Review by Booklist Review
The Academy Awards were created nearly a century ago for business reasons, to give legitimacy to an upstart organization that had more enemies than friends; the glamour, the spectacle, the controversies--all that came later. Entertainment journalist Schulman takes readers through the twisted, complicated history of the Oscars--and, by extension, the history of Hollywood--in this endlessly fascinating new book. Each chapter focuses on a small story and examines its broader significance, from the role in Oscar history of a specific individual (Louis B. Mayer) to the backstory behind a controversial event (the envelope mix-up in 2017). This approach works better than a broad-strokes history; the highly detailed stories function like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, each revealing part of the bigger picture. The author, a staff writer at the New Yorker (he also wrote Her Again, a biography of Meryl Streep), clearly knows his subject, and his enthusiasm is thoroughly contagious. Oodles of fun, a perfect book for the run-up to the 2023 Oscars.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Schulman (Her Again), a staff writer at the New Yorker, combines thorough research with an eye for drama in this highly entertaining history of the Academy Awards. Highlighting eras and awards races that speak to "larger stories of cultural change," Schulman starts with the founding of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1927 by MGM cofounder Louis B. Mayer, who wanted it to offset unionizing. The first awards followed in 1929, but by the mid-1930s, unions and guilds were pushing back against the Academy's role in arbitrating labor disputes, leading it to pivot and focus solely on giving awards. Schulman covers Citizen Kane's "notorious" defeat at the Oscars in 1942 (suggesting director Orson Welles's auteurism threatened the Hollywood "assembly line"), screenwriter Dalton Trumbo's campaign during McCarthyism to undermine the blacklist by winning Oscars (he nabbed one in 1957 under a pseudonym), and calls in the 1960s to diversify Academy voters and bring in a younger perspective. Delving into recent controversies, the author details #OscarsSoWhite protests in 2016 and offers a backstage account of how the following year's "Envelopegate" unfolded. The behind-the-scenes perspectives don't skimp on juicy trivia while the connections Schulman draws to larger societal issues illustrate the power and limitations of cinema to reflect and drive change. This will thrill cinephiles. (Feb.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Controversy has plagued the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and its Oscar ceremonies for since its inception in 1929, which Schulman (Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep) shares in this entertaining history of America's oldest major entertainment award. Labor disputes nearly killed the Academy at its birth. Blacklisting was an embarrassment, especially when blacklisted writers won Oscars under assumed names. Award rivalries created bad blood between sisters Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine. An independent accounting firm was first brought in to maintain ballot integrity after Bette Davis's Of Human Bondage performance became the industry's first Oscar snub; Warner Brothers wasn't going to allow her to be rewarded for her freelance work at rival RKO. Schulman also examines the Academy's slowness in recognizing change in the 1960s and '70s and devotes a long chapter to the slighting of artists of color. But it's the gossip readers will remember most: the disastrous opening of the 1989 awards ceremonies, with its older stars--Alice Faye, Dorothy Lamour, etc.--moved across stage like mummies; the wrong name read for best picture in 2016; and Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. VERDICT This lively, gossip-rich account is ideal reading for cineastes. --David Keymer
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Behind the scenes at the Academy Awards. Regardless of your interest in Hollywood and awards season, this rich, deeply reported history has plenty to teach. New Yorker writer Schulman, author of Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep, looks at the awards through a variety of lenses, including artistic, business, political, and cultural. "The Oscars are a battlefield where cultural forces collide and where the victors aren't always as clear as the names drawn from the envelopes," he writes. The author illuminates these battles with compelling insider stories. His explanation of 1989's "Worst Oscars Ever"--infamous for the raucous opening featuring Snow White and Rob Lowe--reveals the micromanaging influence of producer Allan Carr. Schulman also demonstrates Carr's influence on other parts of the ceremony that continue today--e.g., announcing winners with "And the Oscar goes to…" and creating a fashion event where designers battle to get starlets to wear their gowns. The author shines brightest in his firsthand accounts. His coverage of the entire #OscarsSoWhite controversy, and changes that came with it, focuses on Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and her decision-making. His reporting on the Moonlight/La La Land best picture mix-up definitively explains the hand movements that caused an accountant to give presenter Warren Beatty the envelope for best actress by mistake. Even when he seems like he's gone too far, such as titling the chapter on Black Oscar winners "Tokens," Schulman's incisive reporting backs up his hypothesis. "For McDaniel, for Poitier, for Berry, the Oscar came to symbolize not progress but false promise--a chance for Hollywood to congratulate itself and then go back to business as usual while the winner was left isolated and open to public attack," he explains. And yes, Will Smith's slap of Chris Rock makes it into the book but only in the afterword. This Oscars history mixes all the expected glitz and glamour with enough industry intrigue to power an award-winning drama. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
