 First edition | |
| Author | William Goldman |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Richard Huebner [1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press |
Publication date | 1979 |
| Pages | 342 |
| ISBN | 0-385-29031-4 |
Tinsel is a 1979 novel written by William Goldman. It was the third of a four-book deal he had with Delacorte Press after Marathon Man and Magic. He called it "my Hollywood novel." [2]
Goldman had gone through an intense period of work writing screenplays and realised it had been two years since he wrote anything that was just for him, so decided to write a novel. [3]
He says he began writing Tinsel on April Fools' Day 1978 and finished it five months later. [2] Goldman actually started to write two novels at the same time, both about Hollywood. He would work three pages on one, three pages on the other, and said at the end of the first week the second novel, which became Tinsel "was working alright, so I just gave up on the other". He finished Tinsel in August. [4]
Goldman said in a 1979 interview that he was motivated to write the novel to explore the treatment of women in Hollywood:
There are a couple of basic truths about this town. One is that nobody knows anything about what will work. It's all a search for past magic. Those who can no longer produce it are useless. The other truth is that everyone in the movie community is searching for heat. John Travolta was the hottest thing ever-ever; only Dustin Hoffman after The Graduate and Midnight Cowboy was comparable. Then Travolta made a movie with Lily Tomlin ( Moment by Moment ) and where were his fans? Farrah Fawcett is a year from game shows. This is why we're all so nervous. There's no carry over of affection. It's why nobody can cut their price. You're worth a million dollars or you're unemployed. That's what happened to Elizabeth Taylor and what I wanted to tell in Tinsel. What happens to the women of Hollywood? [5]
He also said the novel was similar to his earlier novel Boys and Girls Together . "It's about five people in a town and how their lives develop and interact, and it's fairly long for me, longer than novels I've been doing lately." [6]
Larry McMurtry, reviewing the book for the New York Times , wrote, "Mr. Goldman never gets beneath the stereotypes ... Some of the dialogue is bright and readable, but it doesn't begin to fill in the cracks." [7]
William Goldman was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. Among other accolades, Goldman won two Academy Awards in both writing categories—once for Best Original Screenplay for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and once for Best Adapted Screenplay for All the President's Men (1976).
Marathon Man is a 1974 conspiracy thriller novel by William Goldman. It was Goldman's most successful thriller novel, and his second suspense novel.
Larry Jeff McMurtry was an American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas. His novels included Horseman, Pass By (1962), The Last Picture Show (1966), and Terms of Endearment (1975), which were adapted into films. Films adapted from McMurtry's works earned 34 Oscar nominations. He was also a prominent book collector and bookseller.
American Gigolo is a 1980 American neo-noir crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. It tells the story of a high-priced escort in Los Angeles (Gere) who becomes romantically involved with a prominent politician's wife (Hutton), while simultaneously becoming the prime suspect in a murder case.
Magic is a 1978 American psychological horror drama film directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret and Burgess Meredith. The screenplay is by William Goldman, who adapted his novel of the same title. The score was composed by Jerry Goldsmith.
Lovin' Molly is a 1974 American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Anthony Perkins, Beau Bridges, Blythe Danner in the title role, Ed Binns, and Susan Sarandon. The film is based on one of Larry McMurtry's first novels, Leaving Cheyenne (1963). Prior to release, the film was also known as Molly, Gid, and Johnny and The Wild and The Sweet.
Irving Paul "Swifty" Lazar was an American lawyer, talent agent and dealmaker, representing both movie stars and authors.
Moment by Moment is a 1978 American romantic drama film written and directed by Jane Wagner and starring Lily Tomlin and John Travolta. It was produced by Robert Stigwood and released by Universal Pictures on December 22, 1978.
The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure, The "Good Parts" Version is a 1973 fantasy romance novel by American writer William Goldman. The book combines elements of comedy, adventure, fantasy, drama, romance, and fairy tale. It is metafictionally presented as an abridgment of a longer work by the fictional S. Morgenstern, and Goldman's commentary asides are constant throughout. It was originally published in the United States by Harcourt Brace, then later by Random House, while in the United Kingdom it was later published by Bloomsbury.
Johnny Handsome is a 1989 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Walter Hill and starring Mickey Rourke, Ellen Barkin, Forest Whitaker and Morgan Freeman. The film was written by Ken Friedman, and adapted from the novel The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome by John Godey. The music for the film was written, produced and performed by Ry Cooder, with four songs by Jim Keltner.
Texasville is a 1990 American drama film written and directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Based on the 1987 novel Texasville by Larry McMurtry, it is a sequel to The Last Picture Show (1971), and features Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Cloris Leachman, Timothy Bottoms, Randy Quaid, and Eileen Brennan reprising their roles from the original film.
Battlefield Earth is a 2000 American science fiction film based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. It was directed by Roger Christian and stars John Travolta, Barry Pepper, and Forest Whitaker. The film follows a rebellion against the alien Psychlos, who have ruled Earth for 1,000 years.
Mr. Horn is a 1979 American Western miniseries based on Tom Horn's writings, starring David Carradine. It was directed by Jack Starrett from a screenplay by William Goldman. This version came out just prior to the 1980 feature film Tom Horn, which starred Steve McQueen.
Movie Movie is a 1978 American double bill directed by Stanley Donen. It consists of two films: Dynamite Hands, a boxing ring morality play, and Baxter's Beauties of 1933, a musical comedy, both starring the husband-and-wife team of George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere. A fake trailer for a flying-ace movie set in World War I titled Zero Hour is shown between the double feature.
Daisy Miller is a 1974 American drama film produced and directed by Peter Bogdanovich, and starring Cybill Shepherd in the title role. The screenplay by Frederic Raphael is based on the 1878 novella of the same title by Henry James. The lavish period costumes and sets were done by Ferdinando Scarfiotti, Mariolina Bono and John Furniss.
Black Magic is a 1949 American adventure drama romance film adaptation of Alexandre Dumas's novel Joseph Balsamo. It was directed by Gregory Ratoff. Set in the 18th century, the film stars Orson Welles in the lead role as Joseph Balsamo, a hypnotist, magician, and charlatan who also goes by the alias of Count Cagliostro, and Nancy Guild as Lorenza/Marie Antoinette. Akim Tamiroff has a featured role as Gitano. The film received mixed reviews.
The Temple of Gold is a 1957 novel by William Goldman. It was Goldman's first novel, and launched his career.
Boys and Girls Together is a 1964 novel by William Goldman. The title is taken from lyrics in the song, "The Sidewalks of New York".
Father's Day is a 1971 novel by William Goldman. It is a sequel to The Thing of It Is... and revolves around a day in the life of now-divorced Amos McCracken as he looks after his daughter for a day.
No Way to Treat a Lady is a 1964 novel by William Goldman.
