Piecing together a story like this one depends on the extraordinary generosity and cooperation of a wide group of people. My heartfelt gratitude to everyone who shared memories and insights. I owe a special debt to those who rooted through attics and basements to find diaries, records and keepsakes, and especially to Geena Davis and Mimi Polk Gitlin, who helped me reach many of the key players.
Others who worked on Thelma & Louise and contributed their stories include (listed alphabetically): Anne Ahrens, Jason Beghe, Ira Belgrade, Jeff Berg, Scotty Bergstein, Kathie Berlin, Diane Cairns, Tim Carhart, Steve Danton, Tracy DeFreitas, Bonita DeHaven, David Eidenberg, Joe Everett, Greg Foster, Brett Goldstein, Ken Haber, Ross Harpold, Bonnie Blackburn Hart, Paul Hartman, Michael Hirabayashi, Lucinda Jenney, Harvey Keitel, Callie Khouri, Luca Kouimelis, Alan Ladd Jr., David Ladd, Steve La Porte, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, Greg Morrison, Michael Neale, Kathy Nelson, Roland Neveu, Thom Noble, Dawna O’Brien, Rebecca Pollack Parker, Susan Sarandon, Ridley Scott, Scott Senechal, Diane Spencer, Marco St. John, Amanda Temple, Stephen Tobolowsky, Kenneth Turek, Kami Turrou, Susan Williams and Hans Zimmer.
Those who were invaluable in describing the ways of Hollywood: Candace Allen, Jeanine Basinger, Susan Braudy, Jeremiah Chechik, Martha Coolidge, Lauren Shuler Donner, Richard Donner, Lucy Fisher, Jane Fonda, Carrie Frazier, Neal Gabler, Bill Gerber, Randa Haines, Jonathan Kaplan, Sherry Lansing, Lee McCarthy, Midge Sanford, Richard Schickel, Risa Shapiro, Joan Micklin Silver, Melissa Silverstein, Penelope Spheeris, Barbra Streisand, Pam Tillis, Jim Vallely, David Warfield, Paula Weinstein and Linda Woolverton.
Those who extended themselves to help me navigate the industry: Amy Arce, Ruth Bennett, A. Scott Berg, Madeline Di Nonno, Bryan Gibbs, Debi Karolewski, John Scheinfeld, Andrea Gutierrez and Stu Zakim.
I am also indebted to everyone who assisted me with background research: The team at the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, especially Faye Thompson, Stacey Behlmer and Jenny Romero; Edward Sykes Comstock and his coworkers at the Cinematic Arts Library at the University of Southern California; Megan Bradford and Maggie Adams at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer; Jen Larson at the Grand Ole Opry; Walter Hickey at fivethirtyeight.com; Stephen Follows of Stephen Follows Film Data and Education; two able research assistants, David Campmeier and Andy Werle; James Madore at Newsday; Mary Hammond, Gayle Kaler and Bill Paxton of Paducah, Kentucky; and Ridley Scott’s ace archivist, Andrea Gutíerrez.
Lindsay Maracotta and Peter Graves provided savvy advice and refuge in Los Angeles, and Glenn Kessler weighed in with an incisive reading of the manuscript. The nimble fingers of Craig Williams and Becky Schneider typed scores of hours of transcripts.
More thanks to the team at Penguin Press, especially my editor, Ann Godoff, for her unflappable demeanor and spot-on guidance, Casey Rasch for keeping it all on track and Brooke Parsons for her media savvy. My agent, the ever-sympathetic Joy Harris, supports me in ways big and small.
Lily Spitz inspired me with her foray into media work. And first, last and always, the man who shares my office and my life, my husband, Bob Spitz.