📖 The Men Who Would Be King

For sixty years, the lineup of Hollywood's major studios varied little. Then came the Circus Maximus created by director Steven Spielberg, billionaire David Geffen, and Jeffrey Katzenberg (who gave the world "The Lion King"). Nothing in decades had approached the excitement surrounding the empire called DreamWorks, where hype, glory, and investors vying to kick in billions gave way to blowups, battles, and betrayals worthy of The Godfather. Nicole LaPorte reveals for the first time the delicious truth of what happened behind the scenes. Readers 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 see Geffen seducing investors such as Microsoft's Paul Allen and watch as the studio burns through billions while it's rich owners get richer and everybody else suffers. Here is Hollywood up-close, glamorous, and gritty.