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Summary: The inside scoop on Hollyweird and Congress too
Review: Eric Hamburg's wonderful - and often blackly hilarious-book about his adventures in the movie-trade after a distinguished career as a Congressional lawyer, and particularly his work with the only important filmmaker consistently involved in making politically-themed pictures, Oliver Stone, is published by Public Affairs Books. Hamburg was a producer on NIXON and ANY GIVEN SUNDAY.
I recommend this rocketing read to anyone, especially those within and without The Biz who'd like to see how things are really done in Hollyweird. Stone comes off as a beleaguered and curiously sympathetic figure, whose excesses are to some degree forgiveable because of the absurd pressures of his position, and a true cinematic genius. If you're looking for a hatchet-job on Stone, look elsewhere.
Some of his minions, however, don't fare as well. Danny Halsted, Stone's co-producer on several films, is called throughout 'Danny The Weasel,' and is a major addition and update to the iconography of Hollywood penny-antemonsters going back to Sammy Glick.
Hamburg repeatedly acknowledges Stone's genius, his intelligence, his courage, his heart, but doesn't flinch at the truth of the drug-induced paranoia in the office,
which he sees as finally damaging Stone personally and professionally at that time, some five years ago. Of course we all know that Oliver Stone is the only one in Hollywood, actor, agent, exec, producer, director, composer, editor, A.D., waittress, who ever smoked pot, drank too much, womanized, or did coke or other pharmaceuticals. He is clearly the only producer/director who was ever irrational with his partners.
He is therefore as unlike the
Blessed Saint Don Simpson, May His Memory Glow Forever,
as it is possible to be.
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Summary: Hollywod hell at its best!
Review: I read this book in one sitting. A hilarious and revealing account by a Hollywood insider of the mad, mad world of Oliver Stone and the decadent culture of Hollywood. Also contains fascinating anecdotes about Washington and life on Capitol Hill, as well as the author's trips to Cuba and close encounters with Fidel Castro. This is a very unique and very funny book. I recommend it highly to anyone who is interested in Hollywood, Washington, politics or showbiz. They're all the same thing anyway!
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Summary: A Revealing inside look at show business
Review: I thought this book was revealing about how things really work in Hollywood, and Washington as well. It gives you an inside look into the players and the personalities, through specific examples fromthe author's work with people such as Senator John Kerry, Rep. Lee Hamilton, Oliver Stone, and Anthony Hopkins. Not many people have seen both ends of the spectrum from the inside the way this author has. The book has its share of Hollywood gossip and dirt, but also provides some real insights as well.
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Summary: Could have been better
Review: I was really excited about this book, because "JFK" and "Nixon" are two of my all-time favorite movies. I don't agree with either of their political messages, but they are perfect movies, dramatically, stylistically, and visually. This book is okay, except for several typos, sloppy sentence construction, and the almost single-minded obsessions (for example, all Republicans are bad, except those that agree with the author - not wrong, but bad, evil). There's no air to breath! This pops up too with the Kennedy assassination, where in the author's world, there simply has to be a conspiracy because of the symbolic nature of the killing. Never mind those inconvenient facts against a conspiracy that get in the way and those elusive "facts" that confirm a conspiracy which never can quite be confirmed themselves. Also, the reasoning behind some of these arguments, frankly, is nonexistent. Too many times Hamburg seems to be saying that if someone disagrees with his interpretation of the facts, they must have some ulterior motive. The conspiracy, apparently, gets bigger with each dissenting voice to it. Reminds me of Umberto Eco's "Focault's Pendulum." This book is entertaining for what it says about both Washington and Hollywood. But it's not very deep and slightly disappointing because it doesn't aim a little higher and work a little harder. It also paints a scary picture when one considers that, contrary to Oliver Stone's protestations, most people get their history from the movies, not from the actual sources. I guess I can take Oliver Stone better than an apologist. At least, I don't expect him to make sense, just movies.
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Summary: Tales from the Oliver Zone
Review: I've read a couple of books now about Oliver Stone and his problems and I almost feel sorry for him (the other book I read was Jane Hamsher's KILLER INSTINCT, which demystifies both Stone and Quentin Tarantino).
