Sam Wasson is an American author and publisher, who often writes about the history of cinema in Hollywood. His works include the biography Fosse, the history books Improv Nation: How We Made a Great American Art and The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood and the co-authored Hollywood: The Oral History.

Sam Wasson
BornLos Angeles, California, United States
OccupationAuthor, publisher
Notable worksFosse
Improv Nation
The Big Goodbye
Hollywood: The Oral History
Website
www.samwasson.com

Early life and education

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Wasson was born in Los Angeles. His maternal grandfather was former Variety executive Hal “Lew” Scott.[1][2] Wasson attended Wesleyan University, and USC School of Cinematic Arts.[citation needed]

Career

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During the writing of his Bob Fosse biography, Wasson and researcher Jane Klein unearthed lost footage of Fosse's 1961 ABC television show Seasons of Youth.[3] In 2014, Fosse was one of six books shortlisted for the $10,000 Marfield Prize,[4] and received the Special Jury Prize at the George Freedley Memorial Award.[5] Production rights for a limited television series based on the book were purchased by television channel FX in 2018.[6]

In 2020, Wasson published a book about the making of the 1974 movie Chinatown, titled The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood.[7] Later that year, a film adaptation of The Big Goodbye was announced, with Lorne Michaels attached as producer and Ben Affleck as director.[8][9] Also in 2020, Wasson co-founded a publishing house with producer Brandon Millan.[10]

Wasson was a visiting professor at Wesleyan University[11] and Emerson College.[12]

In 2021, Wasson and William Rempel filed a lawsuit to unseal a 2010 deposition transcript of Roger Gunson, a former deputy district attorney, in relation to the Roman Polanski sexual abuse case.[13] In July 2022, the court ruled for the transcripts to be unsealed.[14][15][16][17]

In 2022, Wasson and Jeanine Basinger wrote an oral history book titled Hollywood: The Oral History.[18][19]

Bibliography

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Books

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  • A Splurch in the Kisser: The Movies of Blake Edwards. Wesleyan University Press. 2006. ISBN 978-0-8195-6977-6.
  • Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman. HarperCollins. 2010. ISBN 978-0-0620-0013-2.[20]
  • Paul on Mazursky. Wesleyan University Press. 2011. ISBN 978-0-8195-7144-1.[21]
  • Fosse. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2013. ISBN 978-0-5475-5329-0.[22]
  • Improv Nation: How We Made a Great American Art. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2017. ISBN 978-0-5445-5720-8.[23]
  • The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood. Flatiron Books. 2019. ISBN 978-1-2502-6629-3.[24]
  • Hollywood: The Oral History. HarperCollins. 2022. ISBN 978-0-0630-5696-1.[25]

References

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  1. ^ Staff (April 12, 1996). "The Silver Fox". Variety.
  2. ^ Staff (April 12, 1996). "Obituary". The Hollywood Reporter.
  3. ^ Ginsberg, Merle & Gary Baum (November 7, 2013). "Bob Fosse Biographer Unearths Lost 1961 ABC Special". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  4. ^ Ron Charles (March 11, 2014). "Terry Teachout among finalists for $10,000 Marfield Prize for arts writing". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  5. ^ "Freedley Award Winners, 1969-Present". Theatre Library Association. September 12, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  6. ^ Otterson, Joe (July 24, 2018). "FX Orders Bob Fosse Limited Series Starring Sam Rockwell, Michelle Williams With Lin-Manuel Miranda Producing". Variety. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  7. ^ Maslin, Janet (February 4, 2020). "It's 'Chinatown,' Jake. On Second Thought, Don't Forget It". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  8. ^ Kroll, Justin (April 7, 2020). "Ben Affleck To Direct Adaptation of 'Big Goodbye' For Paramount; Behind-The-Scenes Story Of The Making of 'Chinatown'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  9. ^ Kiefer, Halle (2020-08-07). "Ben Affleck to Remind You It's Chinatown With His Adaptation of Making-Of Book The Big Goodbye". Vulture. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  10. ^ Hudson, David (August 17, 2022). "August Books". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  11. ^ Simon, Scott (November 2, 2013). "Fosse's Genius: Working Even As He Was Dying". NPR. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  12. ^ John, John (October 6, 2021). "Sam Wasson gives Chinatown The Big Goodbye". Writers on Film. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  13. ^ Cieply, Michael (November 28, 2021). "On Monday, A New Twist On The Quest For Sealed Testimony In The Polanski Case". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  14. ^ "Wasson et al. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County et al". Unicourt. April 14, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  15. ^ Qeally, James (July 13, 2022). "Roman Polanski criminal case transcripts must be unsealed, court rules". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  16. ^ Maddaus, Gene (July 13, 2022). "Appeals Court Orders Release of Roman Polanski Transcript". Variety. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  17. ^ Cieply, Michael (July 18, 2022). "Roger Gunson's Unsealed Polanski Testimony Offers Not Bombshells, But Details And A Path Through The Thicket". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  18. ^ Rich, Katie (October 5, 2019). "Hollywood, in Its Own Words". Vanity Fair. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  19. ^ Yogerst, Chris (December 5, 2022). "Hollywood on Hollywood: On Jeanine Basinger and Sam Wasson's Oral History "Hollywood"". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  20. ^ Reviews of Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman:
  21. ^ Reviews of Paul on Mazursky:
  22. ^ Reviews of Fosse:
  23. ^ Reviews of Improv Nation: How We Made a Great American Art:
  24. ^ Reviews of The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood:
  25. ^ Reviews of Hollywood: The Oral History:
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