Beginnings -- Comedy -- Silent directors -- Silent actors -- Sound! -- Studio heads -- Studio style -- The studio workforce -- The product -- The end of the system -- Identity crisis -- New Hollywood -- The creep up -- The deal -- Packaging -- Everybody's business -- Monsters

"The real story of Hollywood--as told by such luminaries as Steven Spielberg, Frank Capra, Katharine Hepburn, Alfred Hitchcock, Harold Lloyd, Jordan Peele, and nearly four hundred others--reveals a fresh history of the American movie industry from its beginnings to today"--Dust jacket flap

Gleaned from nearly three thousand interviews found in the American Film Institute's archival treasure trove, this book lets readers "listen in" on candid remarks from the biggest names in front of the camera, and the biggest personalities behind it. Basinger and Wesson have undertaken the task of digesting tens of thousands of hours of talk into a lively, funny, insightful, and authentically honest portrayal of Hollywood as seen from the inside. -- adapted from jacket