It kind of reminds of me of Linda Lovelace apologizing to Sammy Davis jr. in her book ORDEAL: Hollywood is filled with plenty of scumbags, Sammy just happened to be the one who did all the nasty stuff with her.
It's just that this book was extremely entertaining and interesting. A quick read filled with some funny scenes of Hollywood absurdity...
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Summary: Book Report by Brent Simon - JFK, Nixon, Stone
Review: JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone & Me Eric Hamburg Public Affairs reviewed by Brent Simon A deliciously, amazingly illuminating account of Tinseltown excess, Eric Hamburg's JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone & Me recounts an idealist's journey from Capitol Hill to Hollywood hell. A terrifically entertaining read disguised with a memoir's overcoat, Hamburg's book details his occupational pilgrimage from legislative assistant under influential House of Representatives member Lee Hamilton to his position at director Stone's Ixtlan Films, where he handled legal and business affairs while also initiating the ideas that would in time come to take shape as the films Nixon and Any Given Sunday. It's a very personal book, and draws almost exclusively from the author's remembrances and journal entries of the time covered. This means first there is some overlap, both thematically and in detail; Hamburg sometimes repeats himself even closely within the text in a manner unacceptable for top-shelf reportage. He even blatantly misidentifies Reese Witherspoon as Brooke Shields at point. Still, these occasional faux pas (was the book even edited?) do not blunt the tome's power or change its bottom line. For those interested in the ins and outs of high-end cinematic wheeling and dealing, Hamburg's book is chock full of tasty firsthand details about Oliver Stone's peccadilloes and a myriad of ever-rotating but always kooky projects he pursued in bits and pieces. Of the latter, most intriguing were planned biopics on J. Edgar Hoover and Manuel Noreiga (Al Pacino graciously refused $10 million from a pay-or-play deal when it fell apart), plus movies on Afghanistan, Stone's obsessive hatred of columnist Maureen Dowd (known in various iterations as Media and Power) and even a possible sequel to JFK, which was the project Stone was working on when Hamburg first met him. The details of the director's disastrous personal life are even more vivid and revelatory: Stone's ceaseless drug abuse, irrational flare-ups, legendary cheapness, interpersonal abrasiveness and possible shaping youthful sexual encounter(s) with his mother' yikes! Most unnerving, though, are Hamburg's stories of his dealings and interactions with Danny Halsted, a former Disney exec who wormed his way into Stone's production company and whom Hamburg refers to here almost exclusively as "Danny the Weasel." To recount the many jaw-dropping instances of Halsted's idiocy, conniving, theft and general disreputable behavior would take too much space here, but suffice to say that it both represents and confirms all the worst you've ever heard or suspected about Hollywood suits masquerading as creative executives. This isn't a horror novel, but at times JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone & Me ranks right up there with the most unsettling of Stephen King's works.
Rating: 
Summary: Character Assassination at Its Worst
Review: JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone and Me by Eric Hamburg is yet another sickening example of a character assassination book. The author is a former Congressional staffer who was given a chance by Director/Producer Oliver Stone to come to Hollywood and help make what the author hoped were politically interesting movies. Throughout the book the author engages in name-calling and self aggrandizing behavior while never even attempting to get to the root of the film-making process. One is left with the impression that the author needed money and decided to cash in on his relationship with a celebrity. Even some of Oliver Stone's enemies have admitted that he is a genius in making films and getting his message across to an audience. Whatever you feel about his political beliefs it must be admitted that he is a director of the first order. I had hoped that the book would attempt to give the reader some insight as to the process by which Stone creates his films, especially Nixon, but the author doesn't even attempt to look at Stone the filmmaker. Instead we are treated to 292 pages of what a great person the author is and how shabbily he was treated by the Hollywood community. The author seems to enjoy descending into name-calling as he continually refers to film producer Daniel Halstead as "Danny the Weasel," and blames everyone around him for problems that occur. At times he seems to contradict himself and even forgets the names of some co-workers at Stone's production company, Ixtlan. The reader is left wondering why Stone put up with this behavior for as long as he did. Oliver Stone is a great director and an interesting character in his own write. He should be judges by his films and not by this type of garbage. I would recommend that readers wanting to know the motivation behind Stone and his movies read Oliver Stone's USA, which does give an insight into the director's films. Mr. Hamburg's book, on the other hand, deserves to go into the trash.
