I read a lot of books about film, but my favorite ones are always about the business itself. I am fascinated by the wheeling, dealing and backstabbing that is part of getting a movie made. Few books open this world up as well as Art Linson’s What Just Happened?. Linson is a producer – you may have seen a film or two of his, like maybe Fight Club – who also happens to have a droll writing style that makes his dispatches from development hell a joy to read.
As much as I like What Just Happened?, I never imagined it as a movie. That just goes to show why I am not a big time Hollywood producer. Robert DeNiro will star in the film version, which he is also producing, and which will be highly fictionalized. It will feature cameos by real stars as themselves, which is becoming so common it’s not even remotely interesting anymore.
Barry Levinson – who has rightfully been in director jail for some time – will be directing. Here’s hoping that the material will wake both Levinson and DeNiro out of their slumps.
In the meantime support CHUD and get a good book by clicking here and ordering What Just Happened?