The material comprising this book and the accompanying documentary feature film was assembled over the course of nearly three years, and hundreds of individuals helped the project along. The editors wish to first extend their gratitude to the armada of agents, assistants, colleagues, and managers who helped facilitate interviews.
For their work on the companion film, editor J. D. Funari and archival supervisor Tim Merrill deserve special thanks, because the assembly of the movie was a dry run for the assembly of the book. Literary agents Anna Cottle and Mary Alice Kier of Cine/Lit Representation did a magnificent job finding the right home for the project at HarperCollins. And at HarperCollins, thanks are due to Mauro DiPreta, for embracing the project in proposal form, and Kate Hamill, for shepherding the manuscript through the publication process.
The editors also wish to thank Lisa Addario, Doug Amaturo, Vince Barker, Ryan Belenzon, Paul Bernbaum, Jessica Boucher, Angie Bozarth, Matt Byrne, Jess Clark, Kellie Davis, Jay A. Fernandez, LaNette Fisher, Sarah Freudeman, John Fusco, Martin Gage, Eric Garfinkel, Greg Garthe, Lisa M. Gold, Chris Gore, Roberta Gray, Rose Herman, Robert Holguin (of the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films), Scott Huff, Ali Kaufman, Hadley Klein, Rachel Z. Leonard, Bradley and Kevin Marcus, Kyle McKeveny, Ragna Nervik, Carolyn Phillips, Paul Rapp, Mike Rich, Jeff Sanderson, Alvin Sargent, Ruth Shavelson, Linda Shusett, Todd Smith, Bob Stewart, Joe Syracuse, Jeremy Walker, Josh Welsh, David Jackson Willis, and Andrew Wonder.
To the many screenwriting enthusiasts who shared their excitement about the project, attended festival screenings of the documentary, and joined the mailing list on the project’s official Web site (TalesfromtheScript.org), thank you for your enthusiasm and patience.
The editors’ deepest gratitude goes to the dozens of Hollywood professionals who granted interviews, selflessly sharing their time, their wisdom, and their endlessly entertaining stories.
Peter Hanson would like to thank his wife, Leslie Connor, for being an invaluable sounding board, an inexhaustible source of support, and a hands-on participant whose copyediting and production contributions had a profound impact on this book and the documentary.
Paul Robert Herman would like to thank faculty members of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television for their encouragement and support of his idea for this project and for the use of their facilities for a few early interviews. Lastly, Paul would like to thank his late father, M. Robert Herman, for instilling in Paul perseverance and a strong work ethic. He would have been proud of this project.