01/31/2022
Filmmaker Michael Cimino (1939–2016) remains a mysterious figure in this intriguing biography from novelist Elton (Mr. Toppit ). Based on copious interviews, including with Cimino’s estranged brothers and his collaborator Joann Carelli, Elton’s account offers a variety of perspectives on an artist who sought to obfuscate his own identity. Born in Westbury, N.Y., Cimino was a “talented artist,” had a “superficial” bad-boy persona, and remained elusive even to his childhood friends. After college he became a well-known TV commercial director, but his reputation as the toast of Hollywood came for his 1978 Oscar-winning The Deer Hunter , then plummeted to industry pariah after his 1980 film Heaven’s Gate exceeded budgets and schedules and was a critical and commercial flop. In the ensuing years, he only directed four more films. Then, in 2012, he released his original cut of Heaven’s Gate to much acclaim. Elton has a sure hand with behind-the-scenes details and is even-handed in his appraisals, describing Cimino’s “meticulous, detail-heavy direction” that could skew toward “nit-picking attention to detail” as both a strength and a weakness. A somewhat murky picture of Cimino emerges, though Elton wrestles commendably with an elusive subject who reportedly said of himself, “I don’t know most of the people I’ve been.” Film buffs will find much to enjoy. Photos. (Apr.)
"assiduously researched and fascinating"
Sprawling and granular, structured around on-the-record-testimonies about an artist who, as he got older, did his best to live a hidden, private life. … Indispensable.
Charles Elton's new book, featuring exhaustive original research and interviews, seeks to upend the narrative on the late filmmaker, whose oeuvre definitely deserves a reappraisal.
What Charles Elton covers in this biography of Cimino reveals a much more complex figure — and might just leave you rethinking your preconceived notions of him.
Inside Hook “One of the 10 Best Books of 202 Tobias Carroll
“The author, Charles Elton, has ably sifted through the lies, evasions, busted budgets, broken friendships, damaged careers, and lurid press clips that the filmmaker left in his wake across his quarter century in Hollywood. The result is riveting...”
I inhaled this book in two sittings. In a magnificent feat of investigative reporting, Charles Elton provides a revelatory reappraisal of Michael Cimino and a tragicomic portrait of late twentieth-century Hollywood.
Zoë Heller - author of Notes on a Scandal
One of the strangest and most mysterious of all Hollywood lives gets the treatment it’s been crying out for in this brilliantly insightful biography.
John Preston - author of Fall: The Mysterious Life and Death of Robert Maxwell
02/01/2022
Intent on uncovering the truth behind the rumors, producer and novelist Elton tackles the controversial, mysterious, and enigmatic director Michael Cimino, who was notorious for his many lies: about his birthdate, his family history, even his height. His early work in commercials reflected his extraordinary eye for detail (an entire book was written about his Eastman Kodak commercial of 1967). His film career peaked with the brilliant The Deer Hunter , which overcame numerous challenges to win the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture. Then came Heaven's Gate —after Cimino spent 40 million dollars, six months of shooting, and a year of editing, the film became the "poster child for failure"; Cimino was blamed for bankrupting the studio and made only four more films. However, Elton provides evidence of a later critical reevaluation of both the film and Cimino. Elton examines Cimino's troublesome personal life as well—his longstanding complicated relationship with his partner Joann Carelli, his dramatic changes of physical appearance, and his attempts to ultimately reconcile with the many people he had offended over the years. Elton masterfully maneuvers through the web of lies surrounding Cimino, providing riveting details and fascinating interviews with key players. VERDICT A must for film aficionados. Fans of Cimino's will be satisfied that he has been vindicated.—Lisa Henry
While Elton’s book first appears structured as a conventional biography, it ultimately plays more like a mystery novel, as the author interrogates various witnesses in search of the Rosebud that offers a key to Cimino’s hidden life
Whether you believe Michael Cimino represents an unfairly maligned genius or a monumental example of Hollywood hubris, Elton’s Cimino is a compelling account of an elusive life.