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Summary: Book Review from the Hollywood Reporter 12/24/02
Review: JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone Dec. 24, 2002 By Michael Farkash Eric Hamburg Public Affairs,464 pages As the song goes, "Paranoia strikes deep." That's one of the central experiences of a savvy political aide and speechwriter who went to work for writer-director-producer Oliver Stone. Eric Hamburg's "JFK, Nixon, Oliver Stone & Me: An Idealist's Journey From Capitol Hill to Hollywood Hell" is a sharp, well-written book that tunes into some familiar territory, notably the bad, mad geography of film production politics and the decades-old mysteries surrounding the death of John F. Kennedy and the Cuban connection. The book is very accessible, very readable and filled with admiration for professionals like Anthony Hopkins and mixed, mostly angry assessments of Stone and the people surrounding the filmmaker. The dark byways of the film biz should have been no surprise for the bright, politically astute Hamburg, who worked for years on Capitol Hill -- but then, hearing about the nasty, difficult parts of the film production process and living them are two quite different things. Serving as a producer and development executive at Stone's production company, Ixtlan, the author originated and won co-producing credits on the films "Nixon" and "Any Given Sunday." He explores the paranoid, vain, greedy, sometimes drug-fueled aspects of Stone's world of film development, where solid ground can often give way to a quicksand of uncertainty. Using his Washington connections, Stone's name and persistence, Hamburg was able to get key figures from the JFK and Nixon years to meet with him and Stone and persuade them to contribute stories and background to Stone's films. He also shares with us his research trips to places like Cuba and a brief meeting with Fidel Castro. But Hamburg became quickly disenchanted with what he calls the "Oliver Zone" -- suspicions, dark rages, drug use and a habit of playing staff people against one another. It's like royal court intrigue. Writes Hamburg: "Oliver was moody and unpredictable, often irrational and absolutely insane when it came to money. This was a very dangerous subject with him. "However, Hamburg received some good advice -- those three little words that mean everything in negotiations: "Hire a lawyer." In case the reader wonders if film development is a habit-forming occupation -- Hamburg continues working as a producer and writer in Los Angeles.
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Summary: Book TV
Review: Listened to Hamburg for an hour and a half on Book TV this weekend. Pathetic Speaker. Pathetic Politics. Pathetic! Seems to have absorbed the worst of both of our coastal fantasylands, and believes John Kerrey (in the white hat) is the hero, and all those Republicans (black hats) are evil incarnate. Kerrey can win because he married rich. His next project involves Alec Baldwin. Need I say more. Pathetic!
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Summary: A riveting inside look at Hollywood and Washington!
Review: This book is a riveting, entertaining and insightful look into the parallel universes of Washington and Hollywood, and the love/hate relationship that exists between them. Eric Hamburg has moved between both worlds and seen them from the inside in a way that few have. Hamburg, who started as a speechwriter for current Presidential candidate John Kerry in the Senate, provides fascinating glimpses into the power struggles that go on in Washington and especially on Capitol Hill. He also provides an up close look at the man who may be our next President. Hamburg also presents a fair and balanced portrait of Oliver Stone as filmmaker and human being, calling him both a genius and a madman at times. The author obviously knows his way around the JFK assassination as well as Watergate, and delves deeply into both. He presents new information about the murder of JFK which he researched in Cuba on Stone's behalf. He presents the most plausible scenario yet of what really happened in Dallas. For this alone, the book is worth buying. For Hollywood fans, the book also gives an inside look at the making of the movie Nixon, and at the human side of stars such as Anthony Hopkins and James Woods. It follows the process of making a film from start to finish in a way that few books have. Probably the best comparisons would be Jane Hamsher's Killer Instinct, or Julie Salamon's The Devil's Candy. The book is candid, funny and well written. If you're interested in movies, politics or both, read it!
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