Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions

My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood

By: Ed Zwick

Narrated by: Ed Zwick

Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLER

This heartfelt and wry career memoir from the director of Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall, About Last Night, and Glory, creator of the show thirtysomething, and executive producer of My So-Called Life, gives a dishy, behind-the-scenes look at working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

“I’ll be dropping a few names,” Ed Zwick confesses in the introduction to his book. “Over the years I have worked with self-proclaimed masters-of-the-universe, unheralded geniuses, hacks, sociopaths, savants, and saints.”

He has encountered these Hollywood types during four decades of directing, producing, and writing projects that have collectively received eighteen Academy Award nominations (seven wins) and sixty-seven Emmy nominations (twenty-two wins). Though there are many factors behind such success, including luck and the contributions of his creative partner Marshall Herskovitz, he’s known to have a special talent for bringing out the best in the people he’s worked with, especially the actors. In those intense collaborations, he’s sought to discover the small pieces of connective tissue, vulnerability, and fellowship that can help an actor realize their character in full.

Talents whom he spotted early include Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Denzel Washington, Claire Danes, and Jared Leto. Established stars he worked closely with include Leonardo DiCaprio, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Daniel Craig, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Jennifer Connelly. He also sued Harvey Weinstein over the production of Shakespeare in Love—and won. He shares personal stories about all these people, and more.

Written mostly with love, sometimes with rue, this memoir is also a meditation on working, sprinkled throughout with tips for anyone who has ever imagined writing, directing, or producing for the screen. Fans with an appreciation for the beautiful mysteries—as well as the unsightly, often comic truths—of crafting film and television won’t want to miss it.

©2024 Ed Zwick (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

A Masterpiece of its Genre

I’m biased to start. Glory is my favorite movie of all time; it’s the reason I went to USC film school, where I got to meet Ed Zwick once in the hallway and tell him this.

I’ve always appreciated Mr Zwick’s emotional intelligence, visual spectacle, and holding a mirror up to our world with important social issues from role of government in war (Legends of the Fall) and terrorism (The Siege) to child soldiers in Africa (Blood Diamond).

His book is a grand slam. A masterpiece of engaging human stories and insights. There is Hollywood behind-the-scenes lore (the Shakespeare in Love chapter involving Julia Roberts and Harvey Weinstein is a particular standout). There is poignancy about the state of industry and its movement away from movies that matter, the very movies that propelled me to enter film school.

There is a spirit of humility and love, especially for his producing partner Marshall, his collaborators like Steven Rosenblum, and of course his wife Liberty.

Thank you Mr. Zwick for creating this incredibly moving and insightful work, and may your health continue to improve. It’s beautifully written and read. Thank you Simon & Schuster for seeing the extraordinary value of this work.

P.S. I bought the Audible and hardcover book. The latter of which has some terrific photos.

One of the best books on filmmaking ever written.

If you have any desire to make film or TV in any capacity, this is your new Bible.

Amazing Journey!

If you love movies, you’ll love this audiobook. The author is also an excellent narrator.

Fascinating book

Loved the behind the scenes stories, and facts about some of our most iconic movies.

Credible and captivating

Wildly entertaining!! A Hollywood memoir that reads like a “who’s who” of the past 40 years. Personal, vulnerable, funny, revealing on many levels

An honest read

I found this to be honest, insightful, interesting and great stories about people and movies we all know. I appreciate he took the time to author this, it’s hard to dig deep sometimes.

Fantastic. Honest. Entertaining.

A sharp, fascinating, recounting of Ed Zwick’s career making movies and TV. There are joyful moments and brutal moments here. It’s always fun to read.

Thank you, Ed.

Brilliant memoir that delivers everything it promises. Ed’s mellow voice guided me through weeks of driving to and from set, delivering entertaining anecdotes, poignant illuminations of how the business changed during his tenure, and extremely insightful and specific advice for film directors you’ll never get in film school.
Zwick is indeed a samurai in his own right, and I will take his many lessons to heart with extraordinary gratitude.
Film director’s must-read.
Thanks, Ed.

Captivating!

If you love movies, Hollywood or just want to learn something about working with people this book will delight you. Mr. Zwick was generous with his lessons learned, showed humility and gave the good, the bad and the ugly of Hollywood all while praising the magnificence of it all. I honestly want to listen to it again to soak up a bit more of Mr. Zwick’s wisdom gained by his decades of surviving in a very tough business.

One of the best books of the genre

This is up there with Lumet’s Making Movies and Goldman’s Adventures in the Screen Trade. I finished this book fast.