Tinsel (novel)
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''Tinsel'' is a 1979 novel written by
William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. He won Academy Awards for his screenplays '' ...
. It was the third of a four-book deal he had with Delacorte Press after ''Marathon Man'' and ''Magic''. He called it "my Hollywood novel."


Background

Goldman had gone through an intense period of work writing screenplays and realised it had been two years since he wrote anything that was just for him, so decided to write a novel. He says he began writing ''Tinsel'' on April Fools' Day 1978 and finished it five months later. Goldman actually started to write two novels at the same time, both about Hollywood. He would work three pages on one, three pages on the other, and said at the end of the first week the second novel, which became ''Tinsel'' "was working alright, so I just gave up on the other". He finished ''Tinsel'' in August. Goldman said in a 1979 interview that he was motivated to write the novel to explore the treatment of women in Hollywood:
There are a couple of basic truths about this town. One is that nobody knows anything about what will work. It's all a search for past magic. Those who can no longer produce it are useless. The other truth is that everyone in the movie community is searching for heat.
John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes '' Carrie'' ( ...
was the hottest thing ever-ever; only
Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is th ...
after ''
The Graduate ''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from W ...
'' and ''
Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with notable smaller ...
'' was comparable. Then Travolta made a movie with
Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the varie ...
(''
Moment by Moment ''Moment by Moment'' is a 1978 American romantic drama film written and directed by Jane Wagner and starring Lily Tomlin and John Travolta. It was produced by Robert Stigwood and released by Universal Pictures on December 22, 1978. The film was ...
'') and where were his fans?
Farrah Fawcett Farrah Leni Fawcett (born Ferrah Leni Fawcett; February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009) was an American actress. A four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she played ...
is a year from game shows. This is why we're all so nervous. There's no carry over of affection. It's why nobody can cut their price. You're worth a million dollars or you're unemployed. That's what happened to
Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...
and what I wanted to tell in ''Tinsel''. What happens to the women of Hollywood?
He also said the novel was similar to his earlier novel '' Boys and Girls Together''. "It's about five people in a town and how their lives develop and interact, and it's fairly long for me, longer than novels I've been doing lately."


Reception

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.
, reviewing the book for the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', wrote, "Mr. Goldman never gets beneath the stereotypes ... Some of the dialogue is bright and readable, but it doesn't begin to fill in the cracks."


Notes

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References

{{William Goldman 1979 American novels Novels by William Goldman