Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2024-03-08 13:23:33
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Michael Schulman
- ISBN：0062859021
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Renny Thomas
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A great read with the Oscars coming this Sunday。
Ellie
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4。75/5
Chet Slonina
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A great book on the history of the Oscars from its inception to present day。 The book takes us through the stage by stage of the awards and the impact they had on films， life and the coming of age that history placed upon these statuettes。 Unions， advertisements and prejudices help shape the awards for what they are today。 The annual event has drawn sharp criticism and well as well deserved bravados making each show an unsuspected thumbs up or thumbs down。 A decent portrayal and informative pres A great book on the history of the Oscars from its inception to present day。 The book takes us through the stage by stage of the awards and the impact they had on films， life and the coming of age that history placed upon these statuettes。 Unions， advertisements and prejudices help shape the awards for what they are today。 The annual event has drawn sharp criticism and well as well deserved bravados making each show an unsuspected thumbs up or thumbs down。 A decent portrayal and informative presentation that sheds light of many historical facts for you to ponder。 。。。more
Kellie
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Great， behind the scenes， gossipy read！ Now， I'm ready to watch the awards on Sunday！ Great， behind the scenes， gossipy read！ Now， I'm ready to watch the awards on Sunday！ 。。。more
Krista Marie
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I was given a copy of this book for the purpose of this review。。。。I went back and forth on what to rate this book。 It is full of knowledge。 I did learn some things。 But at the same time， it was so packed full of Hollywood knowledge that it was too much。 This could have easily been 2 books。 One on the Oscars and one with a bunch of Hollywood mumbo jumbo。 Also， with some of the more modern people on the cover， I expected to have more current Oscar stuff， but I was to chapter 7 （out of 10） before I I was given a copy of this book for the purpose of this review。。。。I went back and forth on what to rate this book。 It is full of knowledge。 I did learn some things。 But at the same time， it was so packed full of Hollywood knowledge that it was too much。 This could have easily been 2 books。 One on the Oscars and one with a bunch of Hollywood mumbo jumbo。 Also， with some of the more modern people on the cover， I expected to have more current Oscar stuff， but I was to chapter 7 （out of 10） before I really even knew who anyone was （with the exception of just a few here and there in the chapters before。） 。。。more
Michael Lovito
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As an Oscars obsessive， there was no way I wasn't going to enjoy this book at least a little bit。 And yet。。。a good chunk of this felt a little redundant in light of other histories of Hollywood I've already read （I understand it was a very important， shameful event， but did I really need to read 40 more pages about the Hollywood blacklists？）。 At its most insightful when it focuses on the show and organization itself， such as its role in early Hollywood labor disputes， the Snow White fiasco， and As an Oscars obsessive， there was no way I wasn't going to enjoy this book at least a little bit。 And yet。。。a good chunk of this felt a little redundant in light of other histories of Hollywood I've already read （I understand it was a very important， shameful event， but did I really need to read 40 more pages about the Hollywood blacklists？）。 At its most insightful when it focuses on the show and organization itself， such as its role in early Hollywood labor disputes， the Snow White fiasco， and the run up to the La La Land/Moonlight mix up。 A little less vital when it tries to tell stories about which much better and more comprehensive books have been written， such as the rise of New Hollywood （Pictures at a Revolution） or the many evils of Harvey Weinstein （She Said）。 。。。more
Kelly
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This is a lengthy book， but very easy to get caught up in if you enjoy the history of Hollywood and are someone who watches the Oscars every year。 The chapters on the early years of the industry are very informative， but I was surprised I really enjoyed the later chapters on the more recent history of the Oscars that most would be familiar with。 Writing about the La La Land/Moonlight year through the experience of Cheryl Boone-Isaacs was the most interesting chapter for me。
Michelle
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An engaging chronicle of "The Academy" and its awards， from conception to the present day， this book sheds light on the glamourous （and not-so-glamourous）， the groundbreaking， the controversial， and the excitement that goes hand-in-hand with the movie industry。 An engaging chronicle of "The Academy" and its awards， from conception to the present day， this book sheds light on the glamourous （and not-so-glamourous）， the groundbreaking， the controversial， and the excitement that goes hand-in-hand with the movie industry。 。。。more
Matt Pedretti
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10/10 at long last I finished！！！！ What an incredibly well researched book that really tells a holistic story about how ingrained the Hollywood system is in American culture and politics。Goes through the good bad and ugly and doesn’t shy away from how PETTY the establishment and maintenance of the Oscars has been for the past century。 Recommend for the movie and awards girlies only otherwise you’re going to think it’s so silly。
Vin
