This Terrible Business Has Been Good to Me: An Autobiography

About this book

For over forty years Norman Jewison has been one of Hollywoods preeminent storytellers. His films have spanned every genre from drama to comedy to musical to action and have been embraced by audiences and critics alike. Throughout his career Jewison has shown an honesty humor and unflappable spirit that have made him one of Hollywoods best-loved and most successful directors culminating in an Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1999. In this candid and witty autobiography Jewison reveals how he went from a quiet childhood in Canada to the heady world of entertainment working with the biggest stars and winning some of the most sought-after awards. He began his career in television earning three Emmy Awards for his work with luminaries such as Harry Belafonte Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra but soon made the move to the big screen. In Hollywood he started out directing romantic comedies with Doris Day and Rock Hudson but soon proved himself adept as an independent filmmaker with The Cincinnati Kid starring a young Steve McQueen. Jewison - or the "Canadian Pinko" as John Wayne called him -- has been a tireless promoter of civil rights around the world in both his films and life. His pre-glasnost comedy The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! made him one of the first Western directors to go behind the Iron Curtain. Robert Kennedy became a friend after supplying details of his own experiences in the South for the making of In The Heat of the Night starring Sidney Poitier. The landmark film went on to win five Academy Awards including Best Picture but not before Jewison Poitier and the rest of the crew spent a tense sleepless night in a Southern motel. In the 80s and 90s his films A Soldiers Story and The Hurricane with Denzel Washington each received worldwide acclaim for their portrayal of some of the most fundamental issues of race in America. No matter what genre Jewisons films were career highlights for countless actors and he offers never before told details of his own working relationships with the stars and studios. How did he a Canadian - Christian - get to direct the hit musical Fiddler on the Roof? How did the rugged motorcycle-riding Steve McQueen convince Jewison he could play the sophisticated Thomas Crown? How did Jewison help invent the futuristic sport of Rollerball? How did Moonstruck reverse a box office curse and go on to become a smash success and multiple Oscar-winner? This Terrible Business Has Been Good to Me reveals the little-known details in these funny charming stories of life on the other side of the camera.