The Club Rules: Power, Money, Sex, and Fear--How It Works in Hollywood

The Club, which controls Hollywood's show business, is a mingling of attorneys, agents, talents, studio chiefs and bankers. 'Most of them are white males, forty or older, Jewish for the most part, heterosexual for the most part, ususally fathers, of shorter than average height - and they tend tot go to bed early'. They all know each other. Paul Rosenfield interviewed members of the Club in order to know what binds them together, why people are attracted to it, what is the overall human climate and who are the nasty characters. The most interesting interviews are those with Al Pacino, Jim Aubrey, Billy Wilder, Steven Spielberg and Frank Yablans. The others are more or less commonplaces or vulgarities. Like everywhere else in the world 'power' binds the members together, for 'If you have no power, Hollywood is the most unforgiving town in the world.' People try to get in the Club for six major reasons: money, ego, love, sex, status and - particularly - fear, because the reigning climate is anxiety, the scare of failure. And 'the truly monstrous women in Hollywood are the star's wives ... They are the Greek chorus that speaks the truth, because they are protected by layers of Club agents, attorneys, managers, maids, masseurs ...'. Paul Rosenfield gives us a fait portrait of some of the main characters in the world's greatest entertainment industry. A book for filmfanatics.