Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies
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Stephen Rubin turned a vague pitch about a collection of papers into the story of a man who made a movie that defined an era. Paul Golob, my extraordinary editor, worked with me every day to push me past my boundaries, and helped me accomplish something I didn’t believe I was capable of achieving. Their colleagues at Times Books have been deeply supportive, especially Emi Ikkanda, Ellis Levine, Jenna Dolan, and Christopher O’Connell.
Daniel Greenberg, my tireless agent, encouraged all my ideas, no matter how far-fetched, then seized upon a genuinely good one. He and his staff at Levine Greenberg have never let anyone fuck with my distribution costs.
I cannot sufficiently convey my gratitude to Jonathan Landman, Sia Michel, Scott Veale, Alex Ward, and all my colleagues at the holy goddamn New York Times, who first gave me the opportunity to write about Paddy Chayefsky and Network in the pages of the world’s greatest newspaper, and then allowed me to pursue this project to its fullest extent.
My wife and my family have all my love for teaching me that there is more to life than a 30 share and a 20 rating.
Also by Dave Itzkoff
Cocaine’s Son: A Memoir
Lads: A Memoir of Manhood
About the Author
DAVE ITZKOFF is a culture reporter at The New York Times, where he writes regularly about film, television, theater, and popular culture and is a lead contributor to the newspaper’s “ArtsBeat” blog. He has previously worked at Spin, Maxim, and Details, and his work has appeared in GQ, Vanity Fair, Wired, and other publications. He is the author of two previous books, Cocaine’s Son and Lads. He lives in New York City.
MAD AS HELL. Copyright © 2014 by Dave Itzkoff. All rights reserved. For information, address Henry Holt and Co., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to Dan Chayefsky for permission to reprint excerpts of material from the Paddy Chayefsky papers at the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Excerpts from The Hospital and Network by Paddy Chayefsky. Reprinted by permission of Hal Leonard/Applause Theater Books and Dan Chayefsky.
www.henryholt.com
Cover art courtesy of Photofest, Inc.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Itzkoff, Dave.
Mad as hell: the making of Network and the fateful vision of the angriest man in movies / David Itzkoff.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-8050-9569-2 (hardback)—ISBN 978-0-8050-9570-8 (electronic book)
1. Network (Motion picture) 2. Chayefsky, Paddy, 1923–1981—Criticism and interpretation. I. Title.
PN1997.N385I89 2014
808.2'3—dc23 2013018292
First Edition: February 2014