Blade Runners, Deer Hunters and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies

by Michael Deeley

One man links The Deer Hunter, Blade Runner, The Italian Job, Don’t Look Now, The Wicker Man and The Man Who Fell To Earth. Producer Michael Deeley, an urbane Englishman in Hollywood, had to fight wars to get these movies made, from defending the legendary sex scene of Don’t Look Now from a disapproving Warren Beatty to seizing control of Convoy from a cocaine- ridden Sam Peckinpah. This is a no-holds-barred look at the true stories behind some of the greatest cult movies ever made.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Art, Media Tie In, History

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Gareth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Deeley’s career memoir has become well known for taking shots at some of its subjects. (Mainly Michael Cimino whom he obviously loathes.) Apart from that - and Deeley is never very far away from a brutally blunt assessment - this book offers an interesting look at the making of several cult movies. The business side of it did cause my eyes to glaze over at points, but I learned a fair bit about Blade Runner.

Actual rating: 3.5

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I'm not someone who has drank the kool-aid about "Blade Runner", there is more than enough about other stories in this book to keep me interested, particularly surrounding production of "The Deer Hunter". Let's call this a solid 3.5 stars, and higher when it hits a topic I'm interested in reading about.

[Bmbs · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would hazard a guess that most people, if asked, could give a reasonably accurate description of a Director’s contribution to the making of a film. What’s more, they could probably even name two or three without too much effort. Asked to name three producers and the results would be very different. The only one I could bring to mind was Hal B Wallis who in my youth produced a string of Elvis Presley films beginning with Loving You, King Creole and culminating in the legendary classic, Paradise Hawaiian Style.

I had never heard the name Mike Deeley. Google his name and he appears in seventh position on page one, four places below the Mike Deeley who runs the KLM taxi service in Kettering. Strange that, as a long list of very familiar films going back to the sixties carry a Producers credit in his name. The title of the book gives a clue to some of these: Bladerunner, The Deer Hunter and the The Italian Job but there was also Don’t Look Now, The Man Who Fell to Earth and one of the films that helped define an era, The Knack. A modest man, he also admits to a turkey or two along the way, but anyone who can bring The Deer Hunter to the screen deserves an overall plus credit rating.

The book deals with the intrigue and double dealing of Hollywood, of the struggle to raise money and control expenditure, and goes some way to explaining how a films overall budget is calculated and of the dire consequences of an over run. He also deals at length with the problems of balancing the Directors ego and wilder flights of fancy against the requirement of the investors to make a reasonable return on their investment. There cannot be another industry where huge sums of money are advance to individuals, in this case Directors, to make an end product, the film, without really knowing what the finished article will be. It would seem that the Director is under no obligation to produce a finished print (the Directors Cut?) until 30 days after shooting finishes. Only then can the owners of the film bring in their own editors to make it a commercial proposition. How mad is that?

There is no Hollywood gossip to speak of as the stars of the films are only mentioned in passing and where names are named it is usually camera men or technicians that are singled out for praise. Any damnation seems to be reserved for a few directors he has worked with, and if the author is to be believed with some justification..

Anyway, it’s quite a good book even if, like me, the last time you went to the cinema was to see The Deer Hunter in 1978. Croydon Odeon I think it was, which is about as far as you can get from Hollywood.

[Stuart Ian Burns]

Mark Kermode recommended this after an interview on the film review show when all Richard Dreyfus wanted to talk about was what a shit Michael Cimino had been rather than publicise his new release. It's stunning a stunning memoir covering the production of all the films on the cover plus Convoy, The Wicker Man and The Man Who Fell To Earth. Not just a string of showbiz annecdotes (all of which are incredibly funny and illuminating), it demonstrates in detail the role of the producer in putting together packages to sell to studios and working on set day-to-day to keep the production moving on budget and schedule. Essential.

[Sergey Selyutin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still on a Blade Runner spree, so looking through this book was a logical continuation of reading Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner. I say 'looking through' because I was only interested in three chapters that deal with Ridley Scott's movie. They are well-written and interesting (for a fan), and the story about Steven Spielberg trying to sneak to the BR shooting set is something you won't find anywhere else. Still, Michael Deeley's style is somewhat dry, and the books aims to be informative rather than entertaining.
Worthwhile reading for every BR fan.

[George · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I could give the book two and a half stars, I would. Really enjoyed the chapters on Blade Runner, and a few of the other films that Michael played a part in producing. Aside from that, I found there was a little too much focus on the monetary side of the industry, that’s a personal preference though.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rather boring film memoir. Great if you want to learn about financing films in the late 20th century. Very low on "anecdotes." Some interesting Blade Runner, but otherwise a skip.

