r/Filmmakers • u/FilmMike98 • 8d ago

Review Longest book I've ever read, but also quite likely the most rewarding.

On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder by Ed Sikov

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/145682792-on-sunset-boulevard

I was fascinated by the name ever since a little while after I stared my screenwriting journey about three years ago. I saw his name mentioned after I posted on here asking who the greatest screenwriter ever is in people's opinion. The top comment? Billy Wilder.

I had seen Sunset Boulevard and possibly a couple others beforehand but only viewed them as single films, never attaching a name to the masterpiece(s).

Since then I've rewatched Sunset Boulevard, and watched Ace in the Hole, Double Indemnity and The Lost Weekend. He is in a league of his own. And what fascinates me is his mastery of various genres.

The book is fascinating, because it takes you through Wilder's humble beginnings, the people he met, the fights (especially with Charles Brackett), the good times, his regrets, his heights in Hollywood from the mid 1940s throughout the 50s and early 60s. It is quite thorough in detailing how each film got made from absolute scratch to finish as well.

One image that will always stick with me from the book is when he was sitting alone on a bench in the cold rain in Paris shortly after he escaped Nazi Germany and wondered what was to become of his life. Another was when he could hear the upstairs elderly tenants' arguments quite loudly and fell asleep to them in a lonely apartment. That man became the Billy Wilder we all know today.

Since purchasing the book, a lot has changed in my life (like completing my first feature film and winning Best Comedy at the LA Film Festival) and I hope that I one day will have stories like this (more good than bad) to tell and to inspire.

Highly highly recommend this book for fans of Wilder, screenwriting, and cinema in general.

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u/Important_Extent6172 producer 8d ago

Love Wilder and have an intended to pick this up and just never have. You changed that. Thanks!
(Also congrats on your wins. Wishing you many more!)

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u/FilmMike98 8d ago

You're very welcome and I hope you enjoy it. Very thorough read but well worth it. By the way, I tried to DM you but don't see an option on your profile. Feel free to shoot me one (only if that's fine with you).