| Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Matt Tyrnauer |
| Based on | Full Service by Scotty Bowers |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | Scotty Bowers |
| Cinematography | Chris J. Dapkins |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Jane Antonia Cornish |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Greenwich Entertainment |
Release dates |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $461,689 [1] |
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood is a 2017 American documentary film about the life of Scotty Bowers, who acted as an unpaid pimp in Hollywood from the 1940s to 80s. Based on Bowers's book Full Service , it was produced and directed by Matt Tyrnauer, a Special Correspondent for Vanity Fair magazine. [2] The film premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival [3] and was theatrically released on July 27, 2018. [4]
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 72 reviews, with an average rating of 6.91/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood offers plenty of prurient thrills for film fans, but beyond the gossip lies a poignantly illuminating look at decades of sexual mores." [5] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 67 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [6]
In his review for The Hollywood Reporter , Todd McCarthy commented: "What could have been a merely sensationalistic exposé of the private lives of then-closeted screen luminaries instead emerges, in the hands of documentarian Matt Tyrnauer as a nicely filled-out look at different eras, one secrecy-ridden and dedicated to the preservation of illusion, the other wide open and blasé about personal predilections." [7]
In July 2020, it was announced Searchlight Pictures had acquired the rights to the documentary and was developing a feature film based on Bowers' life. Luca Guadagnino was hired to direct, with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg writing the script. [8]