Kazan on Kazan Book

The presentation of a lifetime achievement award to Elia Kazan at the 1999 Oscar ceremony was one of the most controversial events in American movie history. Kazan's theatrical résumé includes the original productions of The Skin of Our Teeth, Death of a Salesman, and four of Tennessee Williams's best dramas. For the screen, he created Pinky, A Streetcar Named Desire, East of Eden, Baby Doll, A Face in the Crowd, On the Waterfront, Wild River, and America, America. But during the red scare, the master director named names before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, ruining the careers of several of his contemporaries. How could the man behind such thoughtful and sensitive masterpieces betray his friends? What is the relationship between an artist's personal life and his public vision? While Kazan spoke to these questions in his stunning, epic autobiography, Elia Kazan: A Life, this interview-based book offers new insight by focusing the conversation on the director's professional life. As Kazan responds to Jeff Young's probing queries, we vividly experience his uncompromising independence, determination, and strength of will. Regarding the success of his most legendary film, Kazan says: When I started On the Waterfront, I was what they call unbankable. Nobody would put up money for me because I had had a series of box office failures.... I had a hell of a time raising money, but I respond very well to difficulty. If somebody makes trouble for me, I come flailing out in every direction. One of my happiest moments was when I got the Academy Award for On the Waterfront.... It was especially rewarding because we had made something out of nothing.... All of a sudden no one cared what my politics were, that I was controversial, or difficult or that people were slamming me all the time. After On the Waterfront, I could do anything I wanted. That's Hollywood. This volume provides readers with an exquisite opportunity to examine the mind and work of a major artist--including details about Kazan's collaborations with Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, John Steinbeck, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Gregory Peck, Katharine Hepburn, and many others--as well as the chance to experience the creation of some of the century's most indelible works of art. --Raphael Shargel Read More