I have read several books on filmmaking from top directors and screenwriters, including Chasing the Light by Oliver Stone, Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino, and Adventures in the Screen Trade and Which Lie Did I Tell? by William Goldman, but even among these fascinating books by such accomplished authors, Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions stands out. For one thing, Zwick is an excellent writer. He is also adept at focusing on lessons to be learned in the midst of the innumerable outrageous situations in which people working in Hollywood find themselves. And his examples come from accounts of the filming of some truly outstanding films he has been the producer, director, and/or writer of, including The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, Defiance, Glory, Shakespeare in Love, Legends of the Fall, and others. In addition, he shares the triumphs and tragedies of working with actors such as Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Morgan Freeman, Daniel Craig, and Anthony Hopkins. In between the chapters, each of which highlights one or more TV series or movies, Zwick compiles summaries of tips and lessons to be derived from the examples; some of these are written tongue-in-cheek, while others provide profound yet practical wisdom for anyone aspiring to success in film land.

I want to emphasize, though, that this book is much more than a Hollywood expose. As I said, Zwick is a very talented writer, and this is above all a personal memoir. He credits the COVID lockdown, when film production shut down, with providing the impetus to put his past into words. As he says: “For the first time in my life, having been stripped of the work addiction that’s defined me since second grade, I decided to sit down and take a hard look at what I’d made over the years.” And his motivation comes in the form of an image: “It is of a young filmmaker, bent over a copy of my book, scribbling something I’ve written into a notebook of her own.”

However, all is not brilliance and dazzle in the world of movies. Besides telling the success stories of award-winning films, he recounts many tales of when things went wrong: the movies that were developed but never made, studio executives stalking sets of films whose production costs have exploded, grapples with stars who don’t see eye-to-eye with him, locations that proved intensely difficult to work in, accidents on set, and the difficulties of making his latest films while being treated for the cancer he was diagnosed with. It’s fun to read the success stories of film shoots that culminate in critical acclaim and the winning of Emmys and Oscars, but it is also illuminating to read about the setbacks and failures – of which there are inevitably many. It is obvious from this book that you have to have a thick skin and an unending supply of persistence and sheer courage if you want to make movies. It is also obvious, though, that the journey can be fulfilling and rewarding. Whether your chosen means of expression is film or some other artistic medium, I recommend this book not only for its absorbing stories of what it’s like in film land, also for its insightful portrayal of the artistic experience.