My Life as a Mankiewicz: An Insider’s Journey through Hollywood

By: FSWL team

Published:
2011-12-30

My Life as a Mankiewicz by Tom Mankiewicz

Publication of My Life as a Mankiewicz: An Insider’s Journey through Hollywood by Tom Mankiewicz and Robert Crane.

The son of famed director and screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve [1950], Guys and Dolls [1955], Cleopatra [1963]) and the nephew of Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, Tom Mankiewicz was genuine Hollywood royalty. He grew up in Beverly Hills and New York, spent summers on his dad’s film sets, had his first drink with Humphrey Bogart, dined with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, went to the theater with Ava Gardner, and traveled the world writing for Brando, Sinatra, and Sean Connery. Although his family connections led him to show business, Tom “Mank” Mankiewicz forged a career of his own, becoming a renowned screenwriter, director, and producer of acclaimed films and television shows. He wrote screenplays for three James Bond films - Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live and Let Die (1973) and The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) - and made his directorial debut with the hit TV series Hart to Hart (1979–1984). My Life as a Mankiewicz is a fascinating look at the life of an individual whose creativity and work ethic established him as a member of the Hollywood writing elite.

Mankiewicz details his journey through the inner world of the television and film industries, beginning with his first job as production assistant on The Comancheros (1961), starring John Wayne. My Life as a Mankiewicz illuminates his professional development as a writer and director, detailing his friendships and romantic relationships with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars as well as his struggle with alcohol and drugs. With the assistance of Robert Crane, Mankiewicz tells a story of personal achievement and offers an insider’s view of the glamorous world of Hollywood during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Book details:
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0813136059
ISBN-13: 978-0813136059

Comments about the book:
"One of the few books about the American movie industry that shows, not tells, what is meant by the idea that the business is one of relationships."
- Tom Stempel, author of Understanding Screenwriting: Learning from Good, Not-Quite-So-Good, and Bad Screenplays

"Highly entertaining. I came away from this book with a real appreciation of, and fondness for, how it works - from premise to pitch to scrambling for finance to dealing with ego dilemmas to final screenplay and practical on-the-set problems. [Mankiewicz's] tremendous respect for small and large collaborators, from grips to stars, is contagious."
- Clancy Sigal, author of five books incl. Going Away and A Woman of Uncertain Character

Reviews:
>Leonard Maltin (May 29, 2012)
>The Jackson Sun (May 31, 2012)

About the authors:
Tom Mankiewicz (1942–2010) was a screenwriter, director, and producer of motion pictures and television series, perhaps best known for his work on the James Bond films, Superman (1978), Superman II (1980), and the television series Hart to Hart (1979–1984).

Robert Crane is co-author of Bruce Dern: Things I’ve Said, but Probably Shouldn’t Have - An Unrepentant Memoir, Jack Nicholson: The Early Years, and SCTV: Behind the Scenes as well as a contributor to Hal Ashby: Interviews. He lives in Los Angeles.

Order My Life as a Mankiewicz: An Insider’s Journey through Hollywood from Amazon US:

www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0813136059/fromswedenwit-20/

Tags:

#behind_the_scenes

#biographies

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