Rating: 
Summary: Nice Follow-up
Review: I loved Adventures in the Screen Trade, so I bought Which Lie did I tell? While not quite as good as the first book, it was still entertaining and informative. I loved reading his section on The Princess Bride, and I was glad to read that he actually liked that movie (since he tends not to like anything he's written).Unfortunately, since I read Adventures in the screen Trade so recently (and he wrote it 20 years ago), a lot of the information--especially when he would talk about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid--seemed like he was repeating himself. It wasn't that bad, though. It was still fun to read it a second time around. As with Adventures..., I loved the section at the end of the book where he included a screenplay and had people analyze it. It's very interesting to see what works and what doesn't in other people's eyes. It helps to give a good idea to what to include in my own screenplays. Overall, it was a wonderful book--just not as good as the first one. C'est la vie.
Rating:
Summary: Nice Follow-up
Review: I loved Adventures in the Screen Trade, so I bought Which Lie did I tell? While not quite as good as the first book, it was still entertaining and informative. I loved reading his section on The Princess Bride, and I was glad to read that he actually liked that movie (since he tends not to like anything he's written). Unfortunately, since I read Adventures in the screen Trade so recently (and he wrote it 20 years ago), a lot of the information--especially when he would talk about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid--seemed like he was repeating himself. It wasn't that bad, though. It was still fun to read it a second time around. As with Adventures..., I loved the section at the end of the book where he included a screenplay and had people analyze it. It's very interesting to see what works and what doesn't in other people's eyes. It helps to give a good idea to what to include in my own screenplays. Overall, it was a wonderful book--just not as good as the first one. C'est la vie.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Great Read from Goldman
Review: I loved Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade and loved this book almost as much. It's interesting, funny and revealing, written in a casual and frank manner that you'd expect from a good friend. Goldman writes books and screenplays in multiple genres because he focuses on whether each story is one he wants to tell - not whether it's the same type of story he succeeded with before. What amazes me about this versatile writer is his generosity. In this book he discusses his creative processes and offers detailed, useful guidance to aspiring writers (for comparison, Joe Ezterhaus did not do this in his interesting memoir). At the end of the book, Goldman even has the guts to offer up a new script draft for criticism by top screenwriters whose comments he includes. Who else would dare to expose his work-in-process like that? Not I! He is my hero.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much Butch, but still a fun read
Review: I'm a huge fan of Goldman's books and most of his screenplays, and the original Adventures in the Screen Trade still stands as the definitive how-Hollywood-works primer. It's great to have him deconstructing the industry once again, praising some unlikely subjects--who would think the 67-year old author of Marathon Man would have picked the Farrelly brothers' There's Something About Mary as 1998's best film?--and attacking even more unlikely subjects--would you expect the screenwriter of A Bridge Too Far to loathe Saving Private Ryan? Goldman does, and how.) I have two key problems with Which Lie Did I Tell, however. One is, many Goldman fans will have seen a lot of this text before. Much of this material has appeared in Premiere Magazine over the years, as well as in collections of Goldman's screenplays. Long-time Goldman enthusiasts, then, might be a bit miffed about buying recycled material. My other misgiving is Goldman's tendency to rely too much on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid when he's trying to get a point across. The original Adventures, remember, included the complete Butch screenplay and a lot of background material about the real-life duo and the making of the film. So it's disconcerting to see scene after scene from Butch used in the new book, along with many of the same anecdotes Goldman told us the first time around. On the other hand, if you're going to use a single film for a lot of your examples of screenwriting, you could do a lot worse than an Oscar-winning Western classic. So, if you read (and liked) Adventures in the Screen Trade and haven't read Goldman's movie pieces elsewhere, give this review an extra star and give Which Lie Did I Tell a try. If you know every line of Adventures and sought out everything Goldman has written since then, you might consider waiting for the paperback. (Hey, he's rich and his children are grown, no one's going to starve if you pass on the hardcover.)
Rating:
Summary: This book is a keeper!
Review: If you work in or are interested in the "Hollywood scene", you definitely need this book in your library. I just finished and I loved reading every page! It is laugh-out-loud hilarious and I couldn't put it down. As an aspiring screenwriter, I found Mr. Goldman's candor and his writing style refreshing. Reading "Which Lie Do I Tell?" also helped me to move an incredible case of writer's block that I have been saddled with. Especially close to my heart is the last page, the top half of the page. All I can say is, how true, how true! (You'll have to read it.) Thank you Mr. Goldman.
