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Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the…
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Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies (vuoden 2014 painos)

Tekijä: Dave Itzkoff

JäseniäKirja-arvostelujaSuosituimmuussijaKeskimääräinen arvioMaininnat
8212325,236 (3.5)2
""I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Those words, spoken by an unhinged anchorman named Howard Beale, "the mad prophet of the airwaves," took America by storm in 1976, when Network became a sensation. With a superb cast (including Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, and Robert Duvall) directed by Sidney Lumet, the film won four Academy Awards and indelibly shaped how we think about corporate and media power. In Mad As Hell, Dave Itzkoff of The New York Times recounts the surprising and dramatic story of how Network made it to the screen. Such a movie that rarely gets made any more - one man's vision of the world, independent of studio testing or market research. And that man was Paddy Chayefsky, the tough, driven, Oscar-winning screenwriter whose vision - outlandish for its time - is all too real today. Itzkoff uses interviews with the cast and crew, as well as Chayefsky's notes, letters, and drafts to recreate the action in front of and behind the camera at a time of swirling cultural turmoil. The result is a riveting account that enriches our appreciation of this prophetic and still-startling film. Itzkoff also speaks with today's leading broadcasters and filmmakers to assess Network's lasting impact on television and popular culture. They testify to the enduring genius of Paddy Chayefsky, who foresaw the future and whose life offers an unforgettable lesson about the true cost of self-expression"--… (lisätietoja)
Jäsen:knightlight777
Teoksen nimi:Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies
Kirjailijat:Dave Itzkoff
Info:Times Books (2014), Edition: 0, Hardcover, 304 pages
Kokoelmat:Oma kirjasto
Arvio (tähdet):****
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Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies (tekijä: Dave Itzkoff)

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Näyttää 1-5 (yhteensä 12) (seuraava | näytä kaikki)
There are not too many biographies of a movie out there, so there's not much to compare with this, but this is pretty good.

There were some surprises here and it was consistently entertaining throughout. As one would expect when a movie is the subject of a book, the overall importance of that movie is maybe overblown, but that's a minor complaint.

( )
  Skybalon | Mar 19, 2020 |
A new subgenre of book has emerged in recent years, one I would call “the inside story of the making of…” In place of the ellipsis, I would place a movie title, a good example of what I am talking about is Glen Frankel’s excellent book about John Ford’s THE SEARCHERS, which came out a few years back, Frankel has followed this up with a book on HIGH NOON; similar treatments have recently been given to 2001: A SPACE ODYESSY, GIANT, and just this month, the publication of Chris Nashawaty’s recounting of how CADDYSHACK came to be. These books are not necessarily a treatise on the greatness of a particular movie, but often an argument that the story of what went on behind the cameras, and what occurred before and after said movie was made is just as interesting, if not more so, than anything an audience paid to see in the theater. They are not necessarily about the movie stars we remember, but often center on the gifted and creative person, usually a writer or a director, who became enamored with a story, or simply with an idea or truth that they just had to tell, and were willing to do the very hard work to get the movie made and before the public.

Dave Itzkoff’s MAD AS HELL, tells the inside story of the making of the 1976 film NETWORK, and the creative man who made it happen, that man being Paddy Chayefsky, a writer who had earned considerable fame in the early 1950’s by writing dramas for live television, an industry then in its infancy. Chayefsky was short, but powerfully built, a proud Jew with a short fuse who channeled his anger into his writing. He was a veteran of World War II and a political liberal at a time when liberals were proud to be tough guys; Chayefsky had a knack for writing dialogue, giving his characters, often common men and women, a special eloquence; this was on full display in his first big network hit, MARTY, the story of a lonely Bronx butcher, the movie version of which won Chayefsky his first Oscar for screen writing in 1955. It was a Golden Age and it did not last, soon Chayefsky was working in Hollywood putting his talents to use in the movie business, and television was no longer putting dramas with the quality of MARTY on the air, but were now serving up the likes of THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES every week. As the 60’s gave way to the 70’s, Chayefsky observed these changes, and it stoked his anger.

Itzkoff’s book is story of how this anger became an idea, the idea became a story, the story became a screenplay, and the screenplay a movie. The finished product would be a profane look at the inner workings of a fictional TV network’s news division, where corporate interests and the desire for higher ratings (which meant higher add revenues) have forced the scraping of old standards, causing the vaunted profession of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite to be turned into just another entertainment show to attract the attention of an America shell shocked by assassinations, an unwinnable war, riots in the streets, epic corruption in government, and an energy crisis. At the center of the movie is Howard Beale, a venerable TV anchorman who has a break down on air, starts telling it like it is, and becomes a ratings sensation, one the suits at the network, and their ruthless female programming executive, are more than happy to exploit. Scene by scene the movie is both a condemnation of what TV had become, and a warning at what yet could be. What I enjoyed most about Itskoff’s book is the recounting of the creative process that brought all this about; especially the pages discussing Chayefsky’s writing process, how he had to have an office to go to everyday and sit alone and write for at least four hours, and how the finished product bore little resemblance to the first draft. Chayefsky was extremely protective of his words, and on the set, had the clout to resist actors and director’s attempts to rewrite or dumb down his work, a position many script writers would surely envy.

