Schmucks with Underwoods: Conversations with America's Classic Screenwriters

Average customer rating:

"Classic" screenwriters with no mention of Frances Marion??

insightful and brilliant

Especially recommended for aspiring script writers of today

Visit to a Splendid Past

Tales of Yore...

Schmucks with Underwoods: Conversations with America's Classic Screenwriters
Max Wilk
Manufacturer: Applause Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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The Studio

ASIN: 155783508X

Book Description

"Where were you when the page was blank?!" a beleaguered screenwriter once asked a demanding director back in the golden age of movies. Max Wilk, an esteemed writer himself, admits "dignity for screenwriters is long overdue." That's why he has assembled this insightful homage to the men and women whose words created the foundation for our best and most-loved films. Here are face-to-face interviews with some of the historic giants of the industry, spanning the silent era to the 1960s, including Billy Wilder, Ernst Lubitsch, Sidney Buchman (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington), Donald Ogden Stewart (The Philadelphia Story), R.C. Sherriff (Goodbye Mr. Chips), Albert and Frances Hackett (It's a Wonderful Life), Evan Hunter (The Birds), John Collier, Edmund Hartmann, Ben Hecht, Nunnally Johnson and many more. In addition, Schmucks with Underwoods (a derogatory label for screenwriters coined by none other than the irascible Jack Warner) includes quotes and commentary about many other towering figures of the day, including Raymond Chandler, Edward Chodorov, Preston Sturges, Howard Koch, Dorothy Parker, Herman Mankiewicz and Paddy Chayefsky. Always entertaining, this book offers invaluable insight into the craft of writing, a fascinating portrait of a lost era of Hollywood, with enough hilarious anecdotes and behind-the-scenes trivia to please even the most casual movie buff.

Customer Reviews:

"Classic" screenwriters with no mention of Frances Marion??.......2004-06-28

When I received this book I eagerly turned to the index and was amazed to discover no mention of Frances Marion, one of the greatest - if not THE greatest - writers/scenarists in pre-WW II Hollywood, male or female. How can anyone write a book about screenwriters without mentioning Frances Marion??

As I work my way through this book I begin to wonder if anyone bothered to edit it. On page 38, my jaw dropped when I saw that V-J Day was actually in 1946, not 1945! And, while some of the "conversations" are very interesting (e.g., Arthur Caesar, Sidney Buchman) some are mere nonsensical snippets that had me wondering why they were included.

insightful and brilliant.......2004-04-14

Anything written by Max Wilk is bound to be genius. His breath of understanding as a dramatist and historian and rampant consumer of pop and otherwise fine culture has made him an incredible resource for people who want to learn more about their craft, the context that their craft has been created in and the meaning of life in general. I can't say enough about this author, or this book. Buy it and you won't be sorry.

Especially recommended for aspiring script writers of today.......2004-04-03

Schmucks With Underwoods: Conversations With Hollywood's Classic Screenwriters by Max Wilk is an enjoyable anthology offering rare glimpses into the lives, works, and perspectives of great screenwriters of Hollywood ranging over the last three decades, from legends like N. Behrman and John Cromwell, to Howard Koch and Dorothy Parker. A few black-and-white photographs are interspersed among the uniquely insightful text, in this recommended leisure reading which is especially recommended for aspiring script writers of today and dedicated fans of the great movie industry of Hollywood's yesteryears.

Visit to a Splendid Past.......2004-04-02

This volume is a reader's delight. It brings a plethora of stimulating, evocative and amusing anecdotes and reminiscences from the great age of cinema screenwriting, with intimate glimpses of such immortals as Billy Wilder, Ben Hecht and Edward Chodorov. Anyone interested in the contribution of writers to the art of motion pictures will love this book.

Tales of Yore..........2004-02-10

Back in 1974, Wilk started work on this book, interviewing some of the big names in screenwriting from roughly the `30s-'50s while they were still alive. He talked to writers like Sidney Buchman, Edward Chodorov, R.C. Sherriff, Benn Levy, John Collier, Billy Wilder, Donald Ogden Sewart, Albert and Frances Hackett, Harold Bloom, and profiled others like Arthur Caesar, Ben Hecht, Preston Sturges, and Harry Kurnitz. These gathered dust on his shelves for over 25 years until he revisited them, added interviews with Edmund Hartmann and Evan Hunter, and tied them all together in this attempt to document screenwriting life under the studio system.

