Hollywood: The Oral History

De: Jeanine Basinger, Sam Wasson

Narrado por: Timothy Andrés Pabon, Marni Penning

The real story of Hollywood as told by such luminaries as Steven Spielberg, Frank Capra, Katharine Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Harold Lloyd, and nearly four hundred others, assembled from the American Film Institute’s treasure trove of interviews, reveals a fresh history of the American movie industry from its beginnings to today.

From the archives of the American Film Institute comes a unique picture of what it was like to work in Hollywood from its beginnings to its present day. Gleaned from nearly three thousand interviews, involving four hundred voices from the industry, Hollywood: The Oral History, lets a listener “listen in” on candid remarks from the biggest names in front of the camera—Bette Davis, Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Harold Lloyd—to the biggest behind it—Frank Capra, Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, Jordan Peele, as well as the lesser known individuals that shaped what was heard and seen on screen: musicians, costumers, art directors, cinematographers, writers, sound men, editors, make-up artists, and even script timers, messengers, and publicists. The result is like a conversation among the gods and goddesses of film: lively, funny, insightful, historically accurate and, for the first time, authentically honest in its portrait of Hollywood. It’s the insider’s story.

Legendary film scholar Jeanine Basinger and New York Times bestselling author Sam Wasson, both acclaimed storytellers in their own right, have undertaken the monumental task of digesting these tens of thousands of hours of talk and weaving it into a definitive portrait of workaday Hollywood.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Jeanine Basinger and Sam Wasson (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Wow!

I’ve read a ton of books about the movies. But I learned more about filmmaking and its history from this book than any other.

Insider view of the Hollywood film industry; A mini-MBA lesson in corporate thinking

I loved the intimate atmosphere created by all these personal quotes. I love the insights into all parts of the film making process and the business. The overview of the different “phases” of film industry is great value to understand other industries going through changes.

Good oral history-poor reading

The information is interesting if not exactly insightful. Too much of it is eyewitnesses of the era saying how great everyone was and weren’t we lucky. We needed some curmudgeons as well! The anecdotes themselves barely muster interest because no one seems to have any personality. Thus, the readers (male and female) have to try to make the dialogue interesting when they really have nothing to play. And even if they did, they are all wrong for the reading. The male had a bland sweet voice and the female has a touch of the irritating vocal rhythms and timbre of contemporary young women. If you’re going to act it, act it. If you’re going to just read, just read. But you need to study how people spoke back then. Americans in that circle of Hollywood spoke in distinctive styles so familiar from old movies.

Transitions

It was a great book just harder to follow since there weren’t really well-marked transitions between one topic to another. Other than that I absolutely loved it!!

Found this to be incredibly informative and a fascinating listen!

A great way to learn about the world of Hollywood.
( not clear why some are so negative about the narrators…. I found them very easy to listen to)

10 times more than I expected or hoped for

this really is American history. this book reflects who we are as a people what our history has been for the last 100 years. it speaks to our soul. it's an examination of the good the bad the ugly. and it's funny

Hollywood Insider

Opinions about all aspects of Hollywood movies from those within. Loaded with facts and stories. Not a narrative history. It’s all there from the first silents to today based on personal interviews. A unique book.

Complete Hollywood Conversation

Excellent interview of AFI stars from the silent era through Michael Ovitz. It is a once in a lifetime experience. If you’re a real fan then Tia is the one book for you.

Hooray for Hollywood!

This was an excellent discourse on a tremendously big and broad subject using the words of the masters involved with the subject of film. Really interesting and enjoyable.

Best book on Hollywood that I’ve ever read

Well, my title says it all. I have read quite a few books about Hollywood. Most of them are the scandal sheet kind and tabloid. This is a very serious and very informative history.

I love the style of the rating also with mainly quotes from people in the business .