Oscar Wars

A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears

By: Michael Schulman

Narrated by: Charlie Thurston

Length: 21 hrs

Publisher's summary

The author of the New York Times bestseller Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep returns with a lively history of the Academy Awards, focusing on the brutal battles, the starry rivalries, and the colorful behind-the-scenes drama.

America does not have royalty. It has the Academy Awards. For nine decades, perfectly coiffed starlets, debonair leading men, and producers with gold in their eyes have chased the elusive Oscar. What began as an industry banquet in 1929 has now exploded into a hallowed ceremony, complete with red carpets, envelopes, and little gold men. But don’t be fooled by the pomp: the Oscars, more than anything, are a battlefield, where the history of Hollywood—and of America itself—unfolds in dramas large and small. The road to the Oscars may be golden, but it’s paved in blood, sweat, and broken hearts.

In Oscar Wars, Michael Schulman chronicles the remarkable, sprawling history of the Academy Awards and the personal dramas—some iconic, others never-before-revealed—that have played out on the stage and off camera. Unlike other books on the subject, each chapter takes a deep dive into a particular year, conflict, or even category that tells a larger story of cultural change, from Louis B. Mayer to Moonlight. Schulman examines how the red carpet runs through contested turf, and the victors aren't always as clear as the names drawn from envelopes. Caught in the crossfire are people: their thwarted ambitions, their artistic epiphanies, their messy collaborations, their dreams fulfilled or dashed.

Featuring a star-studded cast of some of the most powerful Hollywood players of today and yesterday, as well as outsiders who stormed the palace gates, this captivating history is a collection of revelatory tales, each representing a turning point for the Academy, for the movies, or for the culture at large.

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.

©2023 Michael Schulman (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Narrator does a nice job of relaying this book

Charlie Thurston reminds me of a less salacious VH1 Behind the Music guy. The book overall is a good listen and there were a few details I didn’t know about especially the Olivia De Havilland and Joan Fontaine sibling rivalry. Intense! It’s a good addition to anyone’s cinematic literary collection.

Fasten Your Seatbelts

Such a fun listen overall. There are some narrative concepts that don’t translate well into audio format (such as when multiple films or actor experiences are cycled through — a bit jarring). But the information and Schulman’s style are so fun, a nice balance of the serious and the salacious.

Loved it!

So interesting, didn’t want it to end! Fascinating how all of the pieces of history come together to what we see now.

A Must Read!

This is an absolute must read if you’re an Oscar lover or film fan. 5 stars all the way!

Best Audio Book Winner

A juicy story that’s perfectly narrated that is a love letter without being mawkish or letting the raging narcissists (and worse) of Hollywood off the hook.

Surprise

I purchased this on a whim and actually enjoyed it very much. Besides a look behind the scenes of what goes into such celebrity events it follows other major events in this country and shines a light on the struggles of many due to race, gender, religion etc. Worth the read. Good narration also.

Fascinating and FUN

Not a general history of the Oscars or the Academy but a survey of trends and significant high/low points. The early history is particularly fascinating with a survey of the great early studio moguls and birth of the Hollywood studio system. Early giants such as Frank Capra and John Ford. Got me re-watching some of the classics again. Had scant idea of the importance of the Weinstein brothers, well cover here. TONS of fun anecdotes and stories. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for film buffs. Nicely read by Charlie Thurston

A Fruitful History

Worth listening to for a highlight reel of some of the most contentious tales in recent history, and expertly narrated.

Good but not great

I like this book a lot but feel to much time was spent on the personal lives of early years of the Oscars and Actors and in doing so left a lot of well known historical thing for the later years.

The reader of the book was great!

Great Fun!

This is a nice history of Hollywood and how it reflects American culture back to the audience. Interesting way of organizing it around several pivotal years of Oscar history. Lots of infighting and drama, but, hey, if you’re looking at a book with a title like this, that’s likely what you came for. Not a lot of new info (although I was new to the Hattie McDaniel info), but it’s nice to hear things put together in a timeline that flows like this.