The results are a bit of a jumble, but well worth reading to gain a perspective on the history of the craft. For example, Chapter 2 provides an excellent overview of how, in the silent era, title writers could make or break a movie. Not only did they have to convey the action, setting, dialogue, and tone of a film, but they sometimes had to do so after the fact, making sure their lines would match the lip movements of the filmed characters! The examples Wilk gives of title-writer ingenuity are breathtaking, and one of the most desired was Ralph Spence, who, in 1925, could command $10,000 per film.

As sound came into the industry, writers faced even more bizarre challenges. For example it wasn't unusual for a writer be given a script full of description, including camera shots, with big blank spaces for him to simply "fill in" the dialogue. This evolved into a practice of pairing writers into teams, where one would be responsible for plotting and action, and the other for dialogue. Sometimes, writing teams produced brilliant work even though the partners couldn't stand each other. One such team was William Lipmann and Horace McCoy, who couldn't get a day's work individually, but were in heavy demand as a team. However their animosity grew to the point where one would work from 9am-5pm and leave, then the other would come in and pick up the script from there and work from 9pm-5am!
Just in case you think Hollywood is strange now, back then, the studio system produced a plethora of writing assignments that are difficult to imagine today. For example, sometimes a writer would be told to have a script ready in three weeks for particular group of three stars and a director. No plot, no idea, often not even a genre. Or even worse, just two stars and a title conjured up by a studio head. 1-2-3... write! Of course, many things are just as they always were. Consider the following from Benn Levy speaking of writing in the `30s, "Most scripts were written with fear and trepidation... Every line, every page, scrutinized... Every motivation questioned. All those arbitrary rules..."

This is a fine book to dip into, littered with anecdotes (like how Ben Hecht wrote Scarface in nine days for $1,000 a day), behind-the-scenes gossip (like how the Epstein brothers were discovered ghostwriting Living on Velvet for Jerry Wald and were hired by the studio), and advice from those who came (and excelled) before.

(This review originally appeared in Creative Screenwriting magazine)

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Olof's Files 20012002 (Bob Dylan All Alone on a Shelf)
Olof Bjorner
Manufacturer: Hardinge Simpole Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Olof's Files: A Bob Dylan Performance Guide (Bob Dylan All Alone on a Shelf)

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Olof's Files: A Bob Dylan Performance Guide 1958-1969 (Bob Dylan All Alone on a Shelf)

ASIN: 1843820447

Average customer rating:

for Advanced players

Positive Defense at bridge (Positive Bridge Play)
Terence Reese , and Julian Pottage
Manufacturer: Master Point Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Bridge | Card Games | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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Positive Declarer Play at Bridge (Positive Bridge Play)

Pathways to Better Bridge Defense

Play Bridge With Reese

Things Your Bridge Teacher Won't Tell You

Defend These Hands With Me

ASIN: 1894154932

Customer Reviews:

for Advanced players.......2007-05-23

These problems are for advanced players, not Intermediate Plus. They involve more than counting and drawing inferences from thw bidding and play. You need to use visualization, and ask what declarer is up to.
Many of the problems involve avoiding some kind of squeeze otehr than a simple squeeze. Some of the problems are good, some are just ok. A few seem far fetched with leads or inferences or bidding I don't agree with

For advanced players I would rate the book 3 1/2 stars. Its not bad, just that 4 and 5 star books are better. I suggest instead reading "Defend these hands with me", or some of Hugh Kelseys books, or "Defend with your Life".

For intermediates I suggest Eddie Kantars books "A New Approach to Play and Defense" or "Kantar for the Defense".

Average customer rating:

Very good introduction to accounting

Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers
Gary A. Porter , and Curtis L. Norton
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Study Guide for Porter/Norton's Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers, 5th

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Essentials of Statistics for Business and Economics (with CD-ROM and InfoTrac )

Macroeconomics

Accessories:

Study Guide for Porter/Norton's Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers, 5th

Working Paper for Porter/Norton's Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers, 5th

ASIN: 0324300859

Book Description

Porter/Norton is a transitional text known for its readability, straightforwardness, decision-making focus, and the incorporation of flagship companies. The authors were careful in the new fifth edition to keep the focus on "the basics". The authors have eliminated confusing and redundant elements. The result is an uncluttered, straightforward, and concise financial accounting textbook.

