Here, exclusively for the guardian, he explains how he got the inside track on the apartment, his. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of the hollywood golden age of cinema. The interview is an entertaining read, not to be missed. He was born samuel wilder on june 22, 1906 in sucha, then part of the austro. Billy wilder has 19 books on goodreads with 5286 ratings.
Interviews conversations with filmmakers series by robert horton isbn. Billy wilder 19062002 was the first person to win an academy award as producer, director and screenwriter for the same film. It was 1949, and the oscarwinning director and acidic. Billy wilder talks about choosing story in a rare 1961 interview. Brought to us by worldrenowned art book publisher taschen to celebrate wilders 95th birthday, the volume is bursting with color, creativity and.
The effervescent comic charm of jack lemmon and quirky beauty of shirley maclaine give the film a palatable sweetness while she would be given more glamorous treatment in later films, maclaine was never more adorable than. Wilder was also famed for classic movies including some. Billy wilder dismisses rumors that hes unhappy about the adaptation of his film. When talking about director and screenwriter billy wilder, one really only needs to list the titles of his many triumphs in genres as disparate as light comedy and film noir. For years, ace in the hole was the phantom item in billy wilders filmography. Excerpts from the excellent book conversations with wilder, a series of interviews cameron crowe conducted with billy wilder. Originally planning to become a lawyer, billy wilder abandoned that career in favor of working as a reporter for a viennese newspaper, using this experience to move to berlin, where he worked for the citys largest tabloid. Cameron crowe, filmmaker, writer and director, discusses his new book about billy wilder. And if youre looking for even more wisdom from billy wilder, here are our top five pithy pieces of screenwriting advice from the book conversations with wilder, by cameron crowe. In double indemnity i had a final scene with the character in the gas chamber. With the apartment, wilder became the first person to win academy awards as. Billy wilders 10 tips for screenwriting boing boing. Wilder won six oscars as a producer, director or cowriter.
The following interview focuses on these three films as billy wilder provides his insights and observations regarding film noir. Mar 28, 2002 film director billy wilder has died at the age of 95. Always daring hollywood censors limits on content, billy wilder direct. Billy wilder on the set of some like it hot 1959 with the crossdressing jack lemmon. Conversations with wilder billy wilder, cameron crowe. Film director cameron crowe already had a few movies under his beltsingles, say anythingwhen he approached directing great billy wilder. After two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an allfemale band disguised as women, but further complications set in. Billy wilder always liked to thread a strong streak of cynicism through his comedies, and he rarely made a film with a darker undertow than the apartment. Billy wilder, austrianborn american motionpicture director and producer known for films that humorously treat subjects of controversy and offer biting indictments of hypocrisy in american life.
Charlotte chandler, author of authorized bios on groucho marx and federico fellini, met wilder in the mid1970s and began a friendship that continued until his death. Books by billy wilder author of conversations with wilder. Interviews conversations with filmmakers paperback apr 24, 2002. Billy wilder speaks is the work of german director volker schlondorff, who in 1989 had already known wilder for twentyfive years. Billy wilders timeless advice to screenwriters screencraft.
Billy wilder born samuel wilder was a polishborn, jewishamerican journalist, screenwriter, academy awardwinning film director and producer, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. This interview was conducted by robert porfirio in july 1975. Billy wilder, the director, writer and producer of both antic farce and serious drama who was nominated for 21 academy awards and won six, has died. Always daring hollywood censors limits on content, billy wilder directed greats such as marilyn monroe, jack lemmon, ginger rogers, marlene dietrich, kirk douglas, audrey hepburn, and gary cooper.
Taken together, the interviews form an unofficial memoir of a sophisticated. Gene d phillips one of the most accomplished writers and directors of classic hollywood, billy wilder 19062002 directed numerous acclaimed films, including sunset boulevard 1950, sabrina 1954, the seven year. Wilder told cameron crowe, whose excellent book conversations with wilder is a mustread. Charles jacksons the lost weekend became billy wilders acclaimed 1945 moviebut its autobiographical strains foreshadowed a sad end for the author. Interviews conversations with filmmakers paperback horton. The knockout is going to be devastating i tell people, worry about this fight. Interviews conversations with filmmakers paperback. Taken together, the interviews form an unofficial memoir of a sophisticated artist once described by a colleague as the most unusual and amusing man in hollywood. There is something quite special about wilders films. His 1960 film the apartment, about corporate corruption, won three academy awards. Billy wilder has had a powerful creative influence on both the experimental and traditional film industries in america. Ace in the hole by billy wilder billy wilder, kirk douglas. When you started in film, there was a kind of an angst pervading central europe after world war i.
With marilyn monroe, tony curtis, jack lemmon, george raft. Man of action, deontay wilder on tyson fury rematch. Billy wilder 19062002 was an austrianborn american filmmaker. The film the apartment 1960 stared jack lemmon, shirley maclaine, and fred macmurray and is certainly in my top10 favorite movies of all time. Wilder initially pursued a career in journalism after being inspired by an american newsreel. Billy wilder on how to tell compelling stories the every. Corbis outlinemichael oneill i ts often forgotten in this era of moviesondemand, but there was a time when you could wait years for a chance to see some like it hot. Ace in the hole by billy wilder billy wilder, kirk. French film critic michel ciment interviews billy wilder about his life and filmmaking. The following interview with billy wilder was conducted by robert porfirio in july 1975. Starting with a celebrated 1944 life magazine profile, the book traces his. Aug 10, 20 one of the book s highlights is a list of ten screenwriting tips by wilder.