Itzkoff also introduces us to the other talents who made NETWORK such a success, starting with director Sidney Lumet, who had a knack for this kind of material, coupled with the ability to handle prickly talent, both in front of and behind the camera. The book makes the case for Lumet being the indispensable man behind NETWORK; the time it went from a screenplay to finished movie was remarkable, and a lot of that credit is given to producer Howard Gottfried, a friend and partner of Chayefsky, who knew how to get things done. The principle photography took place in January and February of 1976, on location in New York and Toronto, with the movie opening in November. Itzkoff gives us a day to day breakdown of which scenes were shot and in which order, which should be of great interest to anyone interested in getting into the movie business, we also get some great behind the scenes info on how the editing went, including some obvious mistakes were deliberately left in the picture.

Of course we get some background on the casting, and the actors who were ultimately hired. One gets a good understanding of why Faye Dunaway has a reputation for being difficult; then there was Ned Beatty, who bluffed his way into the role of Arthur Jenson, after Roberts Blossom, who had been hired to play the part of the corporate big wig, was let go early in production. We learn why George C. Scott passed on the part of Howard Beale, a role that he would have been a natural for, and that Henry Fonda, Gregory Peck and even James Stewart were considered for the role that Peter Finch ultimately made his own. One of the best things about the book is Finch’s story; he was a British born, Australian raised actor who had made a career out of being in movies in which his leading ladies – Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Julie Christie – were bigger stars than him. Like his fellow Brits, Peter O’Toole and Richard Burton, Finch had a fondness for alcohol, but unlike the other two, he often brought that certain masculine charm distinct to actors from the Land Down Under to many of his roles. By the mid 70’s, Finch was pushing 60 and thought that the best years of his career were behind him, and was settling into semi retirement in Jamaica with his second wife and young children. Through his agent, he got a chance to read for the part of Beale for Lumet and Chayefsky, and the role of a lifetime was his. The iconic “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore,” was only shot once because Finch was too exhausted and had to quit half way through a second take. Nevertheless, he knew his career had been given a new lease on life even before NETWORK opened; he become the front runner for the Best Actor Oscar, and began practicing his acceptance speech in front of a mirror. He also moved his family back to Los Angeles as the phone began ringing with offers of other roles. But a cruel fate intervened.

Even crueler was the fate of William Holden, who played Max Shumacher, the head of the news division who is still trying hang on to his integrity, while having an affair with Faye Dunaway’s Diana Christenson, the soulless programmer. By 1976, Holden was no longer the handsome leading man of the 1950’s as years of heavy drinking and a history of depression had taken their toll, but like Finch, NETWORK gave him a great part that played to his middle aged strengths and the air of weariness he could project like no one else; and as Itzkoff tells it, Holden had to use much of his talent to be believable in a love making scene with Dunaway, who proved to be every bit the diva, then and later. Holden would get a late career Best Actor nomination for his performance, but ultimately, and so sad for his many fans, his demons would get the best of him. Dunaway would win the Best Actress Oscar, and it proved to be the high point of her career; NETWORK would net Chayefsky his third Oscar for screen writing, it would prove the be his greatest success, and his final triumph. In fact, NETWORK makes a good case for the Oscar jinx.

Itzkoff’s book is only 243 pages long, but it packs a lot of information; as expected, the final section attempts to put NETWORK in perspective. Though he did not live to see the proliferation of cable channels and the 24 hour news cycle, much of what Chayefsky foretold has come to pass. At the time of its release, NETWORK was frequently called a satire by critics, while others referred to it as a “black comedy,” while many others took Chayefsky to task, calling him a has-been, bitter at the industry where he’d done his best work and then dispensed with his talents. Nobody used the word “prophet,” but now in the age of FNC, MSNBC, and CNN, and fractured world of information delivery, much less the vast number of news and opinion websites online, nobody cannot look at NETWORK now and feel that Chayefsky was not looking into the future.

Yet, MAD AS HELL left me wanting more, if for no other reason than because it came out four years ago and missed the tumultuous 2016 Presidential election where we saw a man elected who could fairly say he’d taken a page out of Howard Beale’s play book in articulating the public’s rage and anger. But where Beale was just plain crazy, Donald Trump was crazy like a fox, at least when it came to his manipulation of the voters and the media. It was not for nothing that during that year, many people referenced Elia Kazan’s A FACE IN THE CROWD, and NETWORK, as the two movies that perceptively saw the future decades before it arrived.

