Sign-In
Cart
The Golden Hour: A Story of Family and Power in Hollywood
Audio Book
Entertainment & Performing ArtsBusiness GeneralFilm Studies
Currently unavailable to order
Please enter your email and a message will be sent to you when this product becomes available on our website.
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: Apr 22 2025
Language: English
Named a best book of the year by Kirkus Reviews Named a Notable Book of 2025 by the Washington Post A personal and cultural exploration of the struggles between art and business at the heart of modern Hollywood, through the eyes of the talent that shaped it
Matthew Specktor grew up in the film industry: the son of legendary CAA superagent Fred Specktor, his childhood was one where Beau Bridges came over for dinner, Martin Sheen's daughter was his close friend, and Marlon Brando left long messages on the family answering machine. He would eventually spend time working in Hollywood himself, first as a reluctant studio executive and later as a screenwriter.
Now, with The Golden Hour, Specktor blends memoir, cultural criticism, and narrative history to tell the story of the modern motion picture industry--illuminating the conflict between art and business that has played out over the last seventy-five years in Hollywood. Braiding his own story with that of his father, mother (a talented screenwriter whose career was cut short), and figures ranging from Jack Nicholson to CAA's Michael Ovitz, Specktor reveals how Hollywood became a laboratory for the eternal struggle between art, labor, and capital.
Beginning with the rise of Music Corporation of America in the 1950s, The Golden Hour lays out a series of clashes between fathers and sons, talent agents and studio heads, artists, activists, unions, and corporations. With vivid prose and immersive scenes, Specktor shows how Hollywood grew from the epicenter of American cultural life to a full-fledged multinational concern--and what this shift has meant for the nation's place in the world. At once a book about the movie business and an intimate family drama, The Golden Hour is a sweeping portrait of the American Century.
Also in
Entertainment & Performing Arts
A Screaming Life: Into the Superunknown with Soundgarden and Beyond
Thayil, Kim
Tepedelen, Adem
Hardcover
The Last Kings of Hollywood: Coppola, Lucas, Spielberg--And the Battle for the Soul of American Cinema
Fischer, Paul
Hardcover
Kitchen Confidential Annotated Edition: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
Bourdain, Anthony
Paperback
North of Ordinary: How One Woman Left It All Behind for Wilderness and Wonder in Alaska's Frozen Frontier
Aikens, Sue
Hardcover
Lil' John: Laughing My Way Through Life: Stories from an Accidental Career on Cleveland Tv--And More!
Rinaldi, John
Paperback
Bottom of the Pyramid: A Memoir of Persevering, Dancing for Myself, and Starring in My Own Life
Sioux, Nia
Hardcover
Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum
Fox, Michael J.
Fortenberry, Nelle
Hardcover
Remember the Time: Protecting Michael Jackson in His Final Days
Beard, Javon
Whitfield, Bill
Hardcover
Walking Through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black, New Edition: Collected Stories
Mueller, Cookie
Paperback
A Place Both Wonderful and Strange: The Extraordinary Untold History of Twin Peaks
Meslow, Scott
Hardcover
Don't Buy What I'm Selling: On Breaking Up with Advertising and Finally Learning to Love My Whole, Fat Self
Chekowsky, Lu
Hardcover
Dolly Parton Songteller: My Life in Lyrics: My Life in Lyrics
Oermann, Robert K.
Parton, Dolly
Hardcover
From Here to the Great Unknown: Oprah's Book Club: A Memoir
Keough, Riley
Presley, Lisa Marie
Paperback
Martin Scorsese All the Films: The Story Behind Every Movie, Episode, and Short
Devillard, Arnaud
Schaller, Nicolas
Bousquet, Olivier
Hardcover
Jess and Norma: A Lifetime of Laughter and Our Unbreakable Bond
Asquith, Jessica
Burton, Norma
Paperback
The Extended Universe: How Disney Killed the Movies and Took Over the World
Osterweil, Vicky
Hardcover
Is This It: The Never-Ending Rise and Fall of the Strokes (and Rock 'n' Roll)
Hyden, Steven
Hardcover
Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan's Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend
Malkoff, Mark
Hardcover
Lucas Wars: The True Story of George Lucas and the Creation of Star Wars
Roche, Renaud
Hopman, Laurent
Hardcover
House of Psychotic Women: Expanded Edition: An Autobiographical Topography of Female Neurosis in Horror and Exploitation Films
Janisse, Kier-La
Paperback
The Way Love Goes: A Guide to Building a "Beaurtiful" and Everlasting Relationship
Da Brat &. Judy
Hardcover
Holy Disruptor: Shattering the Shiny Facade by Getting Louder with the Truth
King, Amy Duggar
Hardcover
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride
Elwes, Cary
Layden, Joe
Paperback
100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life (Large Print Edition)
Van Dyke, Dick
Hardcover
Book Meets World: The Definitive Inside Story of the Hit Sitcom Boy Meets World
Strong, Rider
Friedle, Will
Fishel, Danielle
Hardcover
The Colonel and the King: Tom Parker, Elvis Presley, and the Partnership That Rocked the World
Guralnick, Peter
Hardcover
It's Not Easy Bein' Me: A Lifetime of No Respect But Plenty of Sex and Drugs
Dangerfield, Rodney
Paperback
Every Time a Bell Rings: The Legacy of It's a Wonderful Life, America's Most Beloved Holiday Film
Theisen, Lauren
St James, Emily
Hardcover
Infinite Steps: Thirty-Three Dancers and Their Lives in Ballet
Schiavone, Gene
Larsen, Gavin
Paperback
The Love Producer: My Unscripted Journey from a Reality TV Career to My Own Happily Ever After
Laplaca, Julie
Paperback
Pre-Code Essentials: Must-See Cinema from Hollywood's Untamed Era, 1930-1934
Luperi, Kim
Reid, Danny
Paperback
Lincoln's Ghost: Houdini's War on Spiritualism and the Dark Conspiracy Against the American Presidency
Ricca, Brad
Hardcover
Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever
Singer, Matt
Hardcover