Out of Focus: Power, Pride and Prejudice--David Puttnam in Hollywood

New York: William Morrow; Silver Arrow Books, 1989. 336 pages, portraits; 25 cm. Near fine. Tight, clean copy. Age toning. Stated First Edition. Dust jacket protected in a mylar cover. "When Englishman David Puttnam, Oscar-winning producer of Chariots of Fire and The Killing Fields, was named chairman and CEO of Columbia Pictures in 1986 and given a $300 million production budget, he promised to break every rule the Hollywood establishment held dear. He kept that promise and, in the process, alienated the entire film community. Never before had an 'artistic' outsider been given command of a major film studio. Puttnam's appointment by The Coca-Cola Company, owners of Columbia, astounded the power elite of Hollywood. No target was too big for the charismatic studio chief. Stars like Dustin Hoffman, Warren Beatty, and Bill Murray soon felt his scorn. Big budgets, famous stars, and well-known directors were out. Huge hits, like Moonstruck, were turned away at the studio gates, while completely esoteric features (one was filmed in Afghan dialect) were welcomed inside. But Puttnam, always available for an interview, soon became the media's darling. The Puttnam regime lasted barely a year. He exited the studio as he had entered, in a swirl of controversy. Was he fired? Or did he resign? In the tradition of Final Cut and Indecent Exposure, Out of Focus is more than just the David Puttnam saga--it reveals how Hollywood really works. For the first time, producer Ray Stark (The Way We Were, Biloxi Blues), Warren Beatty, producer Don Simpson (Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop), Wall Street's Herbert A. Allen, Brandon Tartikoff (president of NBC Entertainment), and many other Hollywood insiders go public to tell one of the most revealing and compelling film stories of the decade [1980s]." - Publisher.. 1st. Hardcover. Very Good/Fine. 8vo. Collectible.