...a fantastically entertaining memoir that shows the movie business in high definition. It is part how-to guide, peppered with frank lists that crunch hard-won advice into easily digestible bites, and will be useful for young film-makers – but the layperson will inhale it for the gossip and what it reveals about the frankly bewildering systems of power that prop up the entertainment business. Zwick writes briskly and warmly, with a clear eye to keeping things moving. He admits early on that he is pulled between telling a good story and a desire “not to be excommunicated from certain Hollywood parties that I don’t care to attend anyway.' Happily for the reader, the storytelling wins that battle.

Zwick has seen things and done things, and he’s reached a stage of his career—and, 15 years after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, in his life—where he’s unafraid whom he might offend.

Not everyone is remembered so fondly, but the author on the whole comes off as humble about his success and charmingly self-deprecating. Writing in an age of superhero franchises and declining theatrical attendance, he observes with a sigh that 'movies for grown-ups on a large scale,' his métier, 'just aren’t being made these days.' There are notable exceptions to that claim, of course, but his memoir still evokes an era of Hollywood that feels different from our own..

Filled with both behind-the-scenes anecdotes, including his difficulties with Matthew Broderick on Glory and his attempts to wrangle a young Julia Roberts for Shakespeare in Love, and his pointed and insightful tips for directing and writing and thoughtful meditations on making a life in the arts, there’s plenty to enjoy here for film buffs and aspiring creatives alike..

The memoir shares plenty of juicy stories about big-name stars and Hollywood execs, but they aren’t there for mere titillation; Zwick focuses instead on how the stressors of filmmaking impact both the creative process and a filmmaker’s personal well-being. He has a disarming way of relating the most glamorous highs of his career, followed by setbacks, disappointments, and lingering self-doubt. Although Zwick’s accomplishments are numerous, he eschews self-congratulation in favor of arguing for the power of storytelling to enrich the lives of both audiences and creators. His disappointment with the current Hollywood preference for profit over artistry is palpable and affecting..

None of the dish Zwick delivers is very spicy or surprising—DiCaprio likes women, Cruise is intense, Brad Pitt has an ego, Shia LaBeouf is mercurial—but it explains how easily personality clashes can derail a project and how a good director manages the difficult dance between art and commerce in an industry overflowing with narcissists..

...a rollicking career retrospective that looks back at temperamental actors, vengeful studio heads, and the mysterious alchemy that governs great filmmaking.