Editing William Goldman (section)

==Career==
===Novelist===
Goldman did not originally intend to become a screenwriter.  His main interests were poetry, short stories, and novels.  In 1956, he completed a master's thesis at Columbia University on the comedy of manners in America.<ref>{{Cite web |title=William Goldman Papers, 1949–1997 |url= http://findingaids.cul.columbia.edu/ead/nnc-rb/ldpd_5018084/dsc/3 | website = Columbia.edu |publisher= Columbia University}}</ref>

His older brother [[James Goldman]] was a playwright and screenwriter. They shared an apartment in New York with their friend [[John Kander]]. Also an alumnus of Oberlin, Kander was working on his Ph.D. in music, and the Goldman brothers wrote the [[libretto]] for his dissertation. Kander was the composer of more than a dozen musicals, including ''[[Cabaret (musical)|Cabaret]]'' and ''[[Chicago (musical)|Chicago]]'', and all three of them eventually won Academy Awards.<ref name=queenan/> On June 25, 1956, Goldman began writing his first novel ''[[The Temple of Gold]]'', completing it in less than three weeks.<ref name=cnnchat/> He sent the manuscript to agent [[Transatlantic Review (1959–1977)|Joe McCrindle]], who agreed to represent him; McCrindle submitted the novel to Knopf, who agreed to publish it if he doubled the length. It sold well enough in paperback to launch Goldman on his career.{{sfn|Egan|2014|p=18}} He wrote his second novel ''[[Your Turn to Curtsy, My Turn to Bow]]'' (1958) in a little more than a week. It was followed by ''[[Soldier in the Rain]]'' (1960), based on Goldman's time in the military. It sold well in paperback and was turned into [[Soldier in the Rain|a film]], though Goldman had no involvement in the screenplay.

===Theater work===
Goldman and his brother received a grant to do some rewriting on the musical ''[[Tenderloin (musical)|Tenderloin]]'' (1960). They then collaborated on their own play, ''[[Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole]]'' (1961), and on the musical, ''[[A Family Affair (musical)|A Family Affair]]'' (1962), written with John Kander. Both plays had short runs.

Goldman began writing ''[[Boys and Girls Together]]'', but found that he suffered [[writer's block]].<ref>Brady p 93</ref> His writer's block continued, but he had an idea for the novel ''[[No Way to Treat a Lady (novel)|No Way to Treat a Lady]]'' (1964) based on the [[Boston Strangler]]. He wrote it in two weeks, and it was published under the pseudonym Harry Longbaugh—a variant spelling of the [[Sundance Kid]]'s real name, which Goldman had been researching since the late 1950s. He then finished ''Boys and Girls Together'', which became a best seller.<ref>Brady p 94</ref>

===Screenwriter===
[[Cliff Robertson]] read an early draft of ''No Way to Treat a Lady'' and hired Goldman to adapt the short story ''[[Flowers for Algernon]]'' for the movies.  Before he had even finished the script, Robertson recommended him to do some rewriting on the spy spoof ''[[Masquerade (1965 film)|Masquerade]]'' (1965), in which Robertson was starring. Goldman did that, then finished the ''Algernon'' script.<ref>Brady p 95</ref>  Robertson disliked it, though, and hired [[Stirling Silliphant]], instead, to work on what became ''[[Charly (1968 film)|Charly]]'' (1968).<ref name= queenan /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tyler |first=Ralph |date=November 12, 1978 |title='Butch Cassidy' Was My Western, 'Magic' Is My Hitchcock |page=D23 |work=The New York Times |location=New York, NY}}</ref>

Producer [[Elliot Kastner]] had optioned the film rights to ''Boys and Girls Together''. Goldman suggested that Kastner make a film of the [[Lew Archer]] novels of [[Ross Macdonald]] and offered to do an adaptation. Kastner agreed, and Goldman chose ''[[The Moving Target]]''. The result was ''[[Harper (film)|Harper]]'' (1966) starring [[Paul Newman]], which was a big hit.<ref>Brady p 91</ref>

