The Devil's Candy: The Anatomy Of A Hollywood Fiasco
Wall Street Journal film critic Salamon systematically and incisively lays out the process that conceived of Bonfire as a socially relevant epic, then turned it into a successor to Heaven's Gate. Moving from pre- to post-production, she charts the ruinous situations--the stars' high salaries and scheduling problems, the limited range of Bruce Willis, the conflicting messages from studio heads and more. The requisite tidbits are here, as well--did Melanie Griffith have breast augmentation during the shooting? (Yes.) What does Brian DePalma drink for lunch? (Three cappuccinos.) There is also much detailed material on how a movie is made, including the range of instruments used to recreate sounds and the type of beading attached to Griffith's eye-popping party dress. Casual film fans may be overwhelmed by the scope of Salamon's information; aficionados will feel they've finally gotten enough. More speculation would have been welcome on whether Hollywood will learn from the mistakes of Bonfire or always fall prey to "the devil's candy"--that "impossible, expensive, possibly monumental thing."420 Photos not seen by PW. First serial to Vanity Fair.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.