Bart reveals the backlot of secrets behind Hollywood's biggest hits and misses in film, television and theatre: how movies with the biggest stars and budgets turned out to be bombs and how unknowns with no studio support overcame great adversity to make cinematic history. In doing so, he reveals the history of pop culture itself - an alluring road with many false turns. Includes mega successes of today - Lord of the Rings and CSI, to name but two - and smash hits of the past, from Birth of a Nation to Easy Rider and American Graffiti.

Author Biography

Peter Bart started his career as a newsman with the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, then spent 17 years as a film executive (vice president of Paramount, senior vice president of MGM, President of Lorimar Film Co.) only to return to journalism as editor-in-chief of Variety. Along the way, he was responsible for seven books, including Shoot-Out, written with Peter Guber (the basis for their current weekly television show), Dangerous Company (a short story collection) and two nonfiction books, The Gross and Fade Out.