Billy wilders some like it hot dvd edition taschen books. Also featured is an appreciation of ace in the hole from filmmaker spike lee who shows off his autographed lobby card from the movie, a interview with kirk douglas shot in 1984 in which he discusses working with wilder, an audioonly interview with walter newman who cowrote the screenplay, and a gallery of stills from the picture. Diamond the american film institute double indemnity. After years as a reporterhighlighted by a single day during which he interviewed richard straus, arthur schnitzler, alfred adler, and sigmund freud wilder gravitated to berlin. In 1930 with lee tracy as the reporter and adolphe menjou as his managing editor, and again in 1940, when director howard hawks got the bright idea of making the reporter a girl the new title was his girl. The lost weekenda novel about five disastrous days in the life of alcoholic don birnamwas an improbable success when it was published in 1944. Among his most notable films are double indemnity, the lost weekend, sunset boulevard, the apartment, and some like it hot. He broke into films as a screenwriter in 1929 and wrote scripts for many german films until adolf hitler came to power in. After sunset boulevard, charles brackett and i parted friends. Over there at the piano, swirling a drink, is the doomed walter neff from. The effervescent comic charm of jack lemmon and quirky beauty of shirley maclaine give the film a palatable sweetness while she would be given more glamorous treatment in later films. Billy wilder on the front page interviews roger ebert. Enter your email address here and well update you on availability.
Here, in an extraordinary book with more than 650 blackandwhite photographs including film posters, stills, grabs, and neverbeforeseen pictures from wilder s own collection the ninetythreeyearold icon talks to cameron. Born june 22, 1906, in sucha, austria now part of poland. Samuel billy wilder was born june 22, 1906 in vienna, in the austrohungarian empire. Billy wilders career stretches back to the late 1920s, when he collaborated on the scripts for several films made in germany, including the classic semidocumentary people on sunday1929. And, you know, theres no better film school really than listening to what billy wilder says. In nobodys perfect, billy wilder speaks for himself, in what is as close to an autobiography as there ever will be. Here are 10 tips about moviemaking that he shared in. My hero billy wilder, by david nicholls books the guardian. When hitler came into power, wilder fled to france and eventually ended up in america.
An invaluable, photointensive volume, a kind of remake of truffauts mustread interview book hitchcock, with cameron crowe in the inquisitive truffaut role and wily 93yearold billy wilder as the crafty master director. He soon overcame his limited knowledge of the english language and began work in hollywood, contributing to the. A director must be a policeman, a midwife, a psychoanalyst, a sycophant and a bastard. Billy wilder more excerpts from a sitdown interview with writerdirector billy wilder and longtime screenwriting partner i. Sep 25, 2001 in conversations with wilder, hollywoods legendary and famously elusive director billy wilder agrees for the first time to talk extensively about his life and work. Here, in an extraordinary book with more than 650 blackandwhite photographs including film posters, stills, grabs, and neverbeforeseen pictures from wilders own collection the ninetythreeyearold icon talks to cameron crowe, one of todays bestknown writerdirectors, about thirty years at the very heart of hollywood, and about. Conversations with wilder npr talk of the nation the. The apartment by billy wilder billy wilder, jack lemmon. In conversations with wilder, hollywoods legendary and famously elusive director billy wilder agrees for the first time to talk extensively about his life and work.
Oct 03, 2014 billy wilder talks about choosing story in a rare 1961 interview. Billy wilder talks about choosing story in a rare 1961. One of the book s highlights is a list of ten screenwriting tips by wilder. Twelve years together, but the split had been coming. Mar 29, 2002 billy wilder, the director, writer and producer of both antic farce and serious drama who was nominated for 21 academy awards and won six, has died. Originally planning to become a lawyer, billy wilder abandoned that career in favor of working as a reporter for a viennese newspaper. Billy wilder, original name samuel wilder, born june 22, 1906, sucha, austria now in polanddied march 27, 2002, beverly hills, california, u. Film director billy wilder has died at the age of 95. Nov 03, 2017 billy wilder more excerpts from a sitdown interview with writerdirector billy wilder and longtime screenwriting partner i. Imagine for a moment a party, a somewhat elegant affair, populated solely by characters from the films of billy wilder. Feb 19, 2019 billy wilder was the director of many excellent movies, including sunset boulevard, some like it hot, and double indemnity. Billy wilder was the director of many excellent movies, including sunset boulevard, some like it hot, and double indemnity. The jerry maguire director loves billy wilders films so much hes written a book about them.
Billy wilder about billy wilder american masters pbs. Here, in an extraordinary book with more than 650 blackandwhite photographs including film posters, stills, grabs, and neverbeforeseen pictures from wilders own collection the ninetythreeyearold icon talks to cameron. Interviews follows the filmmaking career of one of hollywoods most honored and successful writerdirectors and spans over fifty years. Difficult to pin down for interviews, wilder was working with another documentarian in his little writing office in beverly hills when schlondorff piggybacked his camera for a rehearsal for a possible interview. I know a lot of people that have already xeroxed that list and put it by their typewriter, crowe said in a 1999 npr interview. As a result, the book is a rich compendium of primary source material, containing interviews with wilder himself, kirk douglas, jack lemmon, shirley maclaine. Cast billy wilder himself michel ciment himself interviewer jack lemmon himself walter matthau himself i.
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