BOOK: Rebels on the Backlot

A book I found on the cheap shelf at Suspect Video, “Rebels on the Backlot” charts the rise (and fall for a few suckers) of all the big so-called ‘indie’ director’s that invaded Hollywood in the late 90’s. If you’ve always wanted reasons to actively dislike directors like Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia) Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) and David O. Russel (Three Kings) this book will be your holy bible. I already cherish the horror in the eyes of thousands of film snobs as they realize that their hero’s aren’t the saints they’ve been dreaming of.

We follow the director’s attempts to get their “big” film off the ground (Fight Club, Magnolia, Being John Malcovich) and everyone’s singular story is broken apart and told in chunks, instead of dedicating whole chapters to each director. It makes indexing harder, but it does make the novel flow a lot easier. Keep in mind the stories aren’t necessarily about the directors breaking into Hollywood, but is instead their attempt at getting their “classic” through the gauntlet of fire like studio system. Author Sharon Waxman interviewed almost every major player in these dramas and she doesn’t go out of her way to paint them in a heavenly hurt artist light. In fact, everyone gets their faults reiterated over and over again. Paul Thomas Anderson is a crazy self centered Auteur. Quentin Tarantino ditches his friends at the drop of the hat. David Russell (As THAT video on the web showed) is incredibly aggressive and mean spirited. None of it is earth shattering stuff, but it does make an interesting read.

At times the words stinks of Tabloid journalism, but with the wide range of participants being (seemingly) honest as they discuss a handful of soon to be classic movies, I’ll have to recommend “Rebels on the Backlot” to all the aspiring filmmakers out there who want a snort of that Hollywood glory. These pages will either fill them with hope or send them back to College for another Arts degrees so they can keep dreaming and avoid the real world.