Customer Reviews:

Very good introduction to accounting.......2007-05-03

Accounting is hot due to Sarbanes Oxley Act 2002. This textbook is very clear, starting from the basic fundamental concept of T account, debit credit, annual report, intangibles, income statement, balance sheet, asset, liabilities, owner's equity, accrual accounting, inventory, FIFO, LIFO, investments in stocks and bonds, present value, future value, annuities, etc. It will be better if more retirement examples are given, such as Roth IRA, 401K conversion, and estate planning. I would recommend this book to everyone who never took an accounting course.

Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers, The Alternative to Debits and Credits

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Accounting Review

Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers, The Alternative to Debits and Credits
Gary A. Porter , and Curtis L. Norton
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Accessories:

Study Guide to accompany Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers, An Alternative to Debits and Credits

ASIN: 0324272669

Book Description

The fourth edition of Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers, An Alternative to Debits and Credits, 4e continues to focus on the user/decision maker perspective. Transactions, which as presented in a spreadsheet (accounting equation) format, are used to help students understand the impact on financial information. The authors use the financial statements from Winnebago Industries and Monaco Coach throughout the chapter and end of chapter material. Porter/Norton is unique in its use of these competing companies for comparative financial analysis and in end of chapter cases.

Customer Reviews:

Accounting Review.......2005-09-29

The book is good. The shipment time frame was fine. The book is pretty thorough.

Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers

Average customer rating:

Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers
Gary A. Porter , and Curtis L. Norton
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Business Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

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ASIN: 0324185685

Book Description

The Fourth Edition of Financial Accounting teaches accounting from both the preparer and user perspective. To lead students to a full understanding of the impact of financial statements on business decision-making, the authors use the financial statements from Winnebago Industries throughout the chapter and end of chapter material. Porter/Norton is unique in that it also uses a competiting company to Winnebago, Monaco Coach, to do comparative financial analysis; this is reflected throughout the text and in end of chapter problems.

Study Guide to accompany Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers, An Alternative to Debits and Credits

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Study Guide to accompany Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers, An Alternative to Debits and Credits
PORTER/NORTON
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0324272863

Average customer rating:

Get the new edition, not the 9th edition
Great for graduate study
A Good Introductory Text
Accounting for dummies (ahem, I mean Lawyers)
You're going to get confuse!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers
Gary A. Porter , and Curtis L. Norton
Manufacturer: South-Western Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0030319684

Book Description

The first edition of Porter/Norton was the most successful new entry into the financial accounting market in twenty years. This third edition holds true to the original vision of teaching the subject from both the preparer and user perspective, but with a revision focused on greater accessibility to the variety of students taught. Two annual reports (Gateway and Ben JerryÆs) and an annual update program with price stability guarantee highlight the third edition package.

Customer Reviews:

Get the new edition, not the 9th edition.......2002-09-18

I am the co-author of this book. the 10th edition is now out. If you are a student, you'll want that. If you're trying to learn on your own, you'll find this 9th edition adequate and much cheaper. good luck. roman

Great for graduate study.......2002-08-22

Many people get this book wrong. This is a book for graduate students, not for undergraduates. It introduces the concepts of financial accounting in a condensed way, which does require more time and patient to understand it, like the way we study in MBA program. Since this book assumes its reader as future statement readers, it introduces finanical statements, including balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement,in the first few chapters to let student understand the linkage among them. It is usually very difficult to understand for those without background, though. Plus, given the fact that this book is required by most of top MBA programs, like Chicago, Columbia, and NYU, I'd like to say that accounting professors have told us the quality of this book. For those who have a hard time on this, I would also recommend its accompanied study guide and solution manuals (used one available on amazon website ISBN 0030269695& ASIN: 0030182697; make sure get the right edition!!). After all, this is a good book, but requires more practices. Good luck.

A Good Introductory Text.......2001-12-30

I'd never had any accounting courses before. This textbook was required for my financial accounting course in an MBA program. The book does a good job of logically explaining all the important topics. Unfortunately, it takes a Herculean effort to sit down and study the material due to the dry subject matter.

The authors did a good job of using examples from real firms, which, I think, makes it more interesting. I've decided to keep this book after the course for a reference.

Accounting for dummies (ahem, I mean Lawyers).......2001-10-16

I am a 2nd year law student in the top 10% of my class at a first tier law school (meaning, I'm capable of reading and comprehending dense material). I took an accounting class thinking it would be helpful knowledge in the practice of law. My professor - fantastic. This text book - awful. The only reason I was able to (hopefully) get a good grade (the exam was last week) was that the professor was so good at explaining the concepts he felt were important. The book was confusing and overly verbose (coming from a wordsmith & soon to be lawyer, that statement should be given much weight!!) There were many exercises, but truth be told it was the professor's explanations that allowed me to do the exercises, NOT the book's.

