Robert evans photographer biography books
The Kid Stays in the Picture: A Notorious Life
Robert Evans went from a vague business career, to modest fame as an actor, to become one of the great Hollywood power players of the 60's and 70's. He headed Paramount or worked closely with the studio during the making of Love Story, Rosemary's Baby, The Godfather, Chinatown, Popeye, and a host of others.
He's got fantastic stories, and a singular voice (figuratively and literally). He's very proud (rightly so) of his successes and doesn't mind talking himself up. However, he's also pretty honest about his mistakes and failures.
Timeline wise, the book covers much of the same New Hollywood era as Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls. While Biskind's book is better written (and doesn't have the awful seduction poetry chapter), Evans' book is more fun, and more personal, since he was front and center for all of the action.
I'd highly recommend the book, especially the audio version. I could easily listen to another six hours of Evans' stories.
The Kid Stays in the Picture
1994 American film
The Kid Stays in the Picture is a 1994 print autobiography by film producer Robert Evans. A film adaptation of the book was released in 2002.
The title comes from a line attributed to studio head Darryl F. Zanuck, who was defending Evans after some of the actors involved in the film The Sun Also Rises (1957) had recommended he be removed from the cast.
The film adaptation was directed by Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen and released by USA Films. It was screened out of competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.
Synopsis
Book
The book chronicles Evans' rise from childhood to radio star to film actor to production chief of Paramount Pictures to independent producer, his marriage to Ali MacGraw, his downfall including his 1980 cocaine bust and implication in the murder of Roy Radin, aka "The Cotton Club Murder", his banishment from Paramount Pictures, and his return to the studio in the early 1990s.
The audiobook version was read by Evans himself, with (presumably impromptu) additions.
A revised edition of the book, published in 1995, adds several chapters of new material, including material on his projects after his return to Paramount Pictures.
Film
The film version, released in 2002, uses Evans' narration interspersed mostly with photographs from Evans' life as well as brief film footage from films such as Love Story, The Sun Also Rises, Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, and The Godfather, along with interviews to tell the story from his discovery by Norma Shearer for Man of a Thousand Faces (1957) to his return to Paramount Pictures.
According to the commentary by directors Burstein and Morgen on the DVD, many elements from the book, such as Evans' childhood and his other marriages (the film concentrates only on his marriage to Ali MacGraw), were dropped because they felt they did not move the story along.
Critical response
On review aggregatorRotten Tomat American photographer Robert Evans (born November 17, 1967) is an American photographer. Photographing professionally since the age of twenty, he is best known for his work as a celebrity wedding photographer, which includes the weddings of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. Growing up in Encino, California, Evans first began working in a small color processing lab in Hollywood after graduating from high school. From there, he went to work for a large portrait studio that had an opening in their wedding department. He photographed his first wedding in January 1989. He worked for three photography studios subsequent to that before forming Robert Evans Studios in 1994. Robert Evans was invited to become a Sony Artisan of Imagery in 2012, one of a handful of photographers that Sony recognizes as the best in their field. Evans has photographed the weddings and milestones of some of the most famous celebrities in the world including Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, Shania Twain, Trent Reznor, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Jim Carrey, Jenny McCarthy and Christina Aguilera. His photos have been featured on the covers and in the content of USA Today, People Magazine, Playboy, Us Weekly, Hello Magazine, Ok! Magazine, Life & Style, In Touch, Martha Stewart Weddings and Modern Bride. His work has been showcased on Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, Extra, MTV and CNN. Evans has also served as a contributing writer for Inside Wedding Magazine, and The Huffington Post. Robert Evans is one of the most highly acclaimed photographers in the world. Selected by Sony as the Sony wedding, Artisan of Imagery in 2014, Robert is one of only a handful of photographers sponsored by Sony worldwide. Robert is recognized as one of the most easy-going and pleasant professionals to work with. It is a reputation that, at times, exceeds his photography. His humility, positivity, and dedication to his craft set him apart as a once-in-a-generation photographer. Robert has also had the honor of being selected to give a TED Talk, found at TED.com. Robert’s beliefs aren’t so much