In the end, Itzkoff calls Paddy Chayefsky the “angriest man in movies,” but as he makes clear in his book, it was not a resentful anger directed at scapegoats, the kind we often see on the public airwaves today; for Chayefsky believed that an angry American was a good American, that silence was truly unpatriotic and to do nothing but sit on the coach in front of the television made him the angriest. He pointed his finger at his fellow Americans and said that if you think the country is going to hell, it’s your fault for keeping silent about it. Many speculate that if Chayefsky could come back today, he would say “I tried to warn you.” That he might, but the man in Dave Itzkoff’s book would then immediately get busy writing, for he would have a lot to say. ( )
  wb4ever1 | May 8, 2018 |
The fascinating story behind the making of a satirical masterpiece, the most prophetic film ever made, and the genius who wrote it. ( )
  Sullywriter | May 22, 2015 |
Tämä arvostelu kirjoitettiin LibraryThingin Varhaisia arvostelijoita varten.
Given the importance of auteur theory, most prestigious movies in the past half-century are known by their directors. It is a Steven Spielberg movie, a Martin Scorcese picture, or an Alfred Hitchock film (or, even more singularly, a Spike Lee joint). Beyond this, a few are known for particularly riveting performances or because they are a passion project for one of the actors. Very few movies are known for their screenwriters.

The classic 1976 film “Network,” with its cynical and satirical view of television, is a significant exception to this trend. Despite multiple award-winning and award-nominated performances and despite the direction by the well-regarded Sidney Lumet, the film is usually known as Paddy Chayefsky's “Network,” the ground-breaking work of its three-time Oscar-winning screenwriter.

Dave Itzkoff, culture reporter at The New York Times offers a behind-the-scenes account of the classic film in “Mad as Hell,” a title cribbed from the film's 'mad prophet of the airwaves,' Howard Beale: “I'm mad as Hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!” Given the prescience of the film's attitude toward television executives, it is understandable why an examination of the film and its place in American culture is important. Given Chayefsky's volatile personality, mixed in with a variety of other artists and executives, the backstage drama is as engrossing as any film. Taken together, the book suggests a significant overlap between Chayefsky the writer and his most lasting character, Howard Beale. (Itzkoff subtly bookends this observation by starting with the parallels between Chayefsky and his first memorable character, Marty, the eponymous hero played by Ernest Borgnine in the 1955 film.)

Indeed, Itzkoff's book unapologetically presents director Sidney Lumet as the ultimate savior of the movie because he was the one able to navigate the oversize egos and anxieties of the people involved in the movie, notably Chayefsky and actress Faye Dunaway (who has a reputation for neediness on set). Building on Chayefsky's biography and access to his working papers and notes, though, he shows how the film is undeniably the product of the writer's singular vision of media in the tumultuous 1970s.

Frankly, Itzkoff does not offer much insight into the cultural place the latent anger in “Network” either then or now, which may disappoint readers hoping for such an examination. Instead, the culture reporter offers a gripping behind-the-scenes account, punctuated by the oversize influence of Chayefsky, of the classic film – a reminder of how hard it is to create such iconic art and an invitation to watch (again) Chayefsky's creation. ( )
  ALincolnNut | Mar 16, 2015 |
Tämä arvostelu kirjoitettiin LibraryThingin Varhaisia arvostelijoita varten.
Detailed, But Disjointed

Network stands as a watershed moment in American cinema. It is by turns darkly absurd, full of heartbreaking rage and frighteningly prescient about the future of television.

Conceived and written by Paddy Chayefsky, brought to life by Sidney Lumet, and starring the inimitable Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and so many more, the story of Network should be just as unlikely and riveting. However in the hands of New York Times’ culture reporter Dave Itzkoff, something about the story falls flat.

It’s not as though Itzkoff doesn’t have material to work with. The culture, the players, the tragedies and triumphs. But the pieces feel like separate vignettes, never reconciling into a strong, book-length narrative.

For anyone interested in a snapshot of the powerful and sometimes poignant moments that went into the making of a classic, Mad As Hell has a lot to offer. But as a book, it is ultimately unsatisfying.
  asbooks | Jul 27, 2014 |
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""I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Those words, spoken by an unhinged anchorman named Howard Beale, "the mad prophet of the airwaves," took America by storm in 1976, when Network became a sensation. With a superb cast (including Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, and Robert Duvall) directed by Sidney Lumet, the film won four Academy Awards and indelibly shaped how we think about corporate and media power. In Mad As Hell, Dave Itzkoff of The New York Times recounts the surprising and dramatic story of how Network made it to the screen. Such a movie that rarely gets made any more - one man's vision of the world, independent of studio testing or market research. And that man was Paddy Chayefsky, the tough, driven, Oscar-winning screenwriter whose vision - outlandish for its time - is all too real today. Itzkoff uses interviews with the cast and crew, as well as Chayefsky's notes, letters, and drafts to recreate the action in front of and behind the camera at a time of swirling cultural turmoil. The result is a riveting account that enriches our appreciation of this prophetic and still-startling film. Itzkoff also speaks with today's leading broadcasters and filmmakers to assess Network's lasting impact on television and popular culture. They testify to the enduring genius of Paddy Chayefsky, who foresaw the future and whose life offers an unforgettable lesson about the true cost of self-expression"--

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