===''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''===
Goldman returned to novels, writing ''[[The Thing of It Is...]]'' (1967). He taught at [[Princeton University|Princeton]] and wished to write something, but he could not come up with an idea for a novel. Instead, he wrote ''[[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]'', his first original screenplay, which he had been researching for eight years. He sold it for $400,000, the highest price ever paid for an original screenplay at that time.<ref name="queenan">{{Cite news |last=Queenan |first=Joe |date=April 25, 2009 |title=Newman, Hoffman, Redford and me |page=6 |work=The Guardian |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/apr/25/william-goldman-screenwriter-interview |access-date=February 22, 2011}}</ref> The movie was released in 1969, a critical and commercial success that earned Goldman an [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay]]. The money enabled Goldman to take some time off and research the nonfiction ''[[The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway]]'' (1969).<ref name="ign">{{Cite web |date=February 18, 2003 |title=Featured Filmmaker: William Goldman |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/02/18/featured-filmmaker-william-goldman |access-date=June 11, 2011 |website=Movies |publisher=IGN}}</ref>

Goldman adapted Steven Linakis's novel ''In the Spring the War Ended'' into a screenplay, but it was not filmed. Neither were scripts of ''The Thing of It Is'', which came close to being made several times in the early '70s, and ''[[Papillon (book)|Papillon]]'', on which he worked for six months and three drafts; the book was filmed, but little of Goldman's work was used.<ref>Brady p 120</ref> He returned to novels with ''[[Father's Day (novel)|Father's Day]]'' (1971), a sequel to ''The Thing of It Is…''. He also wrote the screenplay for ''[[The Hot Rock (film)|The Hot Rock]]'' (1972).

===''The Princess Bride''===
Goldman's next novel was ''[[The Princess Bride (novel)|The Princess Bride]]'' (1973); he also wrote a screenplay, but it was more than a decade before the film was made. That same year, he contracted a rare strain of pneumonia, which resulted in his being hospitalized and affected his health for months. This inspired him into a burst of creativity, including several novels and screenplays.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Andersen |first=Richard |title=William Goldman |publisher=Twayne |year=1979 |page=20}}</ref><ref>Brady p 130</ref>

Goldman's novel writing moved in a more commercial direction following the death of his editor [[Hiram Haydn]] in late 1973.<ref name="shop">{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Dennis |url=https://archive.org/details/shoptalkconversa00brow |title=Shoptalk |publisher=Newmarket |year=1992 |page=[https://archive.org/details/shoptalkconversa00brow/page/75 75] |isbn=9781557041289 |url-access=registration}}</ref> This started with the children's book ''[[Wigger (novel)|Wigger]]'' (1974), followed by the thriller ''[[Marathon Man (novel)|Marathon Man]]'' (1974), which he sold to Delacorte as part of a three-book deal worth $2&nbsp;million. He sold movie rights to ''Marathon Man'' for $450,000.<ref name="books">{{Cite news |last=Rosenfield |first=Paul |date=February 18, 1979 |title=Westward They Come, Big Bucks for Big Books |page=n1 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

His second book for Delacorte was the thriller ''[[Magic (novel)|Magic]]'' (1976), which he sold to Joe Levine for $1&nbsp;million. He did the screenplays for the film versions of ''Marathon Man'' (1976) and ''[[Magic (1978 film)|Magic]]'' (1978). He also wrote the screenplay for ''[[The Stepford Wives (1975 film)|The Stepford Wives]]'' (1975), which he says was an unpleasant experience because director [[Bryan Forbes]] rewrote most of it; Goldman tried to take his name off it, but they would not let him.<ref>Brady p 109</ref> He was reunited with  director [[George Roy Hill]] and star [[Robert Redford]] on ''[[The Great Waldo Pepper]]'' (1975), which Goldman wrote from an idea of Hill.

===''All the President's Men''===
Redford hired Goldman to write the script of ''[[All the President's Men (film)|All the President's Men]]'' (1976).

