Rating: 
Summary: Blather
Review: I was looking for a book that explained exactly how a movie gets made. This book was mostly full of blather with some inside stories about movies the principals were involved with. Not worth the time.
Rating: 
Summary: Quick Read, but Short on Content - I Expected Better!
Review: I'm a big fan of Peter Bart's books and column in Variety, and Peter Guber certainly has a load of top-tier credentials. I'd really hoped for an insightful commentary on the current state of the movie business - but this isn't it. "Shoot Out" reads like a dozen other entry-level memoirs by bigtime moguls. There's nary an original comment, and (as other reviewers here have noted) too many war stories. "Final Cut" by Steven Bach gives you the story on "Heaven's Gate" far better than Guber and Bart (and they acknowledge as much); Sidney Lumet's book on making movies gives you a far better insight into the director's world and - above all - Frank Rose's magisterial "The Agency: William Morris and the Hidden History of Hollywood" tells the story of the rise of the agencies in far greater detail, with much more insight than do Guber and Bart.
I really had high hopes for this one, but it was a waste of time. Rose's book - and, of course, "Adventures in the Screen Trade" by William Goldman (again, acknowledged repeatedly by Guber and Bart) are essential reading. This sure isn't.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but far from a "how to" guide.
Review: Shoot Out, although entertaining in it's own right, is not what it represents itself to be. It presents no insight or strategy about how to get a film made. The authors simply recount amusing stories drawn from their own experiences. If you're just looking for entertainment, this might fit the bill. However, if you're an aspiring filmmaker looking for an insider's view of how to deal with the movie making process and the various egos involved, then steer clear.
Rating: 
Summary: War Stories and How to Make a Movie
Review: This book is unique in that it tries to tell the "behind the scenes" true war stories inside the context of a "road map to Hollywood deal making". I prefer the war stories but this book does a very good job in it's "how to" section being very careful to not let the reader get bored. Peter Bart, who appears to do 80% of the writing, does an excellent job describing what is involved in doing a deal. It lets a nonindustry person realize why some movies are made that turn out to be bad movies. The bottom line is there is a process, a "Hollywood dance" so to speak, that is how deals progress. Many outsiders have talked about changing Hollywood to a more standard business environment. It will never happen. Too much history to change and frankly, with the creative people involved, they probably couldn't work in that environment. Disney has tried to shift the process with some success but the negative press does keep some creative people from working with them. Peter Bart provides many war stories from the 1970s with Guber has more current stories given his success as a producer. I expected this book to be similar to Mike Medavoy's biography of his movie career. It wasn't. But it was still very good and would recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Blather
Review: This book is unique in that it tries to tell the "behind the scenes" true war stories inside the context of a "road map to Hollywood deal making". I prefer the war stories but this book does a very good job in it's "how to" section being very careful to not let the reader get bored. Peter Bart, who appears to do 80% of the writing, does an excellent job describing what is involved in doing a deal. It lets a nonindustry person realize why some movies are made that turn out to be bad movies. The bottom line is there is a process, a "Hollywood dance" so to speak, that is how deals progress. Many outsiders have talked about changing Hollywood to a more standard business environment. It will never happen. Too much history to change and frankly, with the creative people involved, they probably couldn't work in that environment. Disney has tried to shift the process with some success but the negative press does keep some creative people from working with them. Peter Bart provides many war stories from the 1970s with Guber has more current stories given his success as a producer. I expected this book to be similar to Mike Medavoy's biography of his movie career. It wasn't. But it was still very good and would recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: War Stories and How to Make a Movie
Review: This book is unique in that it tries to tell the "behind the scenes" true war stories inside the context of a "road map to Hollywood deal making". I prefer the war stories but this book does a very good job in it's "how to" section being very careful to not let the reader get bored. Peter Bart, who appears to do 80% of the writing, does an excellent job describing what is involved in doing a deal. It lets a nonindustry person realize why some movies are made that turn out to be bad movies. The bottom line is there is a process, a "Hollywood dance" so to speak, that is how deals progress. Many outsiders have talked about changing Hollywood to a more standard business environment. It will never happen. Too much history to change and frankly, with the creative people involved, they probably couldn't work in that environment. Disney has tried to shift the process with some success but the negative press does keep some creative people from working with them. Peter Bart provides many war stories from the 1970s with Guber has more current stories given his success as a producer. I expected this book to be similar to Mike Medavoy's biography of his movie career. It wasn't. But it was still very good and would recommend it.
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