 328
“crash-and-bash pictures,” defined, 146
Crawford, Cheryl, 266
Crawford, Joan, 333
Creative Artists Agency (CAA), 187–188, 192, 196, 197
“creative conflict, theory of,” defined, 218
“creative differences,” defined, 85–86
“creative executive,” defined, 287
“creatively reliable,” defined, 352
creative meetings, preparation for, 207–208. See also studio executive meetings
“creative parasite,” defined, 271
“credit-card filmmaker,” defined, 232
credits
critics, 348
directors, 232, 233, 234, 250, 251
executive producer credit, 206
producers, 260
rewrites, 135
screen adaptations, 94
tips on, 219–220
writers, 96
Writers Guild arbitration, 219
Cregar, Laird, 326
Crichton, Michael, 214
critics, 337–348. See also specific critics
actors, 338–339
credits, 348
directors, 338–339
writers, 337–348
Crosthwaite, Treva, 203
Crowe, Russell, 101, 139
Cruise, Tom, 92, 101, 187–188, 212, 276, 317, 329, 334
Crystal, Billy, 297
Cunningham, Michael, 9
Curb, Mike, 130
Curran, Nick, 102
Curtis, Tony, 35, 55, 61, 85, 291–292, 315
Curtiz, Michael, 249
cuts, length of script, 171–172
cynicism, 108
dailies, 217
Daily Variety, 347
Daisy Miller, 251
Damon, Matt, 64, 236
Daniel, Sean, 28
Davis, Bette, 312
Davis, Geena, 76
Davis, Jeff, 241
Davis, Sammy, Jr., 331
“DBTA,” defined, 294
de Acosta, Mercedes, 92, 317, 320
deadlines, 96–97
deal making, fear, 108
Dean, James, 74, 305
Dearden, James, 18, 177
death, 352, 355
Death of a Salesman, 79, 266
de Dienes, André, 41
De Laurentiis, Dino, 278
DeLine, Don, 218
“deliver the moment,” defined, 163
Del Toro, Benicio, 302
De Luca, Mike, 286
DeMille, C. B., 315
De Niro, Robert, 60, 305, 319
De Palma, Brian, 230
Depp, Johnny, 83, 302
DeVito, Danny, 220, 238
dialogue, 13, 63, 74, 131, 174–176, 297, 340
Dickinson, Angie, 134–135
Didion, Joan, 79, 97, 215, 277, 333
Dietrich, Marlene, 71, 317
Diller, Barry, 16–17, 98, 277, 283
directors. See also specific directors
Academy Awards, 230–231
actors and, 249
affairs, 242
arguments with, 244–246
auteur theory, 25, 230, 232, 233, 234, 241, 246, 249–250, 332
credits, 232, 233, 234, 250, 251
critics and, 338–339
dealing with, 211–212
findings of, 211
partnerships, 106
personalities of, 51, 229–243, 248–253
producers and, 231
rewrites, 214–215
role of, 50
sadism, 244
writers and, 13, 25, 51, 68, 79, 89, 223, 252–253
writing process, 170
“dirt sandwich,” defined, 44
Dirty Harry, 145
disappointment, in expectations, 60
Disney, Walt, 46
distribution, 218
The Doctor’s Wife, 94
documentaries, Academy Awards, 113
dog-sitting, 73
Donner, Dick, 57, 218, 241
Doran, Lindsay, 102
Dorsey, Tommy, 196
Douglas, Kirk, 112, 165
Douglas, Michael, 35, 102–103, 166, 169, 214–215, 303, 308, 329
drafts
number of, 204
output per day, 155
saving of, 178–179
studio executives, 297
dreams, recording of, 157
drugs, 65
avoidance of, 67–68
“To Do a Belushi,” 81
writing process, 159
Dr. Zhivago, 337
Dubus, Andrew, 354
“dumb fuck films,” defined, 287
Dunaway, Faye, 246, 326
Dunne, Dominick, 19, 67–68, 352
Dunne, John Gregory, 7, 14, 40, 79, 89, 97, 121, 208, 215, 217, 218, 219, 232, 258, 277, 291, 302, 307, 333
Duren, Ryne, 207
Duvall, Robert, 316, 377
Dylan, Bob, 148, 166
Eastman, Carole, 240
East of Eden, 305
Eastwood, Clint, 91, 234, 328, 361
Ebert, Roger, 25, 344–345
Edwards, Blake, 248, 376
ego, motivation, 55
Einstein, Albert, 152
Eisner, Michael, 10, 98, 276, 291
Ellison, Harlan, 54, 73, 106, 213, 297
e-mail, 122
E-meter (Scientology machine), 77–78
employment, writers, 51
endings
ambiguity in, 169–170
attachment to, 154, 161
directors, 243
producers, 272
writing process, 168
enemies, 16, 35
envy, 97, 108, 232, 351, 364
Ephron, Nora, 9
Epps, Jack, 4
Epstein Brothers, 122
Esherick, Freddie, 203
Eszterhas, Joe, 67, 102, 103, 104, 105, 220, 234
Eszterhas, Joey (son), 11, 20
Eszterhas, Naomi (wife), 12, 72, 107, 370, 378
Eszterhas, Steve (son), 11, 128, 129
E.T., 355
ethnicity, 141
Evans, Charles, 261–262, 271
Evans, Robert, 17, 44–45, 55, 56, 57, 66, 71, 105, 108, 119, 125, 217, 231, 245, 262–263, 270, 273, 277, 311, 354
Everett, Rupert, 166
Everhart, Angie, 304
evil spirits, 69
excess, avoidance of, 67–68
executive producer credit, 206
expectations, disappointment in, 60
experience, importance of, 49, 52–53
failures, 223–225, 352
fame, writers, 33–48, 76
family, corruption, 74
family secrets, 137
Fante, John, 355
farms, 82
Farrell, Colin, 139
Farrell, Joseph, 221
Farrell, Will, 379
Farrow, Mia, 100
“fartland,” defined, 59
Faulkner, William, 6, 7, 19, 20, 26, 53, 63, 67, 95, 98, 152, 157, 163, 164, 204, 229, 337, 362, 369
Fawcett, Farrah, 110
fear, 46, 47
actors, 305
deal making, 108
defeat of, 153
studio executives, 288
of writing, 147–148
“feedable critic,” defined, 344
Fellowes, Julian, 214
female characters, 140–141
femininity, 71–72, 139
feminism, 248, 306, 343
Fiddler, Jimmy, 341
Field, Sally, 63–64, 318
Field, Syd, 268
Fields, Bert, 10, 26–27, 194, 360–361
Fields, Freddie, 190–191
Finney, Albert, 211
Fiorentino, Linda, 313
firearms, 253
first act, writing process, 168
Fisher, Carrie, 306
F.I.S.T., 140, 160, 172, 180, 211, 242, 323, 345
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, 7, 15–16, 81, 90, 128, 187
The Devil’s Guide To Hollywood Page 37