The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale Of Moguls, Movies, And A Company Called DreamWorks (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
Terrific reporting on the creation and early years of DreamWorks Studios. I’m a sucker for these behind the curtain scoops on the entertainment industry and wasn’t disappointed in LaPorte’s detailed reporting. Of course, there are a couple juicy nuggets of celebrity gossip and in-fighting, but the majority of the book focuses on the business details of the three men who helped build DreamWorks (Spielberg, Geffen, and Katzenberg) and the inevitable conflicts between art and business, ambitious dreams and practical realities, and the battling egos of ambitious industry pioneers. Recommended for anyone interested in the backstage business of Hollywood. This book is totally captivating. I love looking at behind the scenes issues surrounding movies and this book did not disappoint. A perfect sequel to Disney War, The Men Who Would be King discusses Steven Spielberg, Jeffery Katzenberg and David Geffen in such detail that it makes you feel like you know an awful lot about the characters by the end of the book. I especially enjoyed the part where the book discusses the behind the scenes lobbying in Hollywood surrounding the academy awards. I've often suspected that there was an intense amount of lobbying in the academy and this book confirmed my suspicions.Highly entertaining and even gave me some board room drama that I'm so fond of.
What do You think about The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale Of Moguls, Movies, And A Company Called DreamWorks (2010)?
An interesting, behind the scenes look at how (part of) Hollywood works.
—haley
Must-read for anyone interested in The Biz. Very inside-baseball look.
—Pookie
Very interesting look at how DreamWorks came to be.
—Shore
