The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks
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For sixty years, the lineup of Hollywood’s major studios varied little. Then came the Circus Maximus created by director Steven Spielberg, billionaire David Geffen, and Jeffrey Katzenberg (who gave the world The Lion King). Nothing in decades had approached the excitement surrounding the empire called DreamWorks, where hype and glory gave way to blowups, battles, and betrayals worthy of The Godfather. Nicole LaPorte reveals for the first time the delicious truth of what happened behind the scenes. Readers will feel they are part of the creative calamities of moviemaking as LaPorte’s fly-on-the-wall detail shows us Hollywood’s bizarre rules of business. We see the clashes between Spielberg’s troops and Katzenberg’s warriors, the debacles and disasters, and also the Oscar-winning triumphs, including Saving Private Ryan. We see Geffen seducing investors and watch as the studio burns through billions while its rich owners get richer and everybody else suffers. Here is Hollywood—up-close, glamorous, and gritty. The New Yorker LaPorte's account is full of insider details, in the manner of Hollywood business potboilers, and the story—with screaming fits, White House sleepovers, and a death threat from Russull Crowe—rivals anything on the screen.
A Note to Readers xiI Starting UP1 The Emperor in August 32 The End of Magic 93 Mr. Spielberg Will See You Now 144 Geffen Slept Here 215 The Announcement 286 E.T., Phone Home 367 Animated Characters 448 Live Action 609 Show Me the Money 6910 Culture Clash 8511 The Unthinkable Occurs 10112 George in Slovakia; Jeffrey in Extremis 10813 The Not So Long Goodbye 123II Rolling14 Of Men and Mice 13315 Slaves to the Rhythm 14816 Saving Spielberg 15917 Bug Wars 18018 Harvey Baby 196III Rockin'19 Unexpected Beauty 21720 The Battle for Oscar 23221 Nobody's Bitch 24722 Sword Fights 26223 Shreked 27624 Rock and Roll 29325 Golden Glow 303IV Close-Up26 The Motorcycle Diaries 32127 Harvey II 33528 What Sinbad Wrought 34929 Naked in Public 36230 In a Snicket 37531 No White Suits! 38232 The Geffen Express 401Epilogue: Three-Way Split 432Bibliography 447Notes on Sources 449Acknowledgments 475Index 478
