The First Time I Got Paid for It is a one-of-a-kind collection of essays by more than fifty leading film and television writers, with a foreword by screenwriting legend William Goldman. Linked by the theme of a writer's "first time"--usually the first time he got paid for his work, but sometimes veering off into other, more unconventional, "first times"--these always entertaining (and sometimes hilarious) pieces share what it takes to succeed, what it takes to write well, and other aspects of maintaining creativity and integrity while striving for a career in Hollywood. Richard...

William Goldman's remarkable career spans more than five decades, and his credentials run the gamut from bestselling novelist to Oscar-winning screenwriter to Hollywood raconteur. He's beloved by millions of readers as the author of the classic comic-romantic fantasy The Princess Bride. And he's notorious for creating the most harrowing visit to the dentist in literary and cinematic history--in one of the seminal thrillers of the twentieth century. . . .

MARATHON MAN

Tom "Babe" Levy is a runner in every sense: racing tirelessly toward his goals of athletic and academic excellence--and...

William Goldman is famous for his Academy Award-winning screenplays, infamous for the thriller that did for dentists what Psycho did for showers, beloved for his hilarious "hot fairy-tale," and notorious for his candid behind-the-scenes Hollywood chronicles. But long before Butch and Sundance, Buttercup, and the Tinsel-Town tell-alls, he made his mark as one of the great popular novelists of the twentieth century. Now his sweeping, classic tale of a generation's tumultuous coming-of-age is at last back in print.

BOYS & GIRLS TOGETHER

Aaron, Walt, Jenny, Branch, and Rudy. They are...

Acclaimed for such Academy Award--winning screenplays as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and such thrillers as Marathon Man, not to mention the bestselling classic The Princess Bride, William Goldman stands as one of the most beloved writers in America. But long before these triumphs, he caused a sensation with his brilliant first novel, a powerful story of reckless youth that was hailed as a worthy rival to The Catcher in the Rye.

THE TEMPLE OF GOLD

Ray Trevitt is coming of age in the American midwest of the late...

Now available as an ebook for the first time
No one knows the writer's Hollywood more intimately than William Goldman. Two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter and the bestselling author of Marathon Man, Tinsel, Boys and Girls Together, and other novels, Goldman now takes you into Hollywood's inner sanctums...on and behind the scenes for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, and other films...into the plush offices of Hollywood producers...into the working lives of acting greats such as...

Now available as an ebook for the first time
No one knows the writer's Hollywood more intimately than William Goldman. Two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter and the bestselling author of Marathon Man, Tinsel, Boys and Girls Together, and other novels, Goldman now takes you into Hollywood's inner sanctums...on and behind the scenes for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, and other films...into the plush offices of Hollywood producers...into the working lives of acting greats such as...

(Applause Books). Marathon Man, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Princess Bride, Misery . Author royalties donated to the Motion Picture and Television Fund.

(Applause Books). When a routine burglary in an elegant, upscale Virginia mansion goes awry, career thief Luther Whitney finds himself witness to a brutal murder involving none other than Alan Richmond, the youthful, charming, and thoroughly corrupt President of the United States. Torn between fear for his life and devotion to his family and country, Luther must make a decision that will change not only his own destiny, but the destiny of the world as we know it. Based on the best-selling thriller by David Baldacci, described as "relentlessly entertaining" by The Atlanta Journal &...

(Applause Books). A collection of five screenplays by this Academy Award-winning writer. Includes: All the President's Men * Magic * Harper * Maverick * The Great Waldo Pepper. Also features essays by Goldman: "Getting Even or Creative Accounting," "Sneak Previews, or Why Did She Have to Die?," "Hype or Consequences: A Brief History of the Future," "Shooting from the Hip: Don't You Know Anything About Screenwriting?," and "Nothing for Me to Steal: The Secret Life of an Adaptation."

(Applause Books). William Goldman, who holds two Academy Awards for his screenwriting ( Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President's Men ), and is author of the perennial best seller Adventures in the Screen Trade, scrutinizes the Hollywood movie scene of the past decade in this engaging collection. With the film-world-savvy and razor-sharp commentary for which he is known, he provides an insider's take on today's movie world as he takes a look at "the big picture" on Hollywood, screenwriting, and the future of American cinema. Paperback.