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This Terrible Business Has Been Good to Me: An Autobiography

by Norman Jewison

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Overview
Editorial Reviews
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Overview

"For over forty years, Norman Jewison has been one of Hollywood's preeminent storytellers. His films have spanned every genre, from drama to comedy to musical to action, and have been embraced by audiences and critics alike. Throughout his career, Jewison has shown an honesty, humor, and unflappable spirit that have made him one of Hollywood's best-loved and most successful directors, culminating in an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1999." "In this autobiography, Jewison reveals how he went from a quiet childhood in Canada to the heady world of entertainment, working with the biggest stars and winning some of the most sought-after awards. He began his career in television, earning three Emmy Awards for his work with luminaries such as Harry Belafonte, Judy Garland, and Frank Sinatra, but soon made the move to the big screen. In Hollywood, he started out directing romantic comedies with Doris Day and Rock Hudson, but soon proved himself adept as an independent filmmaker with The Cincinnati Kid, starring a young Steve McQueen." "No matter what genre, Jewison's films were career highlights for countless actors, and he offers never before told tales of his own working relationships with the stars and studios. How did he, a Canadian-Christian, get to direct the hit musical Fiddler on the Roof? How did the rugged, motorcycle-riding Steve McQueen convince Jewison he could play the sophisticated Thomas Crown? How did Jewison help invent the futuristic sort of Rollerball? How did Moonstruck reverse a box office curse and go on to become a smash success and multiple Oscar-winner?" This Terrible Business Has Been Good to Me reveals the little-known details in these funny, charming stories of life on the other side of the camera that are sure to become the stuff of Hollywood legend.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Jewison's movies have received 12 Academy Awards and 46 nominations, a remarkable record for a filmography that numbers only 25 films. His autobiography's unassuming style offers a clear, accessible portrait of the man and overflows with revealing anecdotes about such luminaries as Steve McQueen, Doris Day, Al Pacino, Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington. After finding success in live television working with Judy Garland, Jackie Gleason and Danny Kaye, Jewison began his motion picture career with 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962); survived a bomb, The Art of Love (1965); and eventually turned out a series of classics: The Cincinnati Kid (1965), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), Fiddler on the Roof (1971) and Moonstruck (1987). He defines Doris Day (The Thrill of It All, 1963) as a consummate comedian who lacked confidence in her appearance; and Sylvester Stallone (F.I.S.T., 1978) as someone who "behaved like he believed his own publicity." Jewison also describes his approach to filmmaking, explaining his actions at the all-important pitch meeting, and demonstrates how focused a director must be. Honest without becoming a tell-all or an airing of personal problems, the book is a successful study of what it takes to triumph in Hollywood and achieve artistic satisfaction. Photos. (Sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Jewison is a brilliant director who began his career producing live television. With determination, talent, and vision, he became an award-winning filmmaker, earning the prestigious Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1998. In his memoir, he covers his early days in television as well as his directing career, which began with light Doris Day comedies and evolved to encompass controversial movies like The Hurricane and In the Heat of the Night. Jewison elaborates on how he formed his ideas, the various casts and crews with whom he worked, and the production problems he faced along the way. Unfortunately, the anecdotes are only mildly interesting; given that Jewison has worked with stars like Nicholas Cage, Denzel Washington, Steve McQueen, and Jane Fonda, one would expect them to be more compelling. It is difficult to identify the book's audience: there is neither enough technical information for film students nor enough spice here for general readers. Consider a minimal purchase. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 5/15/05.]-Rosalind Dayen, Broward Cty. Lib., FL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Film director/producer Jewison recalls what went into the making of his films. Looking back over a career spent directing and sometimes producing films, Jewison writes with an unassuming, good-humored, yet often forceful voice. Those same qualities may explain Jewison's strong track record-he helmed such award-winners as Moonstruck, Fiddler on the Roof and In the Heat of the Night. Jewison took to directing when he wrote and staged college musicals at the University of Toronto. In the late '50s and early '60s, he went on to call the shots for several Canadian, then US, television variety shows. A Judy Garland special gave him entree to Hollywood, where he cut his teeth on Doris Day comedies, eventually getting a shot at something serious, with The Cincinnati Kid. Jewison's extended account of directing that film is a primer on the collaborative art of filmmaking. He details drawing out a taciturn Steve McQueen, designing a color palette with cinematographer Philip Lathrop, spending long editing sessions with Hal Ashby and getting the kind of musical score he needed from Lalo Schifrin. Equally valuable accounts of work on The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!, The Thomas Crown Affair, A Soldier's Story, etc., follow. Throughout his career, it appears, Jewison was straight up, though not arrogant, about going for what he wanted; he could handle difficult talent (with the possible exception of Sylvester Stallone on F.I.S.T.); and he went after a film only if it was about something that mattered-rights for blacks, the American legal system, the union movement. In the wake of his concerns came skirmishes with the F.B.I., an uneasy dinner party with John Wayne-and a roster of worthyfilms. Instructive, engaging, entertaining-enough to make a reader believe filmmaking really isn't a terrible business.

From the Publisher

PRAISE FOR NORMAN JEWISON:

"Making Moonstruck was so easy and so much fun that nobody thought it would be anything but this sweet little film... except Norman (my little curmudgeon). Just look at the diversity of his work - In the Heat of the Night, Moonstruck, Fiddler on the Roof — only the GREAT directors are able to cross those boundaries." - Cher

"Norman Jewison is the sunniest of men, friendly, approachable, filled with boundless optimism. Those qualities not only warm his brilliant comedies, of which Moonstruck is my favorite, but also give him the fortitude to address grave and controversial issues. He is a 'mainstream' director who courageously follows his conscience into projects far from the mainstream. His career reflects a rare combination of popular and artistic success." - Roger Ebert

"Norman's book is like Norman; smart, warm, interesting, and a delight to spend time with." - Sidney Lumet

"A fiercely human and vastly entertaining memoir by a maker of fiercely human and vastly entertaining films. Norman Jewison is a man with a great heart and generosity of spirit." — Joe Eszterhas, author of Hollywood Animal

"A terrific book about Hollywood...funny, honest, and tough — like

Jewison." - William Goldman, screenwriter, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

"If you want to find Norman Jewison, follow the movies. They are not his life. But they are the massive and various evidence that a man of substance and dumbfounding productivity has passed by here. So many genres: social realism, political satire, romance, musicals, issues of race. And so many faces: Steve McQueen, Doris Day, Al Pacino, Sidney Poitier, Sir Michael Caine, Cher, Denzel Washington, Anne Bancroft, Rod Steiger. All these stories and faces and issues and eras of our lives. - Pulitzer Prize-winner John Patrick Shanley, from the Foreword