Rating:
Summary: More exuberant and cynical romps through Babylon
Review: In his previous book about Hollywood, Adventures in the Screen Trade, legendary screenwriter Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, Misery, and on and on) gave us a buoyantly cynical inside look at how things really work in the film industry, from a writer's perspective. In a breezy style reminiscent of Tom Wolfe's (The Right Stuff) before he turned to fiction, Goldman generally avoided standard dish and instead tried to get us to understand the sorts of things go on, albeit using terrifically entertaining stories to illustrate his points. He's the one who put forth the seemingly innocuous but remarkably penetrating maxim about filmmaking -- "Nobody knows anything" -- and then proceeded to prove the thesis beyond a reasonable doubt. Now, with the benefit of nearly two additional decades of experience, he revisits the scorched landscape he so deftly set fire to with the first book, and makes sure every square inch stays perfectly charred. This time, he concentrates more on the art and science of writing a screenplay, even going so far as to present a new one in its entirety, one which he invited half a dozen noted writers to critique mercilessly, which they did, said critiques he then gives us verbatim in all their unsullied mercilessness. I'm going to stop now -- I promised myself I would before I ended up writing a book-length review because there is so much to say. Let's leave it at this: Having flirted (only briefly but riotously) with the film business myself, I don't agree with all of his observations, but every one of them is reasonable and supremely entertaining. If you enjoy films and toweringly clever and acerbic writing, you will love this book.
Rating:
Summary: A Conversation with William Goldman
Review: Incredibly entertaining reading using his unique storytelling style. I felt like I was in the same room listening to Goldman tell of his trials and smiles during his career. His frankness portrays the realities of Hollywood. It also goes beyond typical screenwriting authors and tells the reader how to survive the...business...monsters in the closet...and your own writing passion. Read it and learn.
Rating:
Summary: Okay
Review: Interesting stuff. Goldman's writing has gone off the boil in the past 15 years, so I don't know that he's in a position to hand out advice anymore. He blames the failure of GHOST AND THE DARKNESS on Michael Douglas having his part revamped. But Douglas' character is a SMALL part of that film, so to blame its failure on THAT is ludicrous. I know someone who was in on the production of GHOST AND THE DARKNESS before Goldman came aboard, and had hopes it would be a great film, because the true story itself is great. And then Goldman was assigned the writing. When I asked my friend how the script was, he said, "Goldman wrote a terrible script." My friend was exasperated because it could have been great. And when I saw the film, I agreed with my friend. Goldman screwed it up. Douglas didn't help. It's probably his worst performace I've ever seen. But Goldman's mainly to blame.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but not useful
Review: Is this book entertaining? For the most part, yes. Is this book *useful*? For the most part, no. The key fact to realize about this book is that William Goldman appears to be missing either the ability or the desire to write for a specific audience. This is not a book targeted at aspiring screenwriters ... nor aspiring producers, actors, cinematographers, or studio executives ... nor at Hollywood gossip hounds ... nor, in fact, at anyone in particular. However, this book will appeal to someone, such as myself, who has a strong interest in the process by which movies are created. Goldman's lack of focus on his audience gives him the freedom to produce such creative gems as "The Princess Bride" or "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", but also makes it easy for him to ramble incoherently, which he does often in this book. Fortunately, his ramblings are often entertaining, but would most likely be frustrating for someone actually trying to learn something. The reader must take Goldman's many "rules" with a very large grain of salt. Even from this perspective, I began to get annoyed at the number of times Goldman told me to tattoo a given platitude to the backs of my eyelids ... especially since I, for one, cannot see the backs of my eyelids! :-) The best parts of this book were the insider's vignettes about specific movies or events. The worst parts are Goldman's relentlessly pessimistic tone and his attempts to generalize his experiences. The final section of the book is especially painful to read. Goldman shares with us a new screenplay that is absolutely horrid, then also shares the comments of a bunch of fellow screenwriters who basically tell him that it is absolutely horrid. If you buy this book, you can safely skip all of this final section. Overall, if you want one insider's view of Hollywood and don't mind slogging through some irrelevant material, you will enjoy this book. If you want to actually learn something useful, you should probably look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: The Master Returns
Review: Once more, William Goldman has written a book on the film industry that combines entertainment and education in a perfect balance, and that is some achievement. If you want an excellent read on the inside of the film biz, this is it. If you want brilliant advice on how to become a better screenwriter, this is it. The highest praise I can pay it is that it is an even finer work than "Adventures in the Screen Trade". Need I say more?
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