You're Only As Good As Your Next One

Mike Medavoy climbed the ranks from studio mailroom to studio head, maintaining (amazingly) a sense of dignity and fair play throughout. While his humanity is not the most remarkable thing about his sojourn in Hollywood, his having had a hand in the creation of such films as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Raging Bull, Silence of the Lambs, and Amadeus while remaining humane is. Even such a short list as this is telling--Medavoy commits to quality, artistic integrity, and trusting the creative process even when it is the opposite of conventional wisdom. Yet Medavoy admits to heading his share of merely decent flicks, as well as movies "for which I should be shot." Brisk, conversational, and intelligent writing supported by Robertson Dean's equally intelligent and ingenuous read provides a deeply informative listen. D.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

January 28, 2002
Studio mogul Medavoy and journalist Young worked for two years on this hefty Hollywood history. Documenting decades of filmmaking with authoritative ease, Medavoy's memoir mainly focuses on ad campaigns, big budgets, box-office battles, executive egos, movie marketing and the politics of deal-making. Slipping in only four paragraphs about his childhood in Shanghai and Chile, his UCLA education and his family history, Medavoy instead tells of his career's early years, starting in the Universal mailroom, then moving into casting. Rising as a top agent, he packaged such films as The Getaway
and Jaws, and his client list included Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg and Jane Fonda. "I had two requirements for my clients," he writes, "that they be talented and that they be passionate about their work." Medavoy moved into production by joining United Artists in 1974, and his insider anecdotes of those productions (Rocky, Apocalypse Now, Coming Home
and New York, New York) are revelatory. Cofounding Orion in 1978, he worked with leading talents like Woody Allen and oversaw top-grossing films (e.g., The Silence of the Lambs
and Dances with Wolves). In 1990 he became chairman of Tri-Star, a stint that was followed by more successes in the mid-1990s with Phoenix Pictures. Other chapters detail his efforts to garner Hollywood support during Gary Hart's and Bill Clinton's presidential campaigns. Medavoy maps some of the same territory readers know from Robert Evans's The Kid Stays in the Picture
and Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, yet the writing lacks the electricity and humor found in those titles. This is a solid memoir, yet some may wish Medavoy had covered certain films in depth instead of compressing 40 years to fit into one book. Photos not seen by PW. (Feb. 15)Forecast: Anyone interested in the marketing of motion pictures will seek this book out.