by Dave Itzkoff
First published 2014
Dave Itzkoff tells the story of how Network reached theaters in 1976. The film began with screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky, a tough Oscar winner who crafted his vision without studio interference or market testing. His script featured Howard Beale, an unhinged news anchor who becomes "the mad prophet of the airwaves" after declaring he's "mad as hell" and won't take it anymore. Director Sidney Lumet assembled a cast including Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, and Robert Duvall. Itzkoff draws on cast interviews, crew accounts, and Chayefsky's personal notes and drafts to recreate the production during a time of cultural upheaval. The film won four Academy Awards and changed how audiences view corporate and media power. Itzkoff also interviews contemporary broadcasters and filmmakers who explain Network's continuing influence on television and popular culture, revealing how Chayefsky's seemingly outlandish vision proved accurate in predicting our media landscape.
Genres: biography, american-fiction, 20th-century, non-fiction, film
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Period: 1976
304 pages · Kindle Edition · Times Books