[Ruairidh Burras · Rating 2 out of 5]

Almost impossibly dull, with incredibly specific details on production costs and payment disputes that dried my eyes out. I took this as a holiday read, man.
Does have some vaguely interesting anecdotes about the films mentioned in the title, and starts strong with his history of working in British cinema in the 50s, but, for the most part, the book comes down to, “I got on with this chap because he said I was brilliant - I say HE’S brilliant” or “This guy was horrible to work with, didn’t respect my genius, and called me a prick - I say HE’S a prick”.

[Godzilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Er - first entry on Goodreads for this, and therefore I'm feeling a bit of gravitas may be required.

I'd never heard of Michael Deeley, which may reveal me to be a non-geeky film watcher, or an ignorant buffoon - teh jury is still out on that one generally...

The book is really absorbing - there's a little background into how he ended up being a movie producer, but the essence of the book is about the films he was involved with and the trials and tribulations of the studio system.

The author was certainly involved with some seminal movies and he reveals a lot of the minutiae involved in film production.

There are interesting insights into how several "cult" films developed into what they are today and has certainly inspired me to revisit many of these films in the light of his depictions and descriptions.

Whilst there is some back biting, which is inevitable in these sort of books, deeley does seem to try and keep it in proportion and try to take a neutral standpoint.

Overall a fascinating insight into the movie business without most of the usual gushing luvvieness.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a producer, Michael Deeley has been involved in some very influential films and this memoir (which gives virtually no biographical insight, except where it relates directly to a production) follows his career path from cutting room assistant right up to “Blade Runner”. Along the way, he explains decisions on “The Wicker Man” (taking Christopher Lee to task, in particular) and “Don’t Look Now” with an admirable frankness and then we hit the Seventies and his tussles on “The Deer Hunter” with Michael Cimino (and history bears out Deeley’s assessment of the man) and “Convoy” (with a spectacularly unco-operative Peckinpah). The chapters on “Blade Runner” have the most detail and made my subsequent viewing of the “Dangerous Days” take on new depths. Not bad of its kind and well worth a read, but I would have liked things to be more indepth - either biographically or around the films.

[Jackie Carreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't be put off by the paperback cover - this is not a homage to Bladerunner for movie geeks. It's much better than that! In this big-screen blockbuster of a memoir, we go behind the scenes of some of the greatest cult films of all time and see the internal workings of the movie machine - dirty cogs and all. Oscar-winning British producer, Michael Deeley, has had a long career in the film industry. Starting as an assistant editor at Elstree, he went on to work on such classics as 'The Italian Job', 'Blade Runner', 'The Wicker Man', 'The Deerhunter'...the list goes on. His account of a life in cult movies is often acerbic and certainly never dull. Full of anecdotes, inside stories and film trivia, this is an absorbing read for all film buffs.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow-starting, but interesting. A producer's point-of-view is rare, and still kind of a nebulous job description even after reading. You can tell this guy has somewhat of an inflated ego, but you would need to have one to deal with all the personalities of the world of show business and still be able to get anything done. The guy did well in life and was a successful producer, and he does seem to like to dish on troublesome stars and directors (Julia Ormond, Michael Cimino, Sam Peckinpah). If you like to read about the business of making movies and can handle some of the business dealing minutia, it's a pretty quick and fun read.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable book about an insiders viewpoint of the trials and tribulations of producing movies in Hollywood and England from movie producer Michael Deeley. Lots of details about The Italian Job, Bladerunner (one of my all time favorite movies) and the Deer Hunter. If you like reading about how movies are shot, financed, and sometimes ruined by intereference you'll enjoy this book.

[John Bleasdale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stuff

[bubez · Rating 4 out of 5]

The shortest foreword ever, by Ridley Scott.
Page 3 and Deeley is already insulting Cimino ("In hindsight I was naïve, failing to realise until too late the depths of malice and dishonesty lurking in this soft-spoken little man.")
By page 6 he's gone after Jane Fonda and Joann Carelli (associate producer for The Deer Hunter) and then back to Cimino for more.
He praises a lot of people too, but the magnitude of the hate is striking, so suddenly: the reader is not yet acquainted with Deeley but the producer has already started yelling in the their face that some people, some famous people that could even be heroes to some readers, are BAAAAAAAD.
This book will probably be a rollercoaster since Deeley apparently sees things in black and white.

[Kevin Duncan]

An enjoyable read by a gentleman of the industry (unlike Michael Cimino!). My only gripe is I wish it were longer.