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I LOVED IT。 Best nonfiction work i have read this year so far。 A+
Sherry
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Fun to read all about the Oscar’s from their inception to the present day。
Lisa Brandt
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I don't have a problem with abandoning a book I'm not enjoying。 I'm leaving this one about 150 or so pages in。 It's not you， Mr。 Schulman， it's me。 There's simply too much detail and minutae to keep my interest。 This book is well researched and detailed。 I'm simply not into it。 I don't have a problem with abandoning a book I'm not enjoying。 I'm leaving this one about 150 or so pages in。 It's not you， Mr。 Schulman， it's me。 There's simply too much detail and minutae to keep my interest。 This book is well researched and detailed。 I'm simply not into it。 。。。more
Eric
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While the book is far more focused on the politics of the movie business and the maneuvering behind the awards than film criticism， I have watched about 10% of the films mentioned and I'm pretty sure I have never watched the Oscars ever。 So I'm not sure what my high rating says for people actually versed in this topic but I was engaged throughout。 While the book is far more focused on the politics of the movie business and the maneuvering behind the awards than film criticism， I have watched about 10% of the films mentioned and I'm pretty sure I have never watched the Oscars ever。 So I'm not sure what my high rating says for people actually versed in this topic but I was engaged throughout。 。。。more
Stephanie
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A really terrific history of the Academy Awards。 Schulman’s ability to synthesize 95 years’ worth of stories， celebrities， facts， legends， “bar trivia，” and important social issues AND keep it all interesting is remarkable。
Chris Strangeman
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This book is engrossing and includes two of my favorite things--movies and social / cultural history。
Ben Tichenor
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a must-read for readers who love movies and The Oscars
Andy
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“Oscar Wars" is as much about business as it is about creativity and out-sized personality。 For expecting this to be a frothy history， I was surprised by the detailed explorations of how the sausage was/is made – from studio system contracts to politicking and power grabs。 People looking for an exhaustive recap of the awards themselves will be disappointed as Schulman presents more a chronicle of Hollywood in 11 eras， with the Oscars serving as a （sometimes loose） connective thread to introduce “Oscar Wars" is as much about business as it is about creativity and out-sized personality。 For expecting this to be a frothy history， I was surprised by the detailed explorations of how the sausage was/is made – from studio system contracts to politicking and power grabs。 People looking for an exhaustive recap of the awards themselves will be disappointed as Schulman presents more a chronicle of Hollywood in 11 eras， with the Oscars serving as a （sometimes loose） connective thread to introduce the films， actors and creators that defined each generation。 The pages are filled with dozens of interesting dramas， many perpetuated by Bette Davis。 While many sections are jarring to read – there’s so much antisemitism， violence， sexism， fat shaming， ageism and racism – it’s also a love letter to people whose influence is still felt， even if their names are lesser known today。I can’t say that I enjoyed each chapter equally， but Schulman did keep my interest with witty transitions and an impressive vocabulary that made this less stodgy than it could’ve been in another historian's hands。 All that to say， personal affinity will influence your enjoyment of various sections。 Still， all cinema lovers will find a lot to enjoy here， especially once the content is influenced more by Schulman’s original research and interviews rather than sources that have been broadly available for decades。 。。。more
Bryant
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An excellent ready for Oscar fans！
Pedro Friedmann
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Muito boa qualidade do conteúdo， bastante completo， bem pesquisado e bem escrito， um prato cheio para quem se interessa pelo assunto。 Para mim talvez um pouco excessivamente detalhado， em muitos capítulos achei que demorou muito para chegar no ponto principal。 Eu particularmente me interessei mais pelas histórias mais recentes do que pelas antigas （mais por uma questão pessoal/subjetiva mesmo） embora no geral todas tenham sido bem contadas e me intrigado até certo ponto。
Julio Garcia
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On audio book。 A wonderful explanation of Oscar history and why this piece of metal has such historical meaning。 I wish there were more information around Oscar’s around the 80s， yet I think there is a ton of fun anecdotes and info。 Just in time for Oscar szn
Ben Picillo
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Entertaining and impressively researched that effectively weaves the history of Hollywood and the Oscars。 Overall， I think it could have been shortened as there was often extraneous detail that could make some sections feel bloated with facts or the comings and goings of a certain actor or exec。 If you're interested in this history， highly recommend。 Entertaining and impressively researched that effectively weaves the history of Hollywood and the Oscars。 Overall， I think it could have been shortened as there was often extraneous detail that could make some sections feel bloated with facts or the comings and goings of a certain actor or exec。 If you're interested in this history， highly recommend。 。。。more
Rachel Seo
