Saturday, April 30, 2011

Richard Schickel's five favorite books

Richard Schickel is a film historian, filmmaker, and film critic. He is the author of 37 books and the director-writer-producer of dozens of film and television documentaries largely about film makers and about movie history.

Among his best known books are: The Disney Version; D.W. Griffith: An American Life; Intimate Strangers: The Culture of Celebrity; Clint Eastwood: A Biography; and, Good Morning, Mr. Zip Zip Zip (a memoir).

Schickel's most recent title is Conversations with Scorsese.

One of his five favorite books, as told to The Week magazine:
What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg

I guess a movie guy must include a Hollywood novel among his choices. It’s hard to do, since most of them are so awful. But Schulberg’s book, the rags-to-riches tale of screenwriter Sammy Glick, remains an unpretentious, persistent delight. It’s hard for a novel to be both lovable and mordant, but Schulberg’s manages with authentic panache.
Read about the other books on Schickel's list.

Also see: Richard Schickel's 5 best show-biz biographies.

--Marshal Zeringue