Sleepless in Hollywood: Tales from the New Abnormal in the Movie Business
Obst’s Hello, He Lied (1996) was both a survivor’s guide to Hollywood and a memoir; her latest outing mixes her firsthand account of navigating the changing movie- and television-making business with the perspectives of other industry bigwigs. The producer of hit movies such as Sleepless in Seattle and Contact, Obst left a deal at Fox to work at Paramount in the late 1990s, just before a decade of upheaval hit the studio. As DVD revenues began to disappear, thanks to the rise of digital streaming and piracy, the studios saw their profit margins cut drastically and looked to other forms of revenue, such as international box-office numbers. Obst weathered the storm at Paramount for a decade, making the hit How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, before losing her deal and moving over to Sony, where she ventured into television, which she found to be overtaking features in terms of quality and star power. Written in warm, conversational prose, Obst’s tales from the movie front together offer an engrossing look at the state of the entertainment industry today. --Kristine Huntley