Rating: 
Summary: The flip side
Review: ...the flip side of the movie business, that is, this memoir of a former agent and producer. The 300 films he mentioned are scattered throughout in italics. Mr. Medavoy writes extensively of the process of producing movies. He makes sures we know he is responsible for the success of many motion pictures. He also admits no one knows why one film which shows every indication of becoming a smash will fail, while another will come out of nowhere and become a hit. OK, but there is no gossip. There are no entertaining anecdotes. There is nothing interesting, in fact nothing to interest the average reader who is interested in Hollywood. I said the average reader. These pages and pages of numbers and formulas and musings about box-office openings are no doubt fascinating to accountants and marketing people. I picture them swooning over this book. If books could be compared on a scale with movies, one might say "You're Only As Good.." is the "Citizen Kane" of number crunchers.
Rating:
Summary: The flip side
Review: ...the flip side of the movie business, that is, this memoir of a former agent and producer. The 300 films he mentioned are scattered throughout in italics. Mr. Medavoy writes extensively of the process of producing movies. He makes sures we know he is responsible for the success of many motion pictures. He also admits no one knows why one film which shows every indication of becoming a smash will fail, while another will come out of nowhere and become a hit. OK, but there is no gossip. There are no entertaining anecdotes. There is nothing interesting, in fact nothing to interest the average reader who is interested in Hollywood. I said the average reader. These pages and pages of numbers and formulas and musings about box-office openings are no doubt fascinating to accountants and marketing people. I picture them swooning over this book. If books could be compared on a scale with movies, one might say "You're Only As Good.." is the "Citizen Kane" of number crunchers.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating Take on the Film Industry - 1970's and Beyond
Review: A fascinating take on the film industry from both an agent's/producer's point of view. A number of the films he's had a direct handle in are amongst my all time favorite list and it's interesting to read backstage stories about the process, how these films came to be and how sometimes it's merely the luck of the draw. Kudos to Mr. Michael Medavoy for an extremely well written book as well as a long and distinguished career. His book is enjoyable from start to finish.
Rating: 
Summary: Substantial Look at the Movie Business
Review: Hollywood memoirs tend to be annoyingly content free, so this lengthy insider tome from agent, studio chief, and producer Medavoy comes as a pleasant surprise. Ego reasonably in check (at least by studio chief standards) Medavoy (and writer Young) go into substantial detail on how movies get made, why they usually don't, and why when they do they're often dreadful. Medavoy's perspective is particularly interesting because he's played an active role in the industry since the late 1960's, and so can offer a ringside account of how the business has changed from the counter-culture, director-driven 70's Hollywood to the 6,000 screen opening, watch-the-foreign-grosses film biz of today. No, you won't get the juicy gossip of Robert Evans' and Peter Biskind's Hollywood histories here, but you will find an enjoyable account of how movies are put together.
Rating: 
Summary: Pompus
Review: I did not like this book. It was bloated. The author thinks he's Bill Clinton. He's just some guy who made a little money. I mean little because in the world he so dearly loves he is nothing but a secretary. I would love to hear from Sherry Lansing or Harvey Weinstein but Mike Medavoy. A joker.
Rating:
Summary: Lacking
Review: I didn't like this book. It was bloated and uninsightful. The writing was not particularly good either. This will end up in the $1 book bin.
Rating: 
Summary: Middle of the Road Hollywood Bio (Actually 2.5 stars)
Review: I picked this book up hoping for a nice, trashy Hollywood producer insider's look at the business. The anecdotes are interesting but not as juicy as they could and should be. It's a shame this book isn't written very well, given that Mr. Medavoy had a ghost writer. The ghost writer, Mr. Josh Young, should have developed better transition material between the "and then I produced this" stories. I don't know the full background story on their collaboration but I hope Mr. Medavoy's ego didn't overpower Mr. Young's literary sensabilities. The writing felt much too thrown together as if Mr. Young had just listened to the interview tapes or reviewed the interview notes (or however he conducted the interviews) and then typed whatever came to his head with no need or time for extensive revisions. There are too many malapropisms and badly remembered literary phrases and botched grammar conventions that sound kind of like a try for Sam "Goldwynisms" but that fall hopelessly flat on the ear and display no real sharp wit. (i.e., page 61, "journey to the Magi for me"? Maybe they have a different Christmas story in Hollywood, but shouldn't it be "Journey of the Magi"?). There are just too many small writer's mistakes, and ideas that need to be clarified, and so forth. However, it's a good "popcorn" book if you just want to pick it up and snack on a story or two.
Rating:
Summary: Middle of the Road Hollywood Bio (Actually 2.5 stars)
Review: I picked this book up hoping for a nice, trashy Hollywood producer insider's look at the business. The anecdotes are interesting but not as juicy as they could and should be. It's a shame this book isn't written very well, given that Mr. Medavoy had a ghost writer. The ghost writer, Mr. Josh Young, should have developed better transition material between the "and then I produced this" stories. I don't know the full background story on their collaboration but I hope Mr. Medavoy's ego didn't overpower Mr. Young's literary sensabilities. The writing felt much too thrown together as if Mr. Young had just listened to the interview tapes or reviewed the interview notes (or however he conducted the interviews) and then typed whatever came to his head with no need or time for extensive revisions. There are too many malapropisms and badly remembered literary phrases and botched grammar conventions that sound kind of like a try for Sam "Goldwynisms" but that fall hopelessly flat on the ear and display no real sharp wit. (i.e., page 61, "journey to the Magi for me"? Maybe they have a different Christmas story in Hollywood, but shouldn't it be "Journey of the Magi"?). There are just too many small writer's mistakes, and ideas that need to be clarified, and so forth. However, it's a good "popcorn" book if you just want to pick it up and snack on a story or two.
Rating:
Summary: Great Insider Hollywood Memoir
Review: I would normally run from a Hollywood memoir as they are usually self-serving and boring. Medavoy's is the exception. He candidly describes his adventures in movie making over a 30 year span and admits his mistakes as well as his triumphs. Surprisingly, the book is very interesting from cover to cover. Few people have had such a long and diverse career in entertainment as Medavoy. If you are interested in the real Hollywood, I heartily recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER EGO TRIP FOR A HOLLYWOOD PRODUCER
Review: If Mike Medavoy never existed, would our lives have been less? Not at all.Medavoy is another of the tens of thousands of hollywood producers( note there are now 6 producers per movie)working in a factory to churn out an endless supply of tripe for the masses.This book-written with assistance-does nothing to set Medavoy apart from the mass of other producers.Had medavoy not warned a seat, there were dozens who might have replaced him .
Why are these books published ?To fill shelves.
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