The story of the director behind Harold and Maude, Being There, and other quirky classics: “A superb biography of this troubled, talented man.” —Tucson Citizen Hal Ashby set the standard for subsequent independent filmmakers by crafting unique, thoughtful, and challenging films that continue to influence new generations of directors. Initially finding success as an editor, Ashby won an Academy Award for editing 1967’s In the Heat of the Night, and translated his skills into a career as one of the quintessential directors of 1970s. Perhaps best remembered for the enduring cult classic Harold and Maude, Ashby quickly became known for melding quirky comedy and intense drama with performances from A-list actors such as Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail, Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn in Shampoo, Jon Voight and Jane Fonda in Coming Home, and Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine in Being There. But Ashby’s personal life was difficult. After enduring his parents’ divorce, his father’s suicide, and his own failed marriage all before the age of nineteen, he became notorious for his drug abuse, which contributed to the decline of his career near the end of his life. Ashby always operated outside Hollywood’s conventions, and though his output was tragically limited, the quality of his films continues to inspire modern directors as varied and talented as Judd Apatow and Wes Anderson, both of whom acknowledge Ashby as a primary influence. In Being Hal Ashby: Life of a Hollywood Rebel, the first full-length biography of the maverick filmmaker, Nick Dawson masterfully tells the turbulent story of Ashby’s life and career.

Casting fresh light on New Hollywood – one of American cinema's most fertile eras – Authoring Hal Ashby is the first sustained argument that, rather than a period dominated by genius auteurs, New Hollywood was an era of intense collaboration producing films of multiple-authorship. Centering its discussion on the films and filmmaking practice of director Hal Ashby (Harold and Maude, Shampoo, Being There), Hunter's work demonstrates how the auteur paradigm has served not only to diminish several key films and filmmakers of the era, but also to underestimate and undervalue the key contributions to the era's films of cinematographers, editors, writers and other creative crew members. Placing Ashby's films and career within the historical context of his era to show how he actively resisted the auteur label, the author demonstrates how this resistance led to Ashby's marginalization by film executives of his time and within subsequent film scholarship. Through rigorous analysis of several films, Hunter moves on to demonstrate Ashby's own signature authorial contributions to his films and provides thorough and convincing demonstrations of the authorial contributions made by several of Ashby's key collaborators. Building on emerging scholarship on multiple-authorship, Authoring Hal Ashby lays out a creative new approach to understanding one of Hollywood cinema's most exciting eras and one of its most vital filmmakers.

“A perceptive and provocative work.” —Los Angeles Times “A stunning job of research, observation and reporting.” —Larry Gelbart, co-writer of Tootsie and writer on TV’s “M*A*S*H*” “This fluid, marvelously detailed book goes a long way toward explaining why Tootsie has already achieved a reputation as a classic film comedy.” —People Making Tootsie is back, three decades after the creation of the blockbuster Hollywood motion picture that the American Film Institute rated as #2 on its list of the 100 Best Comedies of All Time (second only to Some Like it Hot). Playwright, author, and Ms. magazine contributing writer Susan Dworkin was granted unprecedented access to the film set, the cast, and the crew during the filming and through post-production of the 1982 classic, and her riveting, detailed chronicle offers a fascinating window into the art of movie making—as well as painting indelible portraits of the two main men who made Tootsie happen: director Sidney Pollack and star Dustin Hoffman. No movie buff, film historian, student, or fan will want to miss Making Tootsie.

Roger Ebert has been called the most influential film critic in America. His Chicago Sun-Times reviews are syndicated to some 200 other newspapers and appear on CompuServe. This new edition of his popular guide includes 160 new reviews, interviews with actors and directors, and the popular "Questions for the Movie Answer Man".

A comprehensive guide to all the movie directors you should know before it is too late.