Robert Altman: The Oral Biography by Zuckoff Mitchell (2009-10-20) Hardcover
About this book
Robert Altman, visionary director, hard-partying hedonist, eccentric family man, Hollywood legend, comes roaring to life in this rollicking cinematic biography, told in a chorus of voices that can only be call Altmanesque. His outsized life and unique career are revealed as never here are the words of his family and friends, and a few enemies, as well as the agents, writers, crew members, producers and stars who worked with him, including Meryl Streep, Warren Beatty, Tim Robbins, Julianne Moore, Paul Newman, Julie Christie, Elliott Gould, Martin Scorsese, Robin Williams, Cher, and many others. There is even Altman himself, in the form of his exclusive last interviews. Mitchell Zuckoff – who was working with Altman on his memoirs before he died – weaves Altman’s final interviews, an incredible cast of voices, and contemporary reviews and news accounts into a riveting tale of an extraordinary life. Here are page after page of revelations that force us to reevaluate Altman as a man and an artist, and the view his sprawling narratives with large casts, multiple story lines, and overlapping dialogue as unquestionably the work of a modern genius.