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I Am Spartacus!: Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist, by Kirk Douglas
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With a foreword by George Clooney: From Kirk Douglas, Hollywood royalty and bestselling author of The Ragman’s Son and My Stroke of Luck, comes the candid story of the making of Spartacus, the blockbuster film that broke the blacklist One of the world’s most iconic movie stars, Kirk Douglas has distinguished himself as a producer, philanthropist, and author of ten works of fiction and memoir. Now, more than fifty years after the release of his enduring epic Spartacus, Douglas reveals the riveting drama behind the making of the legendary gladiator film. Douglas began producing the movie in the midst of the politically charged era when Hollywood’s moguls refused to hire anyone accused of Communist sympathies. In a risky move, Douglas chose Dalton Trumbo, a blacklisted screenwriter, to write Spartacus. Trumbo was one of the “Unfriendly Ten,” men who had gone to prison rather than testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee about their political affiliations. Douglas’s source material was already a hot property, as the novel Spartacus was written by Howard Fast while he was in jail for defying HUAC. With the financial future of his young family at stake, Douglas plunged into a tumultuous production both on- and off-screen. As both producer and star of the film, he faced explosive moments with young director Stanley Kubrick, struggles with a leading lady, and negotiations with giant personalities, including Sir Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, and Lew Wasserman. Writing from his heart and from his own meticulously researched archives, Kirk Douglas, at ninety-five, looks back at his audacious decisions. He made the most expensive film of its era—but more importantly, his moral courage in giving public credit to Trumbo effectively ended the notorious Hollywood blacklist. A master storyteller, Douglas paints a vivid and often humorous portrait in I Am Spartacus! The book is enhanced by newly discovered period photography of the stars and filmmakers both on and off the set.
- Sales Rank: #2982397 in Books
- Published on: 2014-01-21
- Released on: 2014-01-21
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.50" h x .63" w x 5.51" l, .94 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 220 pages
Review
“An entertaining and informative look at the troubled gestation of a film of both artistic and social significance.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Kirk Douglas is many things . . . But he is, first and foremost, a man of extraordinary character. The kind that’s formed when the stakes are high. The kind we always look for at our darkest hour.” —George Clooney
"A glorious book . . . Kirk Douglas is a wonderful writer and a courageous one, which should surprise no one. Courage has been his battle cry all his life." —Steven Spielberg
"The making of I Am Spartacus! is a remarkable story told with the wit and charm of a great entertainer. Kirk Douglas revisits the complex political and social context surrounding the production of a cinema classic." —Henry Kissinger
"Hugely entertaining." —Liz Smith, Chicago Tribune
"I Am Spartacus! is a great read." —Bill O'Reilly
"Kirk Douglas is a lion." —Bill Maher
"A lively new memoir about one of [Douglas'] greatest triumphs." —Los Angeles Times
"Carries the power of a self-made man who continues to meet life on his own terms but with grace and aplomb." —Associated Press
About the Author
Kirk Douglas is a renowned actor whose work on and off the screen has been rewarded by three Academy Award nominations, an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, and the Medal of Freedom. Through his production company, Bryna, Douglas has produced acclaimed films such as The Vikings, Lonely Are the Brave, Paths of Glory, and Seven Days in May. He has penned ten novels and memoirs, including The Ragman’s Son (1988). His 1960 epic, Spartacus, based on the Howard Fast novel of the same name, is credited with helping to end the practice of blacklisting film professionals who had refused to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee. Douglas appeared in almost ninety movies before retiring from film acting in 2004. In 2009, he starred in an autobiographical one-man show called Before I Forget at the Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles. Douglas maintains an active life in Beverly Hills and Montecito, where he resides with his beloved wife Anne.
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Kirk Douglas, you are Spartacus, and it is our duty to stand besides you and say "I am Spartacus."
By Gisela Hausmann
"I Am Spartacus!: Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist" by Kirk Douglas is a gift. Everybody who wonders about where the United States is going or could be going should read this book.
In the opening chapter, Douglas muses,
"... When I look back at Spartacus today— more than fifty years after the fact— I’m amazed that it ever happened at all. Everything was against us— the McCarthy-era politics, competition with another picture, everything..."
Kirk Douglas begins the book by describing how his career as an actor took off, how he started his production company, and his family, while the McCarthy trials were going on. Though he is appalled by what's going on, he is also happy that he is not affected. Douglas describes the injustice; that screen writer Dalton Trumbo went to jail during for failing to raid on fellow industry professionals.
The fear is great. About director Frank Capra regarding "Roman Holiday":
"... “Capra passed because he smelled a Red,” replied Willy. “He thinks this story was written by some guy on the blacklist and he wants no part of it.”..."
It was of course Dalton Trumbo, who wrote the script.
Douglas meets Stanley Kubrik and shoots the famous anti-war movie "Paths of Glory," one of my favorites. Here is how it happened:
"... Stanley responded with a question of his own. “Have you ever read a book called Paths of Glory?” I shook my head. He handed me a script with that title. ... I took it home and read it that night. It knocked me out. Stanley was my first call the next morning. “You wrote this?” I asked. “Yes,” he answered, calm as always. “With Jim Thompson and Calder Willingham.” “Stanley, I love this picture! We are going to make it! It will never make a nickel, but we have to make it!” And that was how Stanley Kubrick came into my life. Paths of Glory was set to shoot in the spring of 1957.
