Books

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

DreamWorks moguls turn getting even into art form

Reviewed by: Gene Walz

Posted: 07/10/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

AP Enlarge Image

Steven Spielberg

The Men Who Would Be King

An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks

Enlarge Image

By Nicole LaPorte

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 491 pages, $28

This is the story of three Hollywood moguls who had it all and wanted more.

Steven Spielberg is the most familiar -- the director of immensely lucrative blockbusters who has somehow managed to remain a nice Jewish boy at age 63.

David Geffen is probably the most mysterious, a behind-the-scenes operator who made billions through shrewd moves in the music business.

Jeffrey Katzenberg was one of the hot-shot executives who saved Disney animation in the 1980s and then fell victim to a surprising, heartless dismissal.

When he was fired, Katzenberg became the driving force behind the idea to create a new studio from scratch. The studio was to champion works based on artistic merit, not crass, bottom-line commercialism.

At the start-up press conference in April 1994, it was compared to the founding of United Artists in 1919 by Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and D.W. Griffith.

It had a cute name, DreamWorks, and an even cuter logo: a barefoot boy with a stick, a string and a bobber fishing from a sliver of the moon.

Perhaps their intentions were as idealistic as they sounded. Hollywood is great at "blue-skying." But the reality turned out much differently. Getting even for them was an art form.

As chronicler Nicole Laporte indicates, "the company was built on mountains of hype," was accountable to no one, and, when the studio sold out to Paramount, the anti-DreamWorks, the three idealists made hundreds of millions and their employees got nada.

What's more, the Dream Team stifled all attempts at anything but cheerleading journalism and refused to grant any interviews for Laporte's book.

In fact, these three guys make alpha dogs look like toy poodles. They make survival of the fittest look like social work. They are three varieties of Tyrannosaurus Rex, dressed down in baseball caps, casual slacks, and open-collared shirts.

Every drama needs good villains. The biggest one here, if you don't count the cynicism and exploitation of the three principals as villainous, is Michael Eisner.

Eisner not only fired Katzenberg, whom many thought would be his more worthy successor, he refused to pay him his contracted bonuses. One of the potential threats to DreamWorks thus becomes Katzenberg's obsession with getting his money.

At the high point of the book, he not only gets his just deserts, he gets far more than he originally wanted; he pockets $280 million! And Eisner gets turfed by Disney.

Laporte, who covered DreamWorks for Variety, the insider magazine of the Hollywood industry, sets up her story as a series of skirmishes that threaten the viability of the new studio.

It reads a bit like the movie Lord of the Rings: some guys set off on a journey; bad guys show up; fight, fight, fight; resume journey; more bad guys; fight, fight, fight. Etc.

As the book lurches from crisis to crisis, it becomes clear that much of the damage is self-inflicted. Too much ambition. (They wanted everything: music, video games, movies, TV, animation.) Poor planning. Mistakes in hiring. Unnecessary distractions. And for some reason Spielberg insists on making movies for rival studios.

DreamWorks has some stupendous successes: Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator, American Beauty, the Shrek franchise. But they also make some lamentable turkeys as well.

There is a Canadian connection. Pop singer Nelly Furtado's signing with DreamWorks Records gets a couple of pages. And Edgar Bronfman is shown to be a gullible wannabe mogul.

Laporte is a crafty writer with a made-to-order melodrama. But, to be honest, it gets a bit repetitive and tedious after a while.

The book will appeal to those who crave the inside dirt on Hollywood moviemaking-- though there is no sex.

For those who still believe that Hollywood movies are art and the Oscars are awards for excellence, it will be a necessary corrective.

Gene Walz is a professor of film at the University of Manitoba.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 10, 2010 H7

(You must be logged in to post your reaction)

Your reaction?

More Books

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.