
The Men Who Would Be King
An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called DreamWorks
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Narrated by:
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Stephen Hoye
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By:
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Nicole LaPorte
For 60 years, since the birth of United Artists, the studio landscape was unchanged. Then came Hollywood’s Circus Maximus---created by director Steven Spielberg, billionaire David Geffen, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, who gave the world The Lion King---an entertainment empire called DreamWorks. Now Nicole LaPorte, who covered the company for Variety, goes behind the hype to reveal for the first time the delicious truth of what happened.
Audiences will feel they are part of the creative calamities of moviemaking as LaPorte's fly-on-the-wall detail shows us Hollywood's bizarre rules of business. We see the clashes between the often otherworldly Spielberg's troops and Katzenberg's warriors, the debacles and disasters, but also the Oscar-winning triumphs, including Saving Private Ryan. We watch as the studio burns through billions, its rich owners get richer, and everybody else suffers. We see Geffen seducing investors like Microsoft's Paul Allen, showing his steel against CAA's Michael Ovitz, and staging fireworks during negotiations with Paramount and Disney. Here is Hollywood, up close, glamorous, and gritty.
©2010 Nicole LaPorte (P)2010 TantorListeners also enjoyed...




















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What did you love best about The Men Who Would Be King?
Culled from over 200 sources, many of them anonymous for fear of retribution, and with no official sanction from the three founding members, the writer had her work cut out for her in piecing together the story behind the story.You'll hear about Oscar wins (American Beauty) on-set drama (Gladiator) and box office wins (Shrek) misses (The Island) and complete disasters (The Road to El Dorado). You'll also get to know some of the characters surrounding the three kings, along with the personal vendettas and the agendas that drove the company’s early days and sophomore efforts. And like any good drama, there's a clash of cultures, from the initial grouping of Amblin plus Disney employees and their clashing work styles to the organ transplant reject analogy used to describe when the DreamWorks live action business was acquired by Paramount (and then subsequently sold off).
I remember the early days of DreamWorks, and some of the hype surrounding it. Not just the three personalities behind the endeavor, but some of the failed attempts like the Playa Vista studio and the short-lived Sega partnership to create Gameworks arcade chains.
The author did a fabulous job taking us from the inception of the idea, through the early days, and highlighting some of major the struggles they encountered along the way, from films, to financing, to navigating some of the most complex and politically charged business climates in the US.
In addition to some great anecdotes, the author really tries to humanize these three mysterious, almost mythical three men. You’ll glean some insights into their hopes, dreams, squabbling, darker sides, and more. From the early days of the founding to the splintered ending, you'll get a great front row seat to some of the activities and craziness surrounding the formation of a one-time supposed entertainment giants that never quite lived up to its expectations of becoming different than all the other studios surrounding them.
And in the end, this book begs three questions:
Why did these three guys start this studio in the first place?
What would each of them have said if they could've been quoted for this book?
And given where their partnership (both personal and professional) finally ended, money aside, can it be said that any of them truly lived happily ever after?
The inside scoop on the Dreamworks hype machine
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Fascinating, even-handed
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Would you consider the audio edition of The Men Who Would Be King to be better than the print version?
Never read the print version and not sure why Audible does such leading questions, but here is my review: You do learn about Dreamworks from beginning to end and why it did not succeed as well as one might expect considering who made up the SKG beneath the name, but the presentation was a bit robotic. Maybe it would be hard to make this material less robotic, but if you've read a great book like one read by Rob Lowe, you know it is possible to be discussing just about anything and have a better time doing it than was presented here. Glad I listened and it is passable, but could have been better.What other book might you compare The Men Who Would Be King to and why?
"Where We're Going We Don't Need Roads"... the story of the Back To The Future Trilogy. Some of the same players, some of the same stories, but done better.What three words best describe Stephen Hoye’s voice?
I'm a writer so I never use 3 words for anything... but I will say his voice is not the best that I have sat through.Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No. I listen to most of my books while driving, showering, etc and was glad at times to get away from it. I rarely feel that way but at times just wanted to get it done.Any additional comments?
You really do learn the beginning to almost present day of Dreamworks SKG and why it didn't hit on all cylinders. A good book if that story is one you want to know.You do learn the story of Dreamworks, however....
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Really deep story into the formations of DreamWorks
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Thorough and informative
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Great History, Sometimes Hilarious Narration
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Incredible
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Inside Hollywood Corp
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pretty good look at the movie industry
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Good coverage of Hollywood twists and turns
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