Unless you’re a very dedicated cineaste you might not know Ed Zwick’s name. He created the TV show Thirtysomething back in the ’80s and made films like the 1989 Civil War drama Glory, scarily prescient New York-set 1998 terrorism drama The Siege, Jake Gyllenhaal/Anne Hathaway romcom Love and Other Drugs and the overblown 2003 Tom Cruise vehicle The Last Samurai.

With his last film, 2018s Trial by Fire, having sunk without a trace, it seems Zwick’s turned his back on Hollywood and fired a few salvos
out of the window as he did so.

Hits, Flops and Other Illusions tells the story of his career chronologically in chapters dealing with each new project – some very successful, some that never got off the ground. Most of the value is in the peek behind the curtain.

Some targets are easy, such as Harvey Weinstein who screwed him out of directing the 1998 Best Picture Oscar winner Shakespeare in Love after Zwick got the project off the ground.

Some are hilarious. When Matthew Broderick, one of the hottest young stars in the business after Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, had concerns with the Glory script, he flew to the Georgia set to talk to Zwick along with his mother, who proceeded to rewrite the movie to her liking as a condition of his involvement.

It’s not all back-handed bitchiness though. Zwick has seen and created a lot of movie magic. His description of Denzel Washington’s process is pretty fascinating. If you’re a movie fan it’s worth your time.

Reviewed by Drew Turney

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ed Zwick is a writer, director and producer. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his direction of the 1989 critically acclaimed Civil War drama, Glory.

He received his second Golden Globe nomination as a director for Legends of the Fall. Zwick received an Academy Award as one of the producers of Shakespeare in Love, as well as a second nomination for Traffic. He wrote, directed and produced the feature film The Last Samurai.

Find out more about Ed Zwick