Rebels on the Backlot: Six Maverick Directors and How They Conquered the Hollywood Studio System

By Sharon Waxman

The 1990s saw a shock wave of dynamic new directing talent that took the Hollywood studio system by storm. At the forefront of that movement were six innovative and daring directors whose films pushed the boundaries of moviemaking and announced to the world that something exciting was happening in Hollywood. Sharon Waxman, editor and chief of The Wrap.com and for Hollywood reporter for the New York Times spent the decade covering these young filmmakers, and in Rebels on the Backlot she weaves together the lives and careers of Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction; Steven Soderbergh, Traffic; David Fincher, Fight Club; Paul Thomas Anderson, Boogie Nights; David O. Russell, Three Kings; and Spike Jonze, Being John Malkovich.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Feb 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9780062287502

Sharon Waxman

Sharon Waxman is a former culture correspondent for The New York Times and holds a master’s degree in Middle East studies from Oxford University. She covered Middle Eastern and European politics and culture for ten years before joining The Washington Post and then The New York Times to report on Hollywood and other cultural news. She is the author of Loot: The Battle over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World and Rebels on the Backlot: Six Maverick Directors and How They Conquered the Hollywood Studio System. She lives in Southern California.