The Devil's Candy: The Anatomy of a Hollywood Fiasco

Written by Julie Salamon

Narrated by Julie Salamon

When Brian De Palma agreed to allow Julie Salamon unlimited access to the film production of Tom Wolfe's bestselling book The Bonfire of the Vanities, both director and journalist must have felt like they were on to something big. How could it lose? But instead Salamon got a front-row seat at the Hollywood disaster of the decade. She shadowed the film from its early stages through the last of the eviscerating reviews, and met everyone from the actors to the technicians to the studio executives. They'd all signed on for a blockbuster, but there was a sense of impending doom from the start-heart-of-gold characters replaced Wolfe's satiric creations; affable Tom Hanks was cast as the patrician heel; Melanie Griffith appeared mid-shoot with new, bigger breasts. With a keen eye and ear, Salamon shows us how the best of intentions turned into a legendary Hollywood debacle.

The Devil's Candy joins John Gregory Dunne's The Studio, Steven Bach's Final Cut, and William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade as a classic for anyone interested in the workings of Hollywood.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jun 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781666115420

Julie Salamon

Julie Salamon was a film critic and a reporter for The Wall Street Journal for sixteen years and was recently appointed as a television critic for The New York Times. She is the author of The Devil's Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood, White Lies, The Net of Dreams, and the New York Times bestseller The Christmas Tree.

Reviews for The Devil's Candy

[Jesse Livingston · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fascinating look into the filmmaking process at the studio level.

[Andrew Farnsworth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A must read for any serious film fan. This fly on the wall book takes you through the whole filmmaking process. The fact that the film is one of the biggest misfires in Hollywood history only adds to the enjoyment. The book has two follow I p epilogue that bring the story of the production up to date.

[Rebecca Callaghan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I picked up this book to get a better idea of what it's like to be on a movie set and what goes into making a film. and WOW did I get way more than I asked for. This is an insanely comprehensive look at the production of one of the most forgotten pictures ever made and falls into exactly none of the fluffy and shallow tropes about hollywood filmmaking. there is not a single gild on this rose that isn't peeled back, no single actor or production hand who isn't given a fair shake, warts and all. I watched the movie about halfway through the book, and it was as flippant and forgettable as most people think of it as. However, I struggled to truly hate the film knowing exactly how difficult it was to produce. It makes you wonder about the heart and soul beating behind all those stinkers and flops.