Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears – Michael Schulman

Mar 8

Mar 8 Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears – Michael Schulman

Books about Hollywood — fiction, nonfiction; it doesn’t matter — are one of the most consistently enjoyable genres I read, and Michael Schulman’s in-depth “Oscar Wars” proved no exception.

As a closeted kid, the annual “gay Super Bowl” (aka Academy Awards) provided an opportunity to openly express interest in the arts without ridicule, especially my fascination with film criticism and award prognostication, which clearly foretold a career in writing and marketing.

Yet these connections didn’t dawn on me until reading “Oscar Wars,” which is as much about business as it is about creativity and out-sized personality. For expecting this to be a frothy history, I was surprised by the detailed explorations of how the sausage was/is made — from studio system contracts to politicking and power grabs.

People looking for an exhaustive recap of the awards themselves will be disappointed as Schulman presents more a chronicle of Hollywood in 11 eras, with the Oscars serving as a (sometimes loose) connective thread to introduce the films, actors and creators that defined each generation.

The pages are filled with dozens of interesting dramas, many perpetuated by Bette Davis. While many sections are jarring to read — there’s so much antisemitism, violence, sexism, fat shaming, ageism and racism — it’s also a love letter to people whose influence is still felt, even if their names are lesser known today.

I can’t say that I enjoyed each chapter equally, but Schulman did keep my interest with witty transitions and an impressive vocabulary that made this less stodgy than it could’ve been in another historian's hands.

The first few chapters felt like a primer on Old Hollywood, which is necessary to understand the evolution of the industry. While intriguing, these sections read more like a research paper since many readers will have no connection to these bygone luminaries.

As the clout of Oscar recognition grew, so did the wars of the title — which proved to be both global and golden — and the author presents just enough detail to help the reader understand how the sociopolitical opinions of creators led to a battle over freedom of speech that was often fraught.

My favorite chapters were “Fiasco,” about the disastrous 1989 ceremony produced by Allan Carr; “Tokens” about the historic wins by Hattie McDaniel, Sidney Poitier and Halle Berry; and “The Envelope” about the colossal best picture mix-up in 2017.

Others, like “Running the Asylum," largely focused on the 1970s rise of counterculture in film (takeaway: Dennis Hopper was absolutely bonkers), and “Who Is Robert Rich?” about blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo, dwelled on its topics too long.

I appreciated that Schulman focused “The Harveys,” chapter on how the disgraced sexual predator changed Oscar campaigning forever rather than his crimes. Still, I hate that he was given so much page time.

All that to say, personal affinity will influence your enjoyment of various sections. Still, all cinema lovers will find a lot to enjoy here, especially once the content is influenced more by Schulman’s original research and interviews rather than sources that have been broadly available for decades.

BONUS: Academy Award Trivia

If you’re prepping for an Oscar watch party, here are a few fun facts to entertain the crowd:

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was the brainchild of Louis B. Mayer who thought “uniting all branches of motion picture production” would promote “the dignity and honor of the profession” and offset threats that were derailing the nascent industry: censorship and strikes.
Mary Pickford was the only woman that was a founding member of the Academy.
Emil Jannings, the first recipient of best actor, later starred in Nazi propaganda films.
The first Academy Awards (1929) only lasted 15 minutes and most honorees didn’t attend.
By the second year of the Academy Awards (1930) all the outstanding picture nominees had sound.
Discontinued categories include: Best Assistant Director, Best Original Story and Best Title Writing.
The 1930 ceremony was the first to be broadcast on radio, and the 1953 ceremony was the first to be broadcast on television.
So many members left the Academy for individual guilds that it almost folded in 1933.
After outrage over Bette Davis’ snub for “Of Human Bondage,” the Academy allowed write-in voting in 1935 and 1936. Davis still didn’t win best actress, but cinematographer Hal Mohr won by write-in which prompted backlash.
Many people have taken credit for the “Oscar” nickname – including Sidney Skolsky and Bette Davis –- but Margaret Herrick, an Academy librarian and executive director, is largely considered the person who said the statue “looked like my Uncle Oscar.”
Bette Davis became the first female president of the Academy, but she resigned after two months.
Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland were so competitive as sisters they refused to speak after Joan won the Oscar first.
25 film nominees in 1943 were produced by the government or military.
“All About Eve” was Marilyn Monroe’s film debut, and she later referred to Bette Davis as a “mean old broad.” The only time she ever attended the Academy Awards was in 1951.
Due to his refusal to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Dalton Trumbo was blacklisted from Hollywood but still writing. He won two uncredited Academy Awards – for “Roman Holiday” (later given in 2011) and under the pseudonym Robert Rich for “The Brave One.”
In 1969, the Academy first purged its membership to bring in fresh blood, and Candice Bergen helped recruit her young Hollywood friends.
Gregory Peck was considered one of the most transformative Academy presidents in history.
Prior to winning best actor for “Wall Street,” Michael Douglas won a best picture Oscar for producing “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
The shark in “Jaws” was affectionately named Bruce.
Only three films have won “The Big Five” – best picture, best director, best actor, best actress and best screenplay – “It Happened One Night,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “The Silence of the Lambs.”
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” first featured in “Neptune’s Daughter,” was nominated for Best Original Song in 1950.
The film “Can’t Stop the Music,” which featured the Village People was so bad it prompted John J.B. Wilson and Mo Murphy to create “The Razzies.”
Eileen Bowman, who portrayed Snow White during the 1989 ceremony, was legally bound to not discuss her experience for 13 years.
Cheryl Boone Issacs and her brother, Ashley, were the only siblings to serve on the Academy board together.