I feel that it is then that Douglas' mind-set is changing. His mind-set is evolving to, "I can no longer be a bystander." Douglas falls in love with Howard Fast's novel "Spartacus." Fast too was in imprisoned during the McCarthy trials. To me, it is reasonable that helped Fast come up with the concept of "Spartacus."
And, Douglas wants to turn it into a movie, never mind what the obstacles. Douglas also wants to hire the finest actors to give the movie the backbone to become a success.
Douglas' biggest problem? - Fast is incapable of writing a great script to his own novel.
That's where Trumbo comes into play, again. And, slowly but surely the pieces fall together.
"... There’s always been a certain part of my personality that kicks in when people tell me I can’t do something. “You can’t make Spartacus.” “You can’t trust Sam Norton.” I’d had enough of being told “You can’t.” ..."
As the script evolves, seemingly simultaneously, Kirk Douglas "the Rebel" grows to become Kirk Douglas "the Honorable Rebel," the man who will break the Blacklist, more or less alone, against all odds, just like "Spartacus." Thank God, Kirk Douglas' life story has a happier ending.
Knowing the movie so well I can't help but think that Douglas put his and his industry professionals friends' thoughts into words when Spartacus says, "I pray for a son who will be born free."
The movie industry wanted to be "free", too; this movie, "Spartacus," was their vehicle, in a double sense. All of them grew with the movie's story line and in the end the movie became their vehicle to tell the world, that McCarthyism and Black-listing was over. And, Kirk Douglas/Spartacus was the man who elected to fight for it, against the odds.
The book is very personal, in part shocking, in part funny, and sprinkled with hilarious anecdotes.
Every chapter starts with a quote from the movie, for me the most significant being
“When a free man dies, he loses the pleasure of life; a slave loses its pain. Death is the only freedom a slave knows. That’s why he’s not afraid of it. That’s why we’ll win.” —Kirk Douglas as Spartacus
These days, when we watch the news we see and hear thing which should be shocking to any American. Words of fear and "black-listing" others drive the dialog. I have always believe that
Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. - George Santayana
Is a brilliant quote. Thus it makes sense to learn from Kirk Douglas/Spartacus' views.
"... Fear breeds fear. These men— people like Jack Warner, Louis B. Mayer, and Harry Cohn— were terrified their great power would be taken away from them in a heartbeat if their loyalty to America was ever called into question. So they became superpatriots. And to prove themselves right-minded, they were more than willing to sacrifice the lives of others, even their fellow Jews. They were like the Vichy government in France, collaborators who held on to their influence and position at the expense of their fellow countrymen..."
We can't let that happen again! Kirk Douglas' book "I Am Spartacus!: Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist" is an entertaining reminder, what would have to happen to break a cycle - again.
PS: This book is a beautiful homage to Dalton Trumbo, who "... was a man who loved life. He loved living it, he loved describing it, he loved affecting it...."
5!* stars, Mr. Douglas, I tip my hat.
You are Spartacus, and it is our duty to stand besides you and say "I am Spartacus."
Gisela Hausmann, author & Amazon review expert
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful.
A Hollywood Hero
By Kindle Customer
This wonderfully written memoir focuses on the making of an epic film at a crossroads of American history, when the political excesses of Senator Joseph McCarthy and his anti-communist witch hunts destroyed lives and left a dark cloud of secrecy, betrayal, and fear hanging over the film industry.
Dalton Trumbo, who had gone to prison for no real crime, had for ten years been unable to work under his own name, or even for the kind of money his fame and skill should have commanded. He was one of many who suffered similar fates, because in the political climate of the time, to recognize them professionally was to put your own career in danger. Kirk Douglas wanted to produce an epic film from a book by a blacklisted author, Howard Fast (a risky proposition in itself), and wanted Trumbo to write the screenplay. But to acknowledge the screenwriter's work--or even to allow rumors of it--was to risk losing his film, his income, his career.
What happened is no less than a Hollywood legend, told by the man at the center of it. Kirk Douglas is 95 years old, and has been acting, making films, and writing books for most of that time. This book beautifully details a watershed in his extraordinary life and in the life of film.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Long Live Douglas...and Spartacus!
By Norman Haase
What a wonderful journey back in time to the making of one of the greatest spectaculars of the '50's and '60's. Mr. Douglas wonderfully weaves the story of the making of the film -- with several never-before revealed anecdotes (I'm sure that Stanley Kubrick never looked at a horse the same way again) -- with the history and effect of the Hollywood blacklist. It's a great scene when Mr. Douglas walks Dalton Trumbo back into the studio cafeteria after all of those years in the cold.
It's such a gift to see back 50-60 years through the ever-clear eyes of 95 year old Kirk Douglas. He's now 97...and has just come out with a book of poetry. Long live Spartacus!
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