{"product_id":"ready-for-my-closeup-the-making-of-sunset-boulevard-and-the-dark-side-of-the-hollywood-dream-9781538739297","title":"Ready for My Closeup: The Making of Sunset Boulevard and the Dark Side of the Hollywood Dream","description":"\u003cb\u003eFor readers of Sam Wasson and Glenn Frankel, a cultural history about the making and lasting significance of \u003ci\u003eSunset Boulevard\u003c\/i\u003e, whose piercing--and in many ways, prophetic--critiques of fame continue to resonate today.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Great films are born of great collaborations, and \u003ci\u003eSunset Boulevard \u003c\/i\u003erepresents one of the most extraordinary confluences of cinematic talent in film history--but its production was surprisingly fraught, filled with unexpected twists. Why was William Holden, who had never caught fire as a leading man, hired to play Joe Gillis after the fastest-rising star in the business dropped out at the last minute? After Mae West and Mary Pickford turned down the now iconic role of Norma Desmond, how did Billy Wilder convince Gloria Swanson, who had long been absent from Hollywood at this point, to leave her low-paying job as a TV talk show host to join the cast? From the writers' room during Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett's final collaboration to the moment when the film won three Academy Awards, scholar and former Rolling Stone staffer David M. Lubin takes readers on a fascinating journey through film history that proves, once and for all, why \u003ci\u003eSunset Boulevard\u003c\/i\u003e is one of the most iconic films in cinematic history. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Just in time for the film's 75th anniversary, \u003ci\u003eReady for My Closeup\u003c\/i\u003e breathes life into a beloved masterpiece of American cinema.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Grand Central Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/12\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781538739297\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 336\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.25h x 6.25w x 1.13d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/15\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/09\/2025\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"David M. Lubin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51230803296437,"sku":"9781538739297","price":25.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_a9bb1030-28f9-411d-adf2-44fe06dac1e8.jpg?v=1750170317","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/ready-for-my-closeup-the-making-of-sunset-boulevard-and-the-dark-side-of-the-hollywood-dream-9781538739297","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}