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.