Goldman wrote the famous line "[[(Corrupted Text)]]" for the screenplay of ''All the President's Men''; while the line is often attributed to [[Deep Throat (Watergate)|Deep Throat]], it is not found in [[Bob Woodward]]'s notes nor in Woodward and [[Carl Bernstein]]'s book or articles.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rich |first=Frank |date=June 12, 2005 |title=Don't Follow the Money |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/12/opinion/12rich.html?ex=1276228800&en=3603bd97559812d0&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss |access-date=February 22, 2011}}</ref> The book does have the far less-quotable line from Woodward to Senator [[Sam Ervin]], who was about to begin his own investigation: "The key was the secret campaign cash, and it should all be traced..."{{sfn|Woodward|Bernstein|1974|p =248}}

Goldman was unhappy with the movie. ''[[The Guardian]]'' says that he changes the subject when asked about the movie, but suggests that his displeasure may be because he was pressured to add a romantic interest to the film.<ref name=queenan/> In his memoir, Goldman says of the film that if he could live his life over, he would have written the same screenplays, "Only I wouldn't have come near ''All the President's Men''."<ref name= writtenby /> He said that he has never written as many versions of a screenplay as he did for that movie.<ref name = writtenby /> Speaking of his choice to write the script, he said: "Many movies that get made are not long on art and are long on commerce. This was a project that seemed it might be both. You don't get many and you can't turn them down."<ref name=cnnchat/>

In [[Michael Feeney Callan]]'s book ''Robert Redford: The Biography'', Redford is reported as stating that Goldman did not actually write the screenplay for the movie,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lussler |first=Germain |date=May 30, 2011 |title=New Robert Redford Biography Claims William Goldman Didn't Write 'All The President's Men' |url=http://www.slashfilm.com/robert-redford-biography-claims-william-goldman-write-all-presidents-men/ |access-date=July 11, 2011 |website=/Film }}</ref> a story that was excerpted in ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Callan |first=Michael Feeney |date=April 2011 |title=Washington Monument |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2011/04/robert-redford-201104 |url-status=dead |magazine=Vanity Fair  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110530133118/http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2011/04/robert-redford-201104 |archive-date=May 30, 2011 |access-date=July 11, 2011 }}</ref>  ''Written By'' magazine conducted a thorough investigation of the screenplay's many drafts and concluded, "Goldman was the sole author of ''All The President's Men''. Period."<ref name="writtenby">{{Cite journal |last=Stayton |first=Richard |date=April–May 2011 |title=Fade In |url=http://bluetoad.com/publication/?i=67460 |journal=Written by |location=Los Angeles |publisher=Writers Guild of America, West |issn=1092-468X |access-date=July 11, 2011}}</ref>

===Joseph E. Levine===
[[File:William Goldman and James Caan 1976.jpg|thumb|Goldman (left) and [[James Caan]] while shooting ''[[A Bridge Too Far (film)|A Bridge Too Far]]'' in 1976]]

Goldman had a happier experience when hired by [[Joseph E. Levine]] to write ''[[A Bridge Too Far (film)|A Bridge Too Far]]'' (1977) based on the book by [[Cornelius Ryan]]. Goldman later wrote a promotional book, ''Story of A Bridge Too Far'' (1977), as a favor to Levine, and signed a three-film contract with the producer worth $1.5&nbsp;million.<ref name="books" />

He wrote a novel about Hollywood, ''[[Tinsel (novel)|Tinsel]]'' (1979), which sold well. He wrote two more films for Levine, ''The Sea Kings'' and ''Year of the Comet'', but did not write a third. He did a script about [[Tom Horn]]; ''[[Mr. Horn]]'' (1979), was filmed for TV.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 2009 |title=Sea kings |url=http://scriptshadow.blogspot.com/2009/11/sea-kings.html |website=Script shadow}}</ref>

Goldman was the original screenwriter for the film version of [[Tom Wolfe]]'s novel ''[[The Right Stuff (book)|The Right Stuff]]''; director [[Philip Kaufman]] wrote his own screenplay without using Goldman's material, because Kaufman wanted to include [[Chuck Yeager]] as a character; Goldman did not.<ref name=ign />

He wrote a number of other screenplays around this time, including ''The Ski Bum''; a musical adaptation of ''[[Grand Hotel (1932 film)|Grand Hotel]]'' (1932) that was going to be directed by [[Norman Jewison]]; and ''Rescue'', the story of the rescue of [[Electronic Data Systems]] employees during the [[Iranian Revolution]]. None were made into films.

