Sam Wasson is an American author and publisher, who often writes about the history of cinema in Hollywood. His works include the biography ''Fosse'', the history books ''Improv Nation: How We Made a Great American Art'' and ''The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood'' and the co-authored ''Hollywood: The Oral History''.
Early life and education
Wasson was born in
Los Angeles, America. His maternal grandfather was former
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
executive, Hal “Lew” Scott.
Wasson attended
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...
, and
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Sc ...
.
Career
During the writing of a biography about Bob Fosse (titled ''Fosse'') researcher Jane Klein and Wasson unearthed lost footage of Fosse's 1961 ABC television show "Seasons of Youth”.
In 2014, ''Fosse'' was one of six books shortlisted for the $10,000 ''Marfield Prize''
and received the Special Jury Prize at the ''George Freedley Memorial Award''.
Production rights for a limited television series based on the book were purchased by television channel
FX in 2018.
In 2020, Wasson published a book about the making of the 1974 movie ''
Chinatown'', titled ''The Big Goodbye''.
Later that year, a film adaptation of ''The Big Goodbye'' was announced, with
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian-American producer, screenwriter, and comedian. He is best known for creating and producing ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and producing the '' La ...
attached as producer and
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup.
Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS education ...
as director.
Also in 2020, Wasson co-founded a publishing house with producer Brandon Millan.
Wasson was a visiting professor at Wesleyan University
and
Emerson College.
In 2021, Wasson and
William Rempel filed a lawsuit to unseal a 2010 deposition transcript of Roger Gunson, a former deputy district attorney, in relation to the
Roman Polanski sexual abuse case
On March 10, 1977, then-43-year-old film director Roman Polanski was arrested and charged in Los Angeles with six offenses against Samantha Gailey (now Geimer), a 13-year-old girl – unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, rape by use of drugs ...
.
In July 2022, the court ruled for the transcripts to be unsealed.
In 2022, Wasson and Jeanine Basinger wrote an oral history book titled ''Hollywood: The Oral History''.
Bibliography
Books
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[Reviews of ''Hollywood: The Oral History'':
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehane, Dennis
1981 births
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American film historians
Harvard-Westlake School alumni
Historians from California
Jewish American writers
Living people
University of Southern California alumni
Wesleyan University alumni
Writers from Los Angeles