title: Shadows on a Wall
author:  Ray Connolly 
description: A low-budget play about Napoleon and his mistress mutates into a bloated example of everything that is wrong with Hollywood in this excellent novel by novelist/screenwriter Connolly (A Girl Who Came to Stay). The story opens with the discovery of the dead bodies of the movie's two stars, its director and a world-famous musician. In an extended flashback, it then chronicles the rocky making of the movie: of playwright Charlie Holyoake trading away promises and guarantees for the chance to see his story on the big screen; of egotistical stars battling over trailer size, and an out-of-control director shooting over two-million feet of film; of producer Harvey Bamberg watching his movie, his future and his gorgeous wife slip away from him as a $5-million art film becomes a $100-million potential disaster. This is a wide-screen look at Hollywood's worst sins-the equation of money with talent; the casual corruption of everything from innocence to an artist's individual vision; the cult of celebrity-that yet never loses the sense of wonder that the movies can instill. Through crisp, straightforward, third-person narration, Connolly tells his tale with energy and detachment, making sure that the absurdities of Hollywood unfold without comment-which makes their craziness even more jarring. He avoids simplistic parody or satire, moreover, by carefully individualizing his huge cast of characters. So accurate and so cutting is the portrait he paints that even citizens of Tinseltown should give it two thumbs up. 75,000 first printing; major ad/promo. <br />Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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  # In the Shadow of the Wall
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Richard Wake
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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