Infamous Players

March 21, 2011
Former Paramount v-p and Variety editor-in-chief Bart (Shoot Out) takes readers on a wild ride through the years he spent at the struggling film studio from 1967 to 1975. He came aboard at the behest of Paramount's new chief of production, Robert "the kid stays in the picture" Evans, leaving behind a promising journalism career and moving to Los Angeles. Paramount had recently been acquired by an eccentric man named Charles Bluhdorn, whose taste in films was questionable and whose temper was legendary. But Bluhdorn had the finances necessary to save Paramount from ruin, so Bart and Evans were forced to push through projects that had no hope of commercial successâsuch as Darling Lili, a musical that romantically paired Julie Andrews and the not-so-secretly gay Rock Hudsonâand pass on others if they weren't to Bluhdorn's liking, such as Funny Girl. But Bart also recounts some of the studio's triumphs, particularly Love Story (1970), the original True Grit (1969)âwhich Bart found for John Wayneâand the cult classic Harold and Maude (1971), another personal project. With anecdotes about well-known stars mixed with the ins and outs of trying to keep a film studio afloat, this memoir is perfect for cinephiles yearning for a behind-the-scenes view.

March 15, 2011

Bart, former vice president of Paramount Pictures, had a ringside seat at the creation of some of the most celebrated and derided films of the late Sixties and Seventies. In this memoir (titled with a tweak of Paramount's original name, Famous Players), he covers the agonies and ecstasies of the productions of The Godfather, Chinatown, Paint Your Wagon, Darling Lili, and Rosemary's Baby--to name but a few in this decidedly mixed bag. Bart, who began his career as a New York Times reporter, got his production gig as a result of writing an admiring profile of Robert Evans. The taciturn reporter accepted the job against his better judgment and here chronicles his 17-year sojourn from that tepid point of view. VERDICT A rehash of oft-told inside Hollywood tales related with a prissiness that undercuts their sybaritic essence. Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and Robert Evans's The Kid Stays in the Picture cover the same ground with considerably more brio.--John Frank, Los Angeles P.L.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2011
In 1967, Bart, a newspaper reporter covering the Hollywood beat, joined the struggling Paramount Pictures as the right-hand man to the studios new chief of production, the as-yet-untested Robert Evans. For the next eight years, as Hollywood underwent some seismic shifts (moviemaking itself was in the midst of massive stylistic and thematic changes), Bart was involved in the making of some classic films (Rosemarys Baby, The Odd Couple, The Godfather) and some notorious flops (Hurry Sundown, Darling Lili). Its a very personal, opinionated memoir, just the ticket for fans of such Hollywood books as Evans The Kid Stays in the Picture or William Goldmans Adventures in the Screen Trade. The galley distributed for review contains some apparent errors: for example, the author quotes himself, in the late 1960s, referring to two Paddy Chayefsky movies that werent made until several years later. Lets hope these lapses get sorted out before the book goes to print, but either way, they shouldnt keep anyone from reading this rollicking insiders account of one of the more interesting periods in Hollywood history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

Starred review from April 15, 2011

Hollywood, the psychedelic years.

Bart recalls his tumultuous tenure as Vice President of Paramount, a once-proud studio struggling to adjust to changing audience tastes in the late sixties and seventies. Bart came to the picture business via an untraditional route--he had previously worked as a reporter for the New York Times--and his rise would be inextricably linked with that of Robert Evans, the famously brash and sybbaritic former apparel executive who had charmed his way into the Hollywood elite after an undistinguished acting career. Together, Bart and Evans, under the supervision of their voluable and impetuous corporate master, Charles Bluhdorn, would make Paramount an exemplar of the "new" Hollywood, championing innovative, era-defining projects including The Godfather, Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, and Love Story. It was a bumpy ride, and Bart drolly dishes on bad behavior both behind and in front of the camera, marveling at the ability of great cinema to survive the egos, private agendas, bad behavior, and appalling stupidity that run rampant in the highest echelons of the industry. Bart's behind-the-scenes reminiscences of the productions of such legendary productions is insightful and endlessly diverting for any fan of the period's films, and he limns the personalities and career arcs of such luminaries as Warren Beatty, Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford, and Francis Ford Coppola with a wealth juicy details and good humor. Infamous Players stands as a sort of cheeky, breezy companion to Peter Biskinds epic Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, which documents the same period...but Bart's account is faster, more personal, and more fun.

An irresistible insider's account of one of Hollywood's most vital and storied eras.

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