Review: 'The Last Kings of Hollywood' by Paul Fischer

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher. This post also contains Amazon affiliate links [*].

Hollywood is in a slow fade, and the reasons are as varied as they are troubling. Perhaps it’s the dominance of streaming platforms, or the rise of anxiety surrounding AI. Maybe it’s the political correctness that seems to permeate every script, or the disheartening lack of originality plaguing contemporary cinema. Whatever the cause, the younger generations appear indifferent to the once-glorious lights of Hollywood; they'd rather lose themselves in the fleeting entertainments of TikTok and YouTube. I might not be young anymore, but my passion for film, especially the classic Hollywood of yesteryear or the golden age untainted by CGI excess, remains strong. The current trend, where studios expect to recoup their lavish budgets during the opening weekend or risk relegation to a quiet home streaming release, makes it no wonder theater ticket prices are skyrocketing; who wants to shell out their hard-earned cash for a product that feels so out of touch?

This rant is fueled by my recent encounter with The Last Kings of Hollywood: Coppola, Lucas, Spielberg―and the Battle for the Soul of American Cinema ^[*] by Paul Fischer, the same author who brought us A Kim Jong-Il Production. As I write this, I realize I have a copy of the latter sitting unread on my shelf, a testament to my own chaotic reading habits. You may be wondering who these "last kings of Hollywood" are. They’re none other than the legendary trio: Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg.

In the summer of 1967, as the old Hollywood studio system crumbled, a determined young film school graduate named George Lucas began his first day on the Warner Bros. lot as an assistant to the then-largely unknown Francis Ford Coppola, a boisterous father of two with a creative fire. Simultaneously, on the Universal Studios lot, a film-obsessed twenty-year-old named Steven Spielberg yearned to break free from his apprentice shackles and carve his own path as a director.

Within a year, these three men would forge a friendship that would shape the future of cinema. Spielberg secured a seven-year contract directing television, while Lucas and Coppola craved independence and left Hollywood behind for San Francisco, where they founded American Zoetrope, a daring studio where they could create films unconstrained by corporate meddling.

Based on meticulous research and countless interviews with those in the inner circle of these cinematic titans, The Last Kings of Hollywood unfurls the thrilling, dramatic saga of how these three filmmakers rivaled and supported one another, grappled with their demons, and sought to reinvent American cinema. Over the next fifteen years, they each created monumental works that redefined box office standards: Coppola’s The Godfather, which held the highest-grossing title until Spielberg’s Jaws came along, only to be dethroned by Lucas’s Star Wars, a record Spielberg reclaimed with E.T... By the early 1980s, they were not just filmmakers but empires unto themselves—rich, renowned, and deeply flawed.

I read an advanced reading copy, so there might have been a few stray errors that likely found resolution before the book hit shelves last month. Fischer’s prose is striking and engaging; his words flow with an effortless grace, and the myriad quotes sourced from interviews, diaries, letters, and other contemporary documents create an immersive reading experience that kept me captivated over several nights. This book dives into the murky waters of drugs, greed, betrayal, and the stark highs and lows of the Hollywood dream—particularly for Coppola, who takes the title of my least favorite director among the three. Most of the narrative centers on the rise and tumultuous fall of American Zoetrope, once a beacon of hope in independent filmmaking, eventually overshadowed by the franchises that emerged.

As for Spielberg, the book provides a concise yet enlightening glimpse into his childhood, detailing his rise from directing television at a tender age to dominating the summer blockbuster scene with hits strung together like pearls on a necklace.

To summarize, The Last Kings of Hollywood ^[*] is an engaging journey through the tumult of filmmaking, a riveting read for any cinephile eager to delve into the tapestry of Hollywood’s storied past. Highly recommended for those who thirst for the rich history of cinema and yearn to understand the souls behind its screams and whispers. ╌★★★★✰

〜B.J. Burgess