===''Adventures in the Screen Trade'' and the "Leper Period"===
After several of his screenplays were not filmed, Goldman found himself in less demand as a screenwriter.  He published a memoir about his professional life in Hollywood, ''[[Adventures in the Screen Trade]]'' (1983), which summed up the entertainment industry in the opening sentence of the book, "Nobody knows anything."{{Sfn|Goldman|1983|p=39}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Christian |date=February 12, 2006 |title=If You're Out By Monday, Never Ask Why |work=Chicago Tribune |location=Chicago, IL |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/la-tm-rules7feb12,0,3069888.story |access-date=July 11, 2011 |quote=I had heard that the rules were different in Hollywood, where, as the screenwriter William Goldman famously put it, 'nobody knows anything.'}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Turan |first=Kenneth |date=January 17, 2007 |title=What dark horse will be the next 'Sunshine'? |work=Chicago Tribune |location=Chicago, IL |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/zap-et-sundance17jan17,0,5602793.story |access-date=July 11, 2011 |quote=...it becomes more apparent every year that William Goldman's great rule of studio film-making applies to the independent world as well: Nobody knows anything.}}</ref>

He focused on novels: ''[[Control (novel)|Control]]'' (1982), ''[[The Silent Gondoliers]]'' (1983), ''[[The Color of Light]]'' (1984), ''[[Heat (Goldman novel)|Heat]]'' (1985), and ''[[Brothers (Goldman novel)|Brothers]]'' (1986). The latter, a sequel to ''Marathon Man'', was Goldman's last published novel.

===Return to Hollywood===
Goldman attributed his return to Hollywood to signing with talent agent [[Michael Ovitz]] at [[Creative Artists Agency]]. He went to work on ''[[Memoirs of an Invisible Man]]'', although he left the project relatively early.

Hollywood's interest in Goldman was reawakened; he wrote the scripts for film versions of ''[[Heat (1986 film)|Heat]]'' (1986) and ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]'' (1987). The latter was directed by [[Rob Reiner]] for [[Castle Rock Entertainment|Castle Rock]], which hired Goldman to write the screenplay for Rob Reiner's 1990 [[Misery (film)|adaptation]] of [[Stephen King]]'s novel ''[[Misery (book)|Misery]]'', considered "one of [King's] least adaptable novels".<ref name=ign/> The movie, for which [[Kathy Bates]] received an [[Academy Award]], performed well with critics and at the box office.<ref name= ign />

Goldman continued to write nonfiction regularly. He published a collection of sports writing, ''[[Wait Till Next Year]]'' (1988) and an account of his time as a judge at both the Cannes Film Festival and the Miss America Pageant, ''[[Hype and Glory]]'' (1990).

Goldman began to work steadily as a "[[script doctor]]", doing uncredited work on films including ''[[Twins (1988 film)|Twins]]'' (1988), ''[[A Few Good Men]]'' (1992), ''[[Indecent Proposal]]'' (1993), ''[[Last Action Hero]]'' (1993), ''Malice'' (1994), ''[[Dolores Claiborne (film)|Dolores Claiborne]]'' (1995), and ''[[Extreme Measures]]''. Most of these movies were by Castle Rock.

He was credited on several other movies: ''[[Year of the Comet]]'' (1992), which was eventually filmed by Castle Rock, but was not a success; the biopic ''[[Chaplin (film)|Chaplin]]'' (1992), directed by [[Richard Attenborough]]; ''[[Maverick (film)|Maverick]]'' (1994), a popular hit; ''[[The Chamber (1996 film)|The Chamber]]'' (1996), from a novel by [[John Grisham]]; ''[[The Ghost and the Darkness]]'' (1996), an original script based on a true story; ''[[Absolute Power (film)|Absolute Power]]'' (1997) for [[Clint Eastwood]]; and ''[[The General's Daughter (film)|The General's Daughter]]'' (1999), from the novel by [[Nelson DeMille]].

===Later career===
[[File:William Goldman.jpg|right|thumb|Goldman at the 2008 Screenwriting Expo]]
Goldman wrote another volume of memoirs, ''[[Which Lie Did I Tell?]]'' (2000), and a collection of his essays, ''[[The Big Picture: Who Killed Hollywood? and Other Essays]]'' (2001).

His later screenplay credits include ''[[Hearts in Atlantis (film)|Hearts in Atlantis]]'' (2001) and ''[[Dreamcatcher (2003 film)|Dreamcatcher]]'' (2003), both from novels by Stephen King. He adapted ''Misery'' into a stage play, which made its debut on Broadway in 2015 in a production starring [[Bruce Willis]] and [[Laurie Metcalf]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stasio |first=Marilyn |date=November 16, 2015 |title=Broadway Review: 'Misery' With Bruce Willis, Laurie Metcalf |url=https://variety.com/2015/legit/reviews/misery-review-broadway-bruce-willis-1201641055/}}</ref>

His script for ''Heat'' was filmed again as ''[[Wild Card (2015 film)|Wild Card]]'' (2015), starring Jason Statham.