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Comprehensive and well-researched。 I enjoyed how the chapters freewheeled and spun through chronicles of contemporaneous events in a way that still made sense linearly。 The framing of the concluding chapters felt underdeveloped， and the implicit conclusions about where the Academy is "now" appeared to be hastily put together。 I wish Schulman had spent just a little bit more time dissecting how the events of the past couple of years color the institution's future。 Comprehensive and well-researched。 I enjoyed how the chapters freewheeled and spun through chronicles of contemporaneous events in a way that still made sense linearly。 The framing of the concluding chapters felt underdeveloped， and the implicit conclusions about where the Academy is "now" appeared to be hastily put together。 I wish Schulman had spent just a little bit more time dissecting how the events of the past couple of years color the institution's future。 。。。more
"Stone Cold" Jane Austen
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Michael Schulman does a nice job running a thread through the history of the Academy Awards， connecting moments that caused shifts throughout the years。 I really enjoyed reading out the eras I wasn't as versed in， and the thought of some of the Oscar races of old （Sunset Boulevard vs All About Eve， Jaws vs Nashville vs Dog Day Afternoon vs One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest） showed how different the industry really is now， where I feel like the majority of the nominees are super forgettable and the Michael Schulman does a nice job running a thread through the history of the Academy Awards， connecting moments that caused shifts throughout the years。 I really enjoyed reading out the eras I wasn't as versed in， and the thought of some of the Oscar races of old （Sunset Boulevard vs All About Eve， Jaws vs Nashville vs Dog Day Afternoon vs One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest） showed how different the industry really is now， where I feel like the majority of the nominees are super forgettable and the movies people actually go to see will not even sniff an Oscar nomination。 It made me kind of long for another Era of Hollywood， where studios invested more in real， yet accessible and ultimately popular stores。 I want to watch some old movies now！ 。。。more
Allie
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Extremely thorough。
Courtney Fortin
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i am the target audience for this book。
Emma Liston Draughn
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Some of it was great， some of it was boring， but all of it was informative。 Wouldn’t read again but I have more movies on my Need To Watch list now！
Jen
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Really enjoyed this little microhistory。 I'm not a huge movie person， but I loved learning all the ins and outs of the major Academy figures of the past。 Who was feuding with who， which stars were politically minded， how traditions were born， etc etc。 A little on the long side， though I wouldn't know what to cut bc this book is packed already。 There are no filler or extras to trim。 Really enjoyed this little microhistory。 I'm not a huge movie person， but I loved learning all the ins and outs of the major Academy figures of the past。 Who was feuding with who， which stars were politically minded， how traditions were born， etc etc。 A little on the long side， though I wouldn't know what to cut bc this book is packed already。 There are no filler or extras to trim。 。。。more
Jack Nix
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A book for any film lover！ Michael Schulman does a deep dive into pivotal years from the Academy’s almost century long history。 This book brings you into the lives of the likes of Bette Davis， Orson Welles， Gregory Peck， Louis B。 Mayer， Hattie McDaniel， Sidney Poitier， and more。 You see how the Academy has evolved over the years， and how it handled the landscape of Hollywood。 I was in heaven reading this one， and will revisit certain chapters each award season。 While it’s essentially a history b A book for any film lover！ Michael Schulman does a deep dive into pivotal years from the Academy’s almost century long history。 This book brings you into the lives of the likes of Bette Davis， Orson Welles， Gregory Peck， Louis B。 Mayer， Hattie McDaniel， Sidney Poitier， and more。 You see how the Academy has evolved over the years， and how it handled the landscape of Hollywood。 I was in heaven reading this one， and will revisit certain chapters each award season。 While it’s essentially a history book， it’s insanely readable and entertaining。 。。。more
Leah
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Wow。 There is so much information packed into this book。 And as a fan of Hollywood history， I did't know a lot of it， which impressed me。 Lots of interesting stuff in here about how the Academy was formed and conflicts that it had with the writers， directors， and acting guilds after they were formed。 Every period of Holllywood is covered from the golden age and transition into sound pictures， the Hayes code， World War II and Vietnam， the rise of independent movies and into modern times with bloc Wow。 There is so much information packed into this book。 And as a fan of Hollywood history， I did't know a lot of it， which impressed me。 Lots of interesting stuff in here about how the Academy was formed and conflicts that it had with the writers， directors， and acting guilds after they were formed。 Every period of Holllywood is covered from the golden age and transition into sound pictures， the Hayes code， World War II and Vietnam， the rise of independent movies and into modern times with blockbusters and Hollywood starting to address racial discrimation regarding the Oscars （although not always so sucessfully）。The section of the book comparing the lives of Hattie Daniels， Sidney Poitier， and Halle Berry was especially interesting。 。。。more
Wesley Alexander
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