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Rating: 
Summary: Mad as Hell and Still a Genius
Review: "...(Chayesfky) called a trusted friend at NBC, John Chancellor. He asked Chancellor if it was possible for an anchorman to go nuts on TV. 'Every day,' replied Chancellor."Paddy Chayefsky wrote NETWORK. That would've been enough to put him in the top grade of all Hollywood screenwriters by itself. Twenty-five years after NETWORK hit the screens, there were dozens of articles that his script wasn't just a satire of the media, it was a genuine prophecy.
But Chayefsky has also done what no other writer has yet to do: he's won three Oscars for screenwriting (the other films were MARTY and THE HOSPITAL).
The man is definitely work reading about. Even if I didn't have an interest in screenwriting, I believe I would still find this book interesting for its look into the "Golden Age of Television" and the behind-the-scenes stories of Chayefsky's film career. The author has done a wonderful job of coming up with a lot of great details and fascinating anecdotes about everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Sam Peckinpah to Bob Fosse to Burt Lancaster. Paddy Chayefsky was the real deal as a writer and I know his work will be praised and studied for decades to come. Shaun Considine has done everyone a favor by giving us a look into Chayefsky's life.
Rating:
Summary: Mad as Hell and Still a Genius
Review: "...(Chayesfky) called a trusted friend at NBC, John Chancellor. He asked Chancellor if it was possible for an anchorman to go nuts on TV. 'Every day,' replied Chancellor." Paddy Chayefsky wrote NETWORK. That would've been enough to put him in the top grade of all Hollywood screenwriters by itself. Twenty-five years after NETWORK hit the screens, there were dozens of articles that his script wasn't just a satire of the media, it was a genuine prophecy.
But Chayefsky has also done what no other writer has yet to do: he's won three Oscars for screenwriting (the other films were MARTY and THE HOSPITAL).
The man is definitely work reading about. Even if I didn't have an interest in screenwriting, I believe I would still find this book interesting for its look into the "Golden Age of Television" and the behind-the-scenes stories of Chayefsky's film career. The author has done a wonderful job of coming up with a lot of great details and fascinating anecdotes about everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Sam Peckinpah to Bob Fosse to Burt Lancaster. Paddy Chayefsky was the real deal as a writer and I know his work will be praised and studied for decades to come. Shaun Considine has done everyone a favor by giving us a look into Chayefsky's life.
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