After his death, screenwriter [[Peter Morgan]] wrote that Goldman had completed a final book on Hollywood, comparing the production of three different films, including Morgan's [[Frost/Nixon (film)|Frost/Nixon]], but that the book had run into legal problems and was never published.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Morgan |first1=Peter |title=The Crown writer Peter Morgan on William Goldman: 'He was just a sublime storyteller' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/nov/17/william-goldman-the-crown-peter-morgan |access-date=23 July 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=17 November 2018}}</ref> Writers Tony Gilroy and Scott Frank said Goldman spent considerable time mentoring and advising other writers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/01/william-goldman-tribute-tony-gilroy-scott-frank-mentor-all-the-presidents-men-marathon-man-butch-cassidy-and-the-sundance-kid-1202538512/|first=Mike|last=Fleming|title=Tony Gilroy & Scott Frank Tell How William Goldman's Mentorship Left As Lasting A Hollywood Legacy As Oscars & Dialogue|website=Deadline|date=21 January 2019}}</ref>

===Critical reception===
In their feature on Goldman, ''IGN'' said, "It's a testament to just how truly great William Goldman is at his best that I actually had to think hard about what to select as his 'Must-See' cinematic work".<ref name=ign/> The site described his script for ''All the President's Men'' as a "model of storytelling clarity... and artful manipulation".<ref name=ign />

Art Kleiner, writing in 1987, said, "William Goldman, a very skilled storyteller, wrote several of the most well-known films of the past 18 years—including ''Marathon Man'', part of ''All the President's Men'', and ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''."<ref name="AK">{{Cite journal |last=Kleiner |first=Art |date=Summer 1987 |title=Adventures in the Screen Trade |journal=[[Whole Earth Review]] |location=San Francisco |publisher=[[Point Foundation (environment)|Point Foundation]] |page=120}}</ref> 
 
Three of Goldman's scripts have been voted into the [[Writers Guild of America]] hall-of-fame's 101 Greatest Screenplays list.<ref name=writtenby />

In his book evaluating Goldman's work, ''William Goldman: The Reluctant Storyteller'' (2014), Sean Egan said Goldman's achievements were made "without ever lunging for the lowest common denominator. Although his body of work has been consumed by millions, he has never let his populism overwhelm a glittering intelligence and penchant for upending expectation."{{sfn|Egan|2014|p=2}}

===Self-appraisal===
In 2000, Goldman said of his writing:
{{Blockquote | Someone pointed out to me that the most sympathetic characters in my books always died miserably. I didn't consciously know I was doing that.  I didn't. I mean, I didn't wake up each morning and think, today I think I'll make a really terrific guy ''so I can kill him''. It just worked out that way. I haven't written a novel in over a decade... and someone very wise suggested that I might have stopped writing novels because my rage was gone. It's possible. All this doesn't mean a helluva lot, except probably there is a reason I was the guy who gave Babe over to Szell in the "Is it safe?" scene and that I was the guy who put Westley into The Machine. I think I have a way with pain. When I come to that kind of sequence I have a certain confidence that I can make it play. Because I come from such a dark corner.{{Sfn | Goldman | 2000 | pp = 151–152}}}}

Goldman also said of his work:
"I [don't] like my writing. I wrote a movie called ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' and I wrote a novel called ''The Princess Bride'' and those are the only two things I've ever written, not that I'm proud of, but that I can look at without humiliation."{{sfn|Egan|2014|p=17}}

===Awards===
He won two [[Academy Award]]s: one for [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] for ''[[Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid]]'', and [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]] for ''[[All the President's Men (film)|All the President's Men]]''.  He also won two [[Edgar Award]]s, from the [[Mystery Writers of America]], for Best Motion Picture Screenplay: for ''[[Harper (film)|Harper]]'' in 1967, and for ''[[Magic (1978 film)|Magic]]'' (adapted from his 1976 novel) in 1979. In 1985, he received the [[Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement]] from the [[Writers Guild of America]].