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A Life in Movies
- Stories from 50 Years in Hollywood
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Categories: Arts & Entertainment, Art
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Frank Sinatra. Dean Martin. Sammy Davis, Jr. Peter Lawford. Joey Bishop. They call themselves The Clan. But to an awed world, they are known as The Rat Pack. They had it all. Fame. Gorgeous women. A fabulous playground of a city and all the money in the world. The backing of fearsome crime lords and the blessing of the President of the United States. But the dark side - over the thin line between pleasure and debauchery, between swinging self-confidence and brutal arrogance - took its toll. In four years, their great ride was over, and showbiz was never the same.
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Publisher's Summary
The list of films Irwin Winkler has produced in his more-than-50-year career is extraordinary: Rocky, Goodfellas, Raging Bull, De-Lovely, The Right Stuff, and Creed. His films have been nominated for 52 Academy Awards, including five movies for Best Picture, and have won 12.
In A Life in Movies, his charming and insightful memoir, Winkler tells the stories of his career through his many films as a producer and then as a writer and director, charting the changes in Hollywood over the past decades. Winkler started in the famous William Morris mailroom and made his first film - starring Elvis - in the last days of the old studio system. Beginning in the late 1960s, and then for decades to come, he produced a string of provocative and influential films, making him one of the most critically lauded, prolific, and commercially successful producers of his era.
This is an engrossing and candid book, a beguiling exploration of what it means to be a producer, including purchasing rights, developing scripts, casting actors, managing directors, editing film, and winning awards. Filled with tales of legendary and beloved films, as well as some not-so-legendary and forgotten ones, A Life in Movies takes listeners behind the scenes and into the history of Hollywood.
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What listeners say about A Life in Movies
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David from Vermont
- 09-22-19
ONLY ONE WAY THIS BOOK COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER
And that would have been if Irwin had read it himself. Not that there is anything wrong with the narrator, far from it. The book is funny, smart, filled with cultural references with which we are all familiar. I'm waiting for volume 2 and 3. First rate.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- John Grey
- 12-20-20
Great life story
Irwin Winkler is wholly or partly responsible for creating many of my favourite movies and I really enjoyed his journey. However, I've listened to many audio books but can't for the life of me understand why Mr Winkler agreed that Michael Butler Murray shoud narrate. Mr Murray has narrated many books but I could not get on with his intonation, accent or delivery. There were many occasions it irritated me so much I felt I couldnt listen anymore. He made Mr Winkler sound arrogant, smug, entitled and condescending. I'm sure it's just me but i don't think I'd listen to another Murray narrated book, even if it was one written by me. I mean no offence, just personal preference.