The stories behind the stories of some of Hollywood's most iconic movies The magazine world 's monthly arbiter of culture, personality, and world affairs, Vanity Fair has always offered the definitive insider's look at Hollywood power and glamour since its relaunch twenty-five years ago. Now, for the first time ever, Vanity Fair presents a one-of-a-kind collection featuring thirteen behind-the- scenes stories on some of cinema's most iconic films-including pictures as varied as All About Eve, Cleopatra, Sweet Smell of Success, Rebel Without a Cause , and Saturday Night Fever . For pop-culture fanatics and movie buffs alike, Vanity Fair's Tales of Hollywood is an irresistible glimpse at how classic films-and box office bombs-are made. These lively essays from Vanity Fair reveal the stories behind 13 iconic films. The attitude taken toward several of these baker’s-dozen movies is, however, more ironic than reverent. But the circumstances surrounding the making of such ringers as Myra Breckinridge, Tommy, and Cleopatra make for reading that’s not only shamefully fascinating in a car-wreck sort of way but illuminating of the maddening methods of Hollywood. Not surprisingly, though, it’s the genuine classics—among them, Rebel without a Cause, All about Eve, The Magnificent Ambersons, and Midnight Cowboy—that concern the most substantive and rewarding entries. The contributors, who include such notable entertainment writers as James Wolcott and Peter Biskind, dish up enough gossip to satisfy the casual moviegoer (e.g., Mike Nichols originally envisioned Robert Redford and Ava Gardner for The Graduate) but pair it with enough substance to satisfy hard-core film buffs. This slender volume manages to cover a surprising amount of territory. --Gordon Flagg Graydon Carter is the editor of  Vanity Fair , author of  What We’ve Lost , and producer of the film  The Kid Stays in the Picture . Carter is from Trenton, Ontario and attended the University of Ottawa and Carleton university.