
In 2018, film and letters lost the great William Goldman. As far as movies go, he’s remembered best for The Princess Bride, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and All the President’s Men, but his filmography also includes such classics as Heat and A Bridge Too Far (See a complete list of films and TV shows here).
Mr. Goldman was a master of dialogue, and anyone who’s seen The Princess Bride or Butch Cassidy knows that the lines are endlessly quotable. His prose style was colorful and direct, embodying what Mark Twain said about words: “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between the lightning and the lightning bug.”
Goldman wrote with lightning.
I thought it would be nice to celebrate William Goldman’s work with a blogathon–books as well as movies. Here are the rules:
- Posts, podcasts, or guest posts can be sent to me on or around November 15-17. New material only and no more than three entries, please.
- Posts can be about anything relating to William Goldman, his books (See a complete list here), or his films. Nothing derogatory will be accepted. Constructive disagreement is fine, though.
- Triplicates are allowed.
- Entries can be sent to me via Twitter (@TakingUpRoom), my Contact page, the comment section, or e-mail (rebeccadeniston@gmail.com).
- Grab a banner and advertise the blogathon!
The Roster:
Taking Up Room: All the President’s Men (1976)
Realweegiemidget Reviews: Magic (1978)
Dubsism: A Few Good Men (1992)
Crimson Kimono: Marathon Man (1976)
Pale Writer: The Princess Bride (1987)
The Midnite Drive-In: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
In the Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood: Harper (1966) and Misery (1990)
MovieRob: Magic (1978), Heat (1995) and Harper (1966)
Cinema Catharsis: Stepford Wives (1975)
The Banners
Hi there Rebecca. gosh he’s done some great films – so after much deliberation – can I go for Magic (1978)? I vaguely remember watching it as a kid but feel like a revisit is due. from Gill at Realweegiemidget Reviews. Now got the dilemma on which banner to choose!!
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Yeah, awesome–thanks for joining, Gill! Glad you like the banners. 🙂
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William Goldman also did an uncredited re-write of Aaron Sorkin’s original screenplay for “A Few Good Men.” Would that qualify that movie for this event, and if so, may I claim it?
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Yeah, that would definitely work. Thanks for joining, J-Dub.
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Hello again. That’s a great idea for a blogathon. Screenwriters don’t often get featured. I’d like to do MARATHON MAN which he adapted from his own novel.
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Hi! Thanks, and sure–that would be cool. Thanks for joining, Crimsonkay. 🙂
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My dentist always tells me I don’t come to see him enough. I tell him this movie is why.
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LOL, yeah, it’s pretty notorious. 🙂
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Okay so I have to be the predictable one and ask if I may please write about The Princess Bride? 💖
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Sure, absolutely! I was waiting for someone to pick that. Thanks for joining.
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Thank you ☀️
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You’re welcome. 🙂
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I’m not sure if my post is getting through. I’ll try again.
I did a post on The Princess Bride a few years back:
http://midnitedrive-in.blogspot.com/2016/03/as-you-wish-look-at-princess-bride-from.html (in case you are interested in reading it)
But since you want new material I decided to go with another excellent dialogue driven Goldman script: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
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You mean the Oz one? Yeah, it got through just fine. And thanks for joining–I will put you down for Butch Cassidy. Looking forward to reading your post, too. 🙂
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I actually meant this post. My computer kept locking up when I tried to send it. I was thinking I might end up seeing the same post 3 times. I’ve got it down on my calendar so I would have posted it regardless of whether the request finally went through…
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Huh, that’s weird. I can see it fine. Wonder what’s going on.
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Thanks for the invite Rebecca. Can I do a double feature sort of thing with “Harper” and “Misery”?
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Sure, that would be cool. Thanks for joining, Crystal. 🙂
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Hey! Can I do Magic (1978), Heat (1986) and Harper (1966)?
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Definitely! Thanks for joining, Rob. 🙂
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https://midnitedrive-in.blogspot.com/2019/11/witty-outlaws.html
My post is up
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Awesome, thanks, Quiggy! I’ll add it as soon as I can. Looking forward to reading it, too. 😀
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