Above the Line: Conversations about the Movies

By Lawrence Grobel

Above the Line is a dazzling gathering of insights and anecdotes from all corners of the film industry. The interviews (portions of which originally appeared in Playboy and Movieline ) explore from the inside the skills, intelligence, experiences, and emotions of eleven key players who produce, write, direct, act, and review the movies, including Oliver Stone, Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Robert Evans, Lily Tomlin, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Harrison Ford, Robert Towne, Sharon Stone, and Siskel and Ebert. Witty, scathing, gossipy, generous, the interviewees show just what make the movies work from "above the line"--from the perspective of those whose names go above the title. These are the "talent"--the gifted individuals, often with inflated egos, often torn by doubts--each representing a piece of the puzzle that somehow gives rise to the best in moviemaking today.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0306809788
• ISBN13: 9780306809781
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 398 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.9" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Informative and a style beyond compare!

Lawrence Grobel is a brilliant entertainment interviewer. I have admired his work and by reading "Above the Line: Conversations about the movies", his work inspires me even more. As an entertainment writer, I've always wanted to conduct my interviews like Grobel's. One thing about Grobel's style is that he's smart, he's a man who does his research and although I have never met the man, his interviews are intelligent, informative and it leaves me complete. Where magazines tend to have the typical questions that are becoming so damn repetitive in many entertainment publications (and also to short), when you read this book you can tell by his conversations with people like Harrison Ford, Sharon Stone, Oliver Stone and more that they have a certain respect for this man. I can't wait to read the next book from Grobel (which I hope there is another one) and I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves reading entertainment interviews and to those who are interviewers as well. "Above the Line" is deserving of the five stars.

You know how the movies were once called "Talkies"...

Lawrence Grobel has been writing the finest interviews with the world's famous for the past twenty years. Finally, a compilation of his best work has arrived. The thing that sets Grobel apart from most interviewers is research. He makes a consistent effort to never repeat the same old tired questions. This is apparent throughout this book. I highly recommend both the Robert Evans interview and the Oliver Stone, but they're all pretty great. Be sure to check out Grobel's work each month in Movieline and Palyboy magazines as well.