Sydney Pollack

Sydney Pollack was a true actor's director-a filmmaker who came up through the ranks, starting as a bit-part TV performer before turning to directing. From his debut feature The Slender Thread (1965) to his final film, The Interpreter (2005), Pollack built a reputation for intelligent, emotionally resonant storytelling. He forged creative partnerships with stars like Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Barbra Streisand, and Tom Cruise, guiding iconic performances in American films for four decades. An Academy Award winner for Out of Africa (1985) and a nominee for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) and Tootsie (1982), Pollack left behind a legacy of popular and personal films marked by their superior craftsmanship. Sydney Pollack: Collected Interviews brings together twenty-four in-depth conversations with the acclaimed director, spanning from 1967 to 2007. Sourced from a range of international publications, these interviews offer candid tales and intimate glimpses of Pollack's big-name collaborations. More than just a portrait of one man's career, the book is a wide-angle view of post-1960s Tinseltown itself: the wheeling and dealing, the creative clashes, and the evolution of the American cinema. This collection sheds light on the nuts and bolts of moviemaking, using Pollack's own voice to inform, entertain, and revive the spark of an immense talent who epitomized the best of Hollywood. AUTHORS: Patrick McGilligan is a film biographer and historian. His many works include the New York Times Notable Books George Cukor: A Double Life and Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast, the Edgar Award-finalist Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light, and the life stories of Jack Nicholson, Clint Eastwood, Robert Altman, Oscar Micheaux, Mel Brooks, and Woody Allen. Paul Cronin is the editor of several books, including Alexander Mackendrick's On Film-Making: An Introduction to the Craft of the Director, Werner Herzog's A Guide for the Perplexed, and Abbas Kiarostami's Lessons with Kiarostami. He is the founder and director of the publishing company Sticking Place Books. 22 b/w illustrations