Book Talk: Coppola, Lucas, Spielberg

In conversation with author Paul Fischer, hosted by author, critic and film historian Pamela Hutchinson.

Join us for our accompanying screening of George Lucas' American Graffiti

Depot is excited to host our next author in-conversation with Paul Fischer to celebrate his latest book, 'The Last Kings of Hollywood, Coppola, Lucas, Spielberg and the Battle for the Soul of American Cinema' - the definitive account of one of the wildest and most influential periods of Hollywood history, starring the three most famous directors of all time and their tumultuous friendships.

Coppola – The Godfather
Spielberg – Jaws
Lucas – Star Wars

The Last Kings of Hollywood tells the thrilling, dramatic inside story of how the three filmmakers rivalled and supported each other, fell out and reconciled, and struggled to reinvent popular American cinema. Along the way, Coppola directed The Godfather, then the highest-grossing film of all-time, until Spielberg surpassed it with Jaws – whose record Lucas broke with Star Wars, which Spielberg surpassed again with E.T.

By the early 1980s, they were the richest, best- known filmmakers in the world, each with an empire of their own. The Last Kings of Hollywood is an unprecedented chronicle of their rise, their dreams and demons, their triumphs and their failures — intimate, extraordinary, and supremely entertaining.

The book is packed with delicious behind-the-scenes detail, charisma and chaos (Coppola mortgaging everything for Apocalypse Now, Lucas collapsing after Star Wars, Spielberg charming his way into history); and Paul is a total film head himself, sharp, warm, and full of brilliant anecdotes.

‘Riveting, grade A smack for cinema junkies and a new essential text on how three generational filmmakers changed movies forever. Fischer's writing pulsates and his diligence in finding fresh voices had me hanging on every new anecdote. Drop everything and read this straight through. I did.’ - STEVEN SODERBERGH