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Press kit for I Thought We Were Making Movies, Not History

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Mirisch press kit | Press release | Blurbs | Reviews | Author's bio | Author's photo | Cover image | Excerpt

 

I Thought We Were Making Movies, Not History Walter Mirisch Forewords by Sidney Poitier and Elmore Leonard Wisconsin Film Series, Patrick McGilligan, Series Editor Publication date March 2008 408 pp. 6 x 9 59 b/w photos ISBN-13: 978-0-299-22640-4 Cloth $29.95 t Press Release Pdf of Press Release | Text reader version Blurbs: “Legendary producer, visionary filmmaker, courageous seeker of truth, especially in troubling times.”—Sidney Poitier, from his foreword “From Bomba, the Jungle Boy to Some Like It Hot and In the Heat of the Night . . . Walter Mirisch produced many of the films which dazzled and inspired me (and I’m not kidding about Bomba. I loved those movies as a kid.) When I later acted in one of his (lesser) productions, The Spikes Gang, I learned that a prolific and brilliant producer could also be a terrific guy and a wonderful teacher. No surprise then that Walter has given us a wise and utterly engrossing look at his life . . . and extraordinary experiences in this film business.”—Ron Howard “Walter Mirisch’s love of movies led him to make some of the best films that the industry has produced. Whether as producer or as an executive of one of the best production companies in town, he has seen it all and now can tell it all to you from his own fiercely independent perspective.”—Steven Spielberg “Walter Mirisch has written the quintessential behind-the-scenes book on the glory days of Hollywood. If you ever wanted to know everything there was to know, this will surely be touted as a ‘bible’ of our industry—for Walter tells it as it really was, with the integrity for which he is known and loved. It is an engaging story; insightful and entertaining, poignant with personal anecdotes.” —Julie Andrews and Blake Edwards Reviews: [Will be posted as they become available] Excerpt Author's Bio: Walter Mirisch is the producer, in whole or in part, of more than one hundred films. Among the Mirisch Company’s honors are three Oscars for best picture—The Apartment (1960), West Side Story (1961), and In the Heat of the Night (1967). Mirisch has also received two honorary Academy Awards, the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (1977) and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1983); and has been honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award (1977) presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the David O. Selznick Lifetime Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures (1995) presented by the Producers Guild of America. He has been decorated by the Republic of France with its Order of Arts and Letters, has received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and is a recipient of the UCLA Medal, that university’s highest award. Mirisch served three terms as president of the Producers Guild of America and four terms as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. For more information, in addition to this press kit, contact Chris Caldwell, our publicity manager, phone: (608) 263-0734, email: publicity@uwpress.wisc.edu [Return to the book page for Walter Mirisch's book.]

Cover image: This cover image can be downloaded and used in any web-based publicity for this book. For a 300 dpi version, click here. Author Photo: [to be uploaded shortly] These images can be downloaded and used in any web-based publicity for this book.

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