You're going to get confuse!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2001-06-15

Firstly,I really want to rate this book zero star or minus star.I've bought this book because I used it in my MBA course .This book made me hate Accounting too.I strongly agree with rewiewer " this book made me hate accounting" .After I've read this book for many times I found it very wordy I can summarise the concept in one line whereas the books try to explain too much (2-3 pages)and also irrelavant.Eventhough the authur uses a lot of explanations, but can not be understood.IT is very vital to you to keep your money for the movie, put in the bank ,or doing whatever except buying this book.Anyway this book has a lot of exercises( Not so extremely bad)

Study Guide for Porter/Norton's Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers, 5th

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Study Guide for Porter/Norton's Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers, 5th
Gary A. Porter , and Curtis L. Norton
Manufacturer: South-Western College Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

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ASIN: 0324303181

Book Description

The Study Guide reviews the chapter's main focus, key concepts, and key terms. Students can brush up on homework and test-taking skills. Solutions are provided.

Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers (Cram101 Textbook Outlines - Textbook NOT Included)

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Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers (Cram101 Textbook Outlines - Textbook NOT Included)
Porter , and Norton
Manufacturer: AIPI
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1428809376

Book Description

Never HIGHLIGHT a Book Again! Virtually all testable terms, concepts, persons, places, and events are included.look no further for study resources or reference material. Cram101 Textbook Outlines gives all of the outlines, highlights, notes, and practice-tests for your textbook. Only Cram101 is Textbook Specific. Cram101 is NOT the Textbook.

Ben & Jerry's update: To accompany Porter/Norton Financial accounting, the impact on decision makers, and, alternate edition Financial accounting, the impact on decision makers

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Ben & Jerry's update: To accompany Porter/Norton Financial accounting, the impact on decision makers, and, alternate edition Financial accounting, the impact on decision makers
Shirley Glass
Manufacturer: Dryden Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Financial Accounting : Impact on Decision Makers, hc, 1995

Average customer rating:

Excellent book
Amazon review system mixing two books?
This is a great book
Excellent Foundational Book
Where's my book?

Financial Accounting : Impact on Decision Makers, hc, 1995
Porter/Norton
Manufacturer: 6754b-1,36116-2,3434,30254-1
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0155001922

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book.......2005-08-03

One of the best books in finance. It's very clear and couldn't be simpler. This book is an excellent choice for students who are beginning to learn finance. I highly recommend it. All the books of these authors are great.

Amazon review system mixing two books?.......2004-10-27

From what I can tell, the Amazon review system seems to be mixing at least three books:

1) Fundamental Financial Management, 8th Edition (Study Guide) Authors: Brigham and Houston.
ISBN:003024434X

2)Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods and Authors: Stickney and Weil
ISBN:0030259622

3) Financial Accounting: The Impact on Decision Makers
Authors: Porter and Norton
ISBN:0030270995

Note that some of the reviews refer to Brigham as the author and some to Stickney and Weil.

This is a great book.......2003-06-16

I am currently enrolled in the CFA program (Level II candidate), and this book was used for my first corporate finance class. I must say that I was a bit turned off at first by the amount of colorful pictures and charts the Brigham book contained under the assumption that the more staid the book was, the less gimmicks it had and the better it was (like the Brealey-Myers book). However, I was repeatedly struck by how conscise Brighams' explanations and examples were. The book not only had exhaustive coverage, but it was very well-written. The vignettes at the beginning of each of the chapter really shows a good application of the chapter's lesson in the real world.

When ever I come across a question concerning finance, I almost always reach for the Brigham and Houston book first--it's that good.

Excellent Foundational Book.......2003-01-06

This book is taught in an excellent format for understanding the foundational and fundamental concepts of finance. The authors did an outstanding job with how this text is organized. It's also very simple in the explanation of concepts. Some finance books are written as if they were disssertations. This book brings the concepts down to the common man. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking to start graduate study in finance.

Where's my book?.......2002-09-14

It has been 29 days since I ordered my textbook, it has never arrived, and the seller will not respond to my e-mails...very poor service!

Financial Accounting : The Impact on Decision Makers/Kit with Ben & Jerry's 1992 Annual Report

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Financial Accounting : The Impact on Decision Makers/Kit with Ben & Jerry's 1992 Annual Report
Gary A. Porter , and Curtis L. Norton
Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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