William Goldman, 87

Who?

LA Times:

William Goldman, Oscar-winning screenwriter of ‘Butch Cassidy’ and ‘All the President's Men,’ dies at 87

BREAKING:

My dog groomer's grandmother, Sally Mae, dies at age 89.

Oh no. The Princess Bride guy.

Shame he didn't hang on to see the end of Trump.

He was a phenomenal screenwriter. His brother James Goldman ("Lion in Winter") was equally talented.

HOT BACK IN THE DAY.

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are grateful that he kept their secret until the grave.

A great and prolific writer, known for many things; however IMO he wrote one of the best and most memorable novels I have ever read, BOYS AND GIRLS TOGETHER. I often cite this book in the "recommend a book" threads we have here. It was critically panned when it came out in the mid 60s, which caused him to turn to screenwriting rather than novels, but the book became a big bestseller anyway. It has a very memorable gay storyline too, which I have never forgotten.

Am I the only one who thinks Princess Bride is terribly overrated?

Shush, R3, the grownups are talking.

No one knows anything.

"The fall will kill ya."

Thanks for highlighting Boys and Girls Together, r9. I read it a hundred years ago and was blown away by the characters and by the way he constructed numerous plots and then skillfully tied together these apparently disparate stories and memorable characters.

Oh a sad day for me. I loved just about every thing he wrote. Adventures in the Screen Trade and The Season are often over looked.

I loved Soldier in the Rain -- he taught my 15 year old self many wise, if sad, truths

Maybe this will clear the way for the Guettel musical of The Princess Bride to be produced.

But then again I bet Goldman put something in his will that would block that. He was that type of guy.

Is it safe?

Jesus Father, how I hate Norman Mailer.

Yes, his pics still trigger revulsion.

someone REALLY does not know how to title a thread

Oooh, R19, can you elaborate? I didn't know that.

BTW, Mailer presented Goldman with his second Oscar.

Stop sullying this thread with the M-name.

Boys and Girls Together was my favorite book when I was a teenager in the 70s and led to me read or watch everything he’s written. RIP William Goldman.

The Season is a good gossipy account of a year in the life of Broadway.

Yes, R9, it it a wonderful read. But really, I'm too pretty, I'll kill myself? The Season excellent too.

That's a pretty superficial take, r25.

MARATHON MAN - most harrowing dental torture scene of all time!!!

If you dare:

Wonder if in his will he finally took credit for Good Will Hunting.

Or if he finally gave up credit for All the President's Men.

He doctored a lot of scripts. Why are you so sure he had no role in these?

Goldman’s The Season is indeed tons o’ fun to read, but it’s also incredibly homophobic, particularly in the chapters about Henry Sweet Henry and Judy Garland. I wonder if Goldman evolved any over the years?

. Really. Do enlighten us R26

The Stepford Wives!

His most immortal line.

R31 He did like Mart Crowley's Boys in the Band.

I'm not sure that's possible, r32, if you're also r25.

Heh heh.

He had a falling out with Bryan Forbes over Nanette Newman's casting in The Stepford Wives. He said she had a fat ass and was not the playboy bunny type he wanted the wives to be. Nanette was Bryan's wife.

Very sad news. My partner and I saw the ‘Butch Cassidy’ picture in theatres when it came out for my 50th birthday back in 1969. My partner and I just re-watched the Redford picture ‘Great Gatsby’, and it reminded out of this great picture. RIP.

Did Goldman ever comment on Good Will Hunting?

^ Yes, in detail.

Thanks r41!

R42–can you please post that lin?mk? TIA!

*link.

R41 That's interesting about Stallone never writing another script. Did Matt and Ben ever write another one, singly or together?

R45 -

Matt wrote two more for Gus van Sant: Gerry (with Casey Affleck) and Promised Land (with John Krasinski)

Ben wrote Gone Baby Gone (with Aaron Stockard), The Town (with Peter Craig) and Live by Night. He also directed all 3.

Truth be told, it was rumored at the time that not only Mr. Goldman, but several other scripters doctored GWH.

I just pulled his "Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures In The Screen Trade" from my shelf and look forward to rereading it over the holidays.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Goldman .

His greatest claim to fame is being the brother of the man who wrote FOLLIES.

I'm watching and listening to his commentary on 'Harper', his first hit, and gawd the man is insufferable. Rambling all over the place, repeating things he said 5 minutes earlier, going on and on about Paul Newman, and then going way off topic -- in both directions -- talking about MTV, Jean Harlow, Mel Gibson, etc., etc..

Insufferable.

"Harper" is insufferable.

Nanette Newman was more conventionally attractive than Paula Prentiss.

He was a homophobic asshole.

I liked Nanette Newman. She's not hammy.

He was not homophobic

R51 agreed. It was waaaay too long, too much dialogue, too many unnecessary red herrings, but hey, it was written by 'The Genius'.

Try reading his book, "The Season," r55. It reeks of his homophobia, which has been pointed out by numerous contemporary critics.

Any pertinent passages?

I agree The Princess Bride is over rated. Just not that funny.

Not funny at all. He was a one or two hit wonder and rode that all the way to...wherever.