The Way They Were

Starred review from December 19, 2022
Theater critic Hofler (Money, Murder, and Dominick Dunne) delivers a spellbinding behind-the-scenes look at the seminal 1973 film The Way We Were. When playwright Arthur Laurents pitched the idea for the movie to producer Ray Stark, the politically minded script was partly a way for Laurents to earn “sweet revenge” for the time he was blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Hofler details Robert Redford’s initial reluctance to join the cast (“It sounds to me like another Ray Stark ego trip” he jokes), a hesitation that diminished when he discovered he’d be paid more than costar Barbra Streisand. Hofler recounts the clash of wills between Laurents and director Sydney Pollack that often threatened production—“Laurents thought he knew how to handle Pollack: he would listen politely to the director’s suggestions and promptly ignore them”—and holds nothing back as he describes tumultuous rewrites, delays, and the various players’ lofty demands (such as Streisand’s perfectionism and “questioning of every detail”). The ever-changing screenplay and forceful presence of two major stars created a difficult atmosphere, but despite “the day-to-day horrors of shepherding The Way We Were to the screen,” the film skyrocketed to fame. Hofler’s prose sparkles, and he successfully blends histrionics with on-screen magic. The captivating result makes clear that the drama happening behind the camera can be just as gripping as what’s in front of it. Agent: Lee Sobel, Lee Sobel Literary Agency.

January 1, 2023

The Way We Were, the 1973 film, is much beloved by moviegoers. Written by Arthur Laurents, who later turned his screenplay into a best-selling novel, it's the poignant story of mismatched lovers: Katie (Barbra Streisand), an insecure Jewish activist, and Hubbell (Robert Redford), a white preppy golden boy. It's a special film with an unforgettable and tear-jerking ending, thanks to the stars' excellent chemistry and Marvin Hamlisch's lush Oscar-winning score. But readers of Hofler's book will also learn that this beloved romantic film came close to never being made. Just in time for the film's 50th anniversary, theater critic Hofler (Money, Murder, and Dominick Dunne: A Life in Several Acts) digs deep to find the drama that went on behind-the-scenes. For instance, the film's director, Sydney Pollack, had to deal with producer Ray Stark's interference. There were also endless script rewrites, Streisand's acute anxiety vs. Redford's nonchalance (after months of fierce resistance to signing onto the film), and early previews that were not promising. But it all worked out, and the film went on to be the fifth highest-grossing movie of the year. VERDICT With 26 pages of notes, this is a detailed and well-researched biography of a popular film that avid fans and film students will likely find fascinating.--Rosellen "Rosy" Brewer

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2023
You know the movie: Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford fall in love, but history gets in the way. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of The Way We Were, Hofler, a theater critic and author of a handful of books about Hollywood-related subjects, has produced a thoroughly entertaining account of how the film got made. This was one of those movies that could easily have been a disaster. Nearly everything went wrong: the casting process was a nightmare; the script needed a lot of work (at least according to one of the film's stars); and the first cut of the movie, the one shown to audiences in previews, stunk up the place. And yet, somehow, what emerged from the ordeal was a movie that was a hit when it came out and quickly slipped into the ""beloved"" category, where it has remained for half a century. Hofler knows the trick of writing a ""making of"" book: to give the behind-the-scenes story a measure of the excitement, even the suspense, of an actual movie. He nails it.

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