The Book Count 2021

[Greg]

It's the biography of 3 time oscar winner Paddy Chayefsky. He won for Marty, Hospital, and Network. This book is a deep, exhaustive guide into his life. No stone is too small not to overturn in the search for tidbits.

He wasn't as prolific as I thought, but I seemed to go through a period where I saw his name on everything and it's why I wanted to found out about him. I was especially intrigued that he helped write Paint Your Wagon. Chayefsky was adept writing Plays, TV Shows and Movies and was successful in all three. It was good to see how creative people work but in many ways he reminds me a lot of Harlan Ellison

I think the biggest surprise for me was that his best friend was Bob Fosse.

And as for Paint Your Wagon. He was hired to do the job then had a falling out with Alan Lerner who did the original musical. He was fired. Chayefsky would have taken his name off the project but he wouldn't have gotten paid. Paint Your Wagon was just a minor blip in his story.

There are a lot of fascinating stories in the book about the famous people and the making of Chayefsky's famous works. Lots of details.

I think you'll have to be a real cinephile to want to read this book.