He Knew Something

William Goldman has died.  He was a novelist (Marathon Man, Princess Bride) and playwright, but perhaps best known as a screenwriter, winning two Academy Awards for Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid and All The President's Men. And yet, I think I'll remember him best for his non-fiction.

For one thing, he wrote The Season, his take on a full year of Broadway in the late 60s.  He wrote about every play that came out, using them to illustrate how various parts of the system worked--the producers, the stars, the critics and so on.  His funny, conversational style was more memorable than most of the plays he discussed.

Even more groundbreaking was his early 80s book Adventures In The Screen Trade, where he wrote about his experiences in movies.  It came out during a rough patch where the two-time Oscar winner couldn't sell a screenplay.

It was about the craft of screenwriting, as well as the bizarre world of Hollywood.  Most memorable are the two rules he had.  Regarding writing for movies, he stated "Screenplays are structure." If you're a novelist, or a playwright, the quality of your writing is of the utmost importance, but good writing won't save a movie if the structure doesn't work, and plenty of movies have worked even with dreadful writing.

Even more memorable was his maxim about show business, "Nobody knows anything." Sure, they talk a good game, but every flop had a bunch of people, often the most successful, convinced they had something.  And just about every hit had tremendous problems getting off the ground, with plenty of people doubting it should be made.  Everyone--writers, directors, producers, stars--is ultimately guessing what will work.  They may have some expertise, but the only certainty is after the fact.