Star, Peter Biskind
Star, Peter Biskind
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Star
How Warren Beatty Seduced America

Author: Peter Biskind

Narrator: David Drummond

Unabridged: 23 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 02/15/2010


Synopsis

Famously a playboy, Warren Beatty has also been one of the most ambitious and successful stars in Hollywood. Several Beatty films have passed the test of time, from Bonnie and Clyde (which confirmed for him the importance of controlling the projects he was involved in) to Shampoo, Heaven Can Wait, Reds (for which he won the best director Oscar), Bugsy, and Bulworth. Few filmgoers realize that along with Orson Welles, Beatty is the only person ever nominated for four Academy Awards for a single film—and unlike Welles, Beatty did it twice, with Heaven Can Wait and Reds. Peter Biskind shows how Beatty used star power, commercial success, savvy, and charm to bend Hollywood moguls to his will, establishing an unprecedented level of independence while still working within the studio system.

Beatty's private life has been the subject of gossip for decades, and Star confirms his status as Hollywood's leading man in the bedroom, describing his affairs with Joan Collins, Natalie Wood, Leslie Caron, Julie Christie, Michelle Phillips, Diane Keaton, and Madonna, among many others.

Throughout his career, Beatty has demonstrated a fascination for politics. He was influential in the 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns of Gary Hart. It was said of Hart and Beatty that each wanted to be the other, and Biskind shows that there was considerable truth in that wry observation. As recently as a few years ago, Beatty was speaking out about California politics and contemplating a run for governor.

Biskind explains how Beatty exercised unique control, often hiring screenwriters out of his own pocket (and frequently collaborating with them), producing, directing, and acting in his own films, becoming an auteur before anyone in Hollywood knew what the word meant. He was arguably one of the most successful and creative figures in Hollywood during the second half of the twentieth century, and in this fascinating biography, Warren Beatty comes to life—complete with excesses and achievements—as never before.

About Peter Biskind

Peter Biskind is a journalist and a former executive editor of Premiere magazine. He is best known for his entertaining and provocative portrayals of life in Hollywood. He is the author of a number of national bestsellers, including Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood; Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film; and Gods and Monsters: Movers, Shakers, and Other Casualties of the Hollywood Machine. Peter has written for Rolling Stone, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, and has served as contributing editor at Vanity Fair.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Judith on September 27, 2010

"Madonna turned thirty-two on August 16. She picked up Tony Ward, age twenty-seven, on the beach at Malibu during a party thrown for her by friends. Recalls Jeremy Pikser, who had been hired by both Beatty and Madonna to write scripts, 'He tried to stay friends with her but she was mad at him. ' The......more

Goodreads review by Tom on April 12, 2010

You can tell this is an authorized bio. Why else would Biskind say something like "Bugsy was far and away the best picture that year". Really, better than Silence of the Lambs, that ended up winning the Oscar? Maybe you think so Peter, but it's certainly debatable. There's also a section where he ta......more

Goodreads review by Kit on December 03, 2010

I almost don't care what the subject is, I'll grind a Peter Biskind book up into a fine powder and do massive rails of it off my coffee table. His writing is always entertaining as shit and he never ceases to dig up some serious dirt. One kinda awkward stylistic thing, though: I noticed several pop......more

Goodreads review by F.R. on April 10, 2023

A fascinating book about someone who holds himself almost divinely remote. A story of a great seducer, whose subject does not come across all that well. It almost feels like Peter Biskind – who met with Beatty – has come through the other side and is now left cold by him. It’s not Roger Lewis’s book......more

Goodreads review by Michael on June 21, 2013

Peter Biskind is an obvious fan of film, and has written some truly insightful books about the American film industry, of which my favorite is "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls." This book, "Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America," is not quite in that league, but is still a fun summer read. It is an insig......more