Julian Schlossberg

"Try Not to Hold It Against Me: A Producer's Life" by Julian Schlossberg with a Foreword by Elaine May published in 2023 by Beaufort Books. At the end of this delightful memoir covering his decades involvement in film, television, and theatre production, mainly through his own company Castle Hill Productions, Julian Schlossberg notes "the word producer can have many meanings in show business" which can include initiating the project, having creative input, organizing the entire production, finding investors, putting in their own money, being a representative of a key participant like a star, writer, or director. The author deftly illustrates how he fulfilled all these aspects of a producer and more in what is not a traditional bio or memoir as instead he shares brief entertaining stories about his life and career in show business just as he likely did with friends and colleagues across the years at lunches, dinners, and parties in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Cannes. By the end of this engaging raconteur's entertaining memoir I think you will agree with me that the fuzzy term producer needs to be updated in the dictionary with a photo of Julian Schlossberg forever the person I will picture when I think of the word producer! Highly recommended!… (más)

I don't know why I thought that this memoir would be more about Hollywood/film than NYC theater (maybe the the cover illustration?) but this was really more of an ode to the author's semi-successful passion projects on- and off-Broadway. Which was fine, although better done by two recent memoirs I've read by Billy Porter and Harvey Fierstein. I found that the anecdotes (sometimes more like snapshots) were repetitive and a lot like listening to the repeated stories of an older relative. And clearly I love a NY theater memoir, but I was surprised and disappointed by how little LGBTQIA+ influence/representation was mentioned - the straight, white, male gaze was strong in this one. That said, I once worked in hospitality near the Variety Arts Theater and his mention of shows there sent me down a rabbit hole of my time working opening/closing parties for at least one of the productions he mentioned. Overall a fine book, but would not recommend.… (más)

This book is a memoir by a long-time producer. It's written as a series of vignettes, with lots of name dropping of movie and TV stars from the past. It's whimsical and sometimes amusing, but also a bit long-winded and sometimes provides too much detail or arcane information. Overall, I enjoyed reading it, but feel like it's uneven in pace and interest. If you're interested in the history of movies and plays, you would probably very much enjoy it, as it provides an insider's look at show business from the production side. If you're not interested in this, or if you're very young, you might be bored, especially as you wouldn't be familiar with many of the people named in the book.… (más)