Julie Salamon - author of The Devil's Candy and Wendy and the Lost Boys
Charles Elton’s Cimino is a riveting, sure-footed, cinema-savvy piece of biographical sleuthing. In his sprightly, sly approach, Elton manages to trap Cimino’s reclusive, mercurial genius—a compelling dissection of both a volatile career and the business of show.
author of Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrim of t John Lahr
"assiduously researched and fascinating"—The Wall Street Journal “Intriguing...Elton has a sure hand with behind-the-scenes details and is even-handed in his appraisals...A somewhat murky picture of Cimino emerges, though Elton wrestles commendably with an elusive subject...Film buffs will find much to enjoy.” —Publishers Weekly “One of the strangest and most mysterious of all Hollywood lives gets the treatment it’s been crying out for in this brilliantly insightful biography.”—author of Fall: The Mysterious Life and Death of Robert Maxwell, Britain’s Most Notorious Media Baron , John Preston “While Elton’s book first appears structured as a conventional biography, it ultimately plays more like a mystery novel, as the author interrogates various witnesses in search of the Rosebud that offers a key to Cimino’s hidden life”—The Hollywood Reporter “I inhaled this book in two sittings. In a magnificent feat of investigative reporting, Charles Elton provides a revelatory reappraisal of Michael Cimino and a tragicomic portrait of late twentieth-century Hollywood.”—author of Notes on a Scandal , Zoë Heller “Charles Elton's new book, featuring exhaustive original research and interviews, seeks to upend the narrative on the late filmmaker, whose oeuvre definitely deserves a reappraisal.”—Yahoo! “The author, Charles Elton, has ably sifted through the lies, evasions, busted budgets, broken friendships, damaged careers, and lurid press clips that the filmmaker left in his wake across his quarter century in Hollywood. The result is riveting...”—AirMail “Elton masterfully maneuvers through the web of lies surrounding Cimino, providing riveting details and fascinating interviews with key players...A must for film aficionados. Fans of Cimino’s will be satisfied that he has been vindicated.”—Library Journal “Charles Elton’s Cimino is a riveting, sure-footed, cinema-savvy piece of biographical sleuthing. In his sprightly, sly approach, Elton manages to trap Cimino’s reclusive, mercurial genius—a compelling dissection of both a volatile career and the business of show.”—John Lahr, author of Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrim of the Flesh and Joy Ride: Show People and Thei “Whether you believe Michael Cimino represents an unfairly maligned genius or a monumental example of Hollywood hubris, Elton’s Cimino is a compelling account of an elusive life.”—author of The Devil's Candy and Wendy and the Lost Boys , Julie Salamon “What Charles Elton covers in this biography of Cimino reveals a much more complex figure — and might just leave you rethinking your preconceived notions of him.”—Tobias Carroll, Inside Hook “One of the 10 Best Books of 2022” “Sprawling and granular, structured around on-the-record-testimonies about an artist who, as he got older, did his best to live a hidden, private life. … Indispensable.”—Adam Nayman, The Nation
His [Butler] transparent narration avoids dramatic flourishes, providing a neutral though engaging delivery of the contradictions that encompassed Cimino.
Narrator Michael Butler Murray delivers a discussion of the ambiguities surrounding filmmaker Michael Cimino with a conversational approach that suggests an intent to set the record straight. His transparent narration avoids dramatic flourishes, providing a neutral though engaging delivery of the contradictions that encompassed Cimino. Was Cimino born in 1939—or in 1951, as he claimed? Did he have a typical suburban childhood, or was his family like something out of a Eugene O'Neill play? Was he a Green Beret in Vietnam or a desk-bound reservist? Was his lifelong companion his muse, girlfriend, producer, or all three? Did he know that the friend who claimed to be his nephew wasn't really related? Did he present as a woman? By the end of this audiobook, it becomes clear that Cimino's most incredible creation was his own improvised life. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Narrator Michael Butler Murray delivers a discussion of the ambiguities surrounding filmmaker Michael Cimino with a conversational approach that suggests an intent to set the record straight. His transparent narration avoids dramatic flourishes, providing a neutral though engaging delivery of the contradictions that encompassed Cimino. Was Cimino born in 1939—or in 1951, as he claimed? Did he have a typical suburban childhood, or was his family like something out of a Eugene O'Neill play? Was he a Green Beret in Vietnam or a desk-bound reservist? Was his lifelong companion his muse, girlfriend, producer, or all three? Did he know that the friend who claimed to be his nephew wasn't really related? Did he present as a woman? By the end of this audiobook, it becomes clear that Cimino's most incredible creation was his own improvised life. R.W.S. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine