This book tells the story of the movie Sunset Boulevard, created by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett in 1950. This book is a gem and a true gift to the people who like watching old black and white movies. The book is full of interesting biographical details of people who participated in making of this movie and those who inhabited the world surrounding it. It combines piquant personal stories with the serious discussion of the movie industry and its historical background. The book presents other, sometimes dark or flawed, sides of Wilder's character allowing us to see the man beyond his famous one-liners. Although, it should be said that reading all these stories of his interactions with his colleagues, friends, and enemies adds tremendous amount of fun.
Even if you've watched that movie before, it rates watching it again after reading this book. You will see where some scenes came from, what the jokes meant, understand the hidden meanings of every word or character. Reading the book is really changing the experience of viewing the movie. The themes explored in the book are still relevant to us; even if we live in a seemingly different world, we can recognize creative and moral challenges the people faced and relate to what drove the people in the book and in the movie. In that respect, the book can appeal to the younger audience of readers. The book is exceptionally well written, it submerses you in the world of the 50s cinema. Once you get into reading it, it is hard to pull away.

If (like me) you are a big fan of Sunset Boulevard, or simply a Hollywood history buff, you are very likely to enjoy this fairly breezy account of the pre-history, making of, and aftermath of this landmark movie. There is plenty of humor (the chapter on Erich Von Stroheim was particularly amusing), as well as jargon-free analysis of the themes and moviemaking craft that went into the picture. The three chapters that give a scene-by-scene breakdown of the movie lagged a bit compared to the rest of the book, but that was entirely forgivable.

If, on the other hand, you have not seen Sunset Boulevard, what are you waiting for? I cannot recommend that you read the book before seeing the movie, simply because everyone deserves an unspoiled first experience with this audacious film.

I could write more, but this book has left me aching to rewatch the movie. Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with an early review copy of this book.

This book was much more than a history of how “Sunset Boulevard” came to be. It’s dense with historical information about world and US events around that time, motion picture history, as well as a deep dive into the primary figures involved in the film. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved old movies since girlhood but somehow had never seen Sunset Boulevard, although I had seen snippets and heard about it. A local theater is showing it in August and we bought tickets to see it with our son, a movie buff. So, when I saw this book, I thought what a perfect read before seeing the movie. And, after reading it, I will get so much more out of the experience.

In Hollywood, memories are short. Indeed, that was a major theme of the movie about to be shot: the agony of being overlooked, or, worse, forgotten. from Ready for My Closeup

First, we learn about screenwriter Billy Wilder, a refugee from Nazi Germany whose films reflected his bitter view of humanity. The studio paired him with Charlie Brackett, whose straight laced idealism clashed with the womanizer Wilder.

I was surprised to learn about the “also-rans” and “failed comebacks” of the actors in this film about “has-beens.”

The actors include many whose careers were forged in the silent era when social conventions were being broken, the beginning of sexual liberation. Movies portrayed the changing marital and sexual relationships. Women wore daring costumes, showing lots of skin.

Gloria Swanson plays the lead, Norma, an aging film star in denial that her career is over, her fans moved on. Swanson had been a silent movie star, the first “modern” girl. Erich Von Stroheim, who sounds as disagreeable in life as his movie role characters, had directed Swanson in an unfinished film. He plays a butler to Swanson’s character. Master comedian of the silent era turned impoverished alcoholic, Buster Keaton has a cameo appearance.

Lubin covers every aspect of the film—set, music, lighting. The early cut was an audience failure,forcing Wilder to cut an opening scene he was proud of writing. The photographs in Norma’s house were Swanson’s personal collection. Cecile De Mille played the studio head in the film as he had for Swanson in life.

The dissection of the film was particularly well done, touching on the technological and artistic aspect of the film, and even the music.

The film has elements of horror and comedy, melodrama, and social satire. I look forward to seeing it on the big screen!

Fame is fleeting, accolades transient, and dreams of glory easily foiled. from Ready for My Closeup

Thanks to the publisher for a free book through NetGalley

Ready for My Close Up: The Making of Sunset Boulevard and the Dark Side of Hollywood by David M. Lubin is a book that details the making of one of the definitive movies about movies, Sunset Boulevard. I love Sunset Boulevard and learning about what goes into making movies, so I was very excited to pick this book up. Lubin chronicles the making of the classic by delving into the inspirations, the people involved, as well as what went into shooting the movie. You can tell there was a lot of research that went into finding out about everything that went into Sunset Boulevard. What I found most interesting in the book was learning about the writing partnership of Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, and how Sunset Boulevard ended up being their last project together, as well as the scouting for what would become Norma Desmond’s mansion.

Something that would have improved the book for me personally is if there was more discussion on how Sunset Boulevard impacted the movies that came after it that deal with similar themes. There have been countless movies that have come out since 1950 that deal with aging and stardom, and it would have been interesting to see how Hollywood’s depiction of those topics has and hasn’t changed in 75 years. That is a topic worthy of a book on its own, but “the dark side of Hollywood” being in the subtitle did have me hoping a little more of that analysis would be included in the book.

I definitely recommend picking up Ready for My Close Up if you’re at all interested in Sunset Boulevard, learning about what goes into making movies, or if you’re at all interested in Old Hollywood.

(The opinions in this book are my own but I wish to thank David M. Lubin, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for this eARC.)

My thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advance copy of this book that looks at the creation of a movie that has been embraced by numerous fans over the years for many reasons, but one that still speaks about the cost of fame, of being forgotten, ignored, discarded, and for the lead actress spectacular wardrobe.

I don't know when I realised movies were made about things other that cartoons, science fiction, crime, westerns, monsters. Dramas were never really my thing. Having an illegal cable box allowed me to watch a lot of channels, usually with something blowing up, or an alien appearing somewhere. Occasionally I would come across movies where things didn't blow up or go into hyperspace and I would watch to see if it was horror, especially if they were black and white. That's how I came across Sunset Boulevard the first time. Body in a pool, car chase, a weird house, weird acting people. The more I watched the more confused I got. However I was locked in, and wanted to know what was happening. I don't know if this is when I realized how good movies could be, or how bad Hollywood could be. I know that soon after I was looking at movies in a different way, watching things without robots, taking note of performance, something I never thought of before. Which is why I found this book so interesting. Ready for My Closeup: The Making of Sunset Boulevard and the Dark Side of the Hollywood Dream by film scholar and writer David M. Lubin is a look at the making of this film from creation, to rewrites, to first screenings, and beyond.

The book begins in the days when Hollywood was still silent, with performance and acting being what people went to the movies for. We meet some of the actors who will make appearances in the movie, tracking the path of a young Gloria Swanson from Chicago to Hollywood, her rise in film, her continuing success when sound was introduced, and her slow fading out as the industry changed and so did Swanson as she aged. The history of Hollywood, from casting couch to changes in how movies were developed are all looked at, as they have an effect on the story the movie is telling. Billy Wilder was the director and screenwriter, a man who fled Europe without much money, nor his wife, arriving in California with a plan to punch up dialogue in movies, but without speaking English that would be tough. Wilder soon learned English, and soon with his writing companion Charles Brackett began to create scripts that were successful, successful enough to allow Wilder to direct, something he did well, and on time. The germination of an idea, a movie about Hollywood, starting with a body in a pool, was their next project, all they needed was a script, a cast and a house to film at.

There is a part that Lubin describes the film, and how it appears at first to be a film noir, than a rom-com, back to action and suddenly a horror movie. That is exactly what drew me to the movie the first time, and I love how the book looks at the writing of the film. I am not sure how David Lubin found so much information on a movie that is over 75 years old, but Lubin has done an excellent job of research in sharing how this film came together. Information about the wardrobe, the finding of the house, how the two writers worked together, and why these two, Wilder and Brackett, never worked together again. There is a lot of stories about the actors, but the book is not gossipy, more stating facts. Holden wooing his younger co-star, strange comments from studio heads. Even the hunt to find the right house to film is is interesting. The writing is really good, one never gets lost, and the book never drags. Each page has something new to think about. How a bet to swim across a pool fully clothed might have given Wilder an idea to open the movie. The lost opening scenes of the movie. Stories from the first screening, and much more.

This is the first book by Lubin I have read, and I really enjoyed it. I love film, love to read about movies and how the magic happens. This was a a lot of fun, much more than I expected, and much more informative than I had thought. Perfect for fans of the film, film scholar and for people who dream of writing something that will last the ages.