Reminds me of James Stewart's fantastic DisneyWar, but DreamWorks was never as interesting as Disney and in a way had a lot less to lose. Still, I love these kind of stories, love the behind-the-scenes Hollywood stuff--like so many business ventures, nobody ever really knows what movies will hit it big and which will fail. And in the last 15 years, movies succeed or fail on a large scale. ( )

Interesting account of the creation and life of the relatively short-lived Dreamworks studio in the 1990s and 2000s. The book, in my view, does a credible job in explaining what went wrong with the studio; high expectations undermined by poor executive management at the live-action studio seem to be the principal culprits. One thing I thought was interesting was that the bare-knuckled David Geffen comes off slightly better than expected, whereas Jeffrey Katzenberg's hit-or-miss performances make him out as one of the architects of failure, and there are some definite flaws in the way Steven Spielberg operated -- little wonder the principals didn't want to be interviewed. An intriguing read. ( )

A for effort, seeing how LaPorte has scoured Hollywood and its tombs (e.g. people and mags), but I think this book might have benefited by more bird's eye-views on the whole thing.

Through all the details in this book one is served a bunch of very close perspectives of how DreamWorks, the company brought to life by Jeffrey Katzenberg and his trustees and wealthy supporters, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, worked and definitely didn't work.

One is served the picture that Spielberg is the talent, catered to at all times, surrounded by yes-sayers and people who dared not point out cracks in his façade, empire or films. Geffen, with all his money, had abandoned ship on the music industry but revived it in DreamWorks, while staying away. Katzenberg, a vicarious workaholic, who before founding DreamWorks left Disney in despair and fights, hit the floor running in his ultimate task: defeating Disney on their own turf, that being animation.

DreamWorks set out to be a complete spiel (pun intended) for the auteurs, who were supposed to play hard and win harder, being backed by the three main gents. Trouble was, the company went the way most studios did: towards generating profits.

LaPorte describes this to great extent, and often wonders: why didn't people say no more often? Where were the reins?

Loads of gossip, loads of tall tales and interesting ideas. Definitely worth reading if you're into these books, e.g. Peter Biskind's "Easy Riders and Raging Bulls". ( )

If you have any interest in Hollywood, movies, or how movies get made you're going to love this book.

The book traces the beginnings of Dreamworks from its inception to regained independence in 2009. The author does such a fantastic job of describing the players and detailing the situations and motives that you feel like you were a part of the whole thing. The chapters in which she tells about specific movies really moves the book along and keeps you wrapped up in what's happening. I seldom wanted to put the book down and found myself often looking forward to getting back to it to see what happened next (even when I actually knew what happened next because I remembered it from real life!).

The worst part is the depression you get from realizing how completely egotistical and supremely stupid most of the people running Hollywood really are. The author even rubs it in a bit by detailing the arrogance and ignorance and then letting us know how much money those people made almost by accident in some cases.

As someone said, the author might not ever be able to have lunch in Hollywood again, but her loss is our gain. This is a fantastic read that I would recommend to anyone. ( )

In 1994 the first new Hollywood studio in 60 years announced its beginning with more than just the usual fanfare. Steven Spielberg, the genius director; Jeffrey Katzenberg, the man who put Disney animation back in business with movies like The Lion King; and David Geffen, the billionaire music mogul, joined forces to create Dreamworks SKG. It was the biggest conglomeration of talent and industry power since anyone could remember. But despite such huge blockbusters and award-winning films as "Saving Private Ryan," "American Beauty," and "Shrek," Dreamworks was sold in 2006 and S, K, and G went their separate ways. In addition to the successes, there had been a pile of projects that had bombed, often spectacularly.

Nicole LaPorte has burned plenty of bridges and written an inside account of the biggest egos in the entertainment industry (understandably, few of her sources are named). Katzenberg brought them together after his firing at Disney in an attempt to regain his pride. Spielberg couldn't resist making one blockbuster after another - for other studios. And Geffen was only interested in the fight and the careers he could destroy. Thrown into the mix are the biggest movers and shakers in Hollywood - Eisner, Ovitz, Clooney, Cruise, Hanks, Crowe, etc., etc., etc. - and their petulant needs to constantly be told how wonderful they are.

Hollywood has been tremendously influential in the social history of America, and I've enjoyed biographies of some of the giants like Hitchcock and Disney. This, however, is the flip side - the trashy business end of the glamorous and flashy facade. And those who eagerly anticipate their weekly fill of People Magazine, Variety, and Entertainment Weekly will gobble this book up and want more. I just felt the need to wash my hands. The book starts out well - lots of beautiful celebrities and juicy inside information - but I found myself losing interest less than halfway through (I usually read on my lunch break and when I start heading back in less than my usual hour, it's not a good sign). It's interesting enough to finish, but I got tired of hearing of every announcement that sent "a shockwave rolling through Hollywood" and all the men who were reduced to tears by someone's tantrums. I must admit however, since I live in Los Angeles it was rather eye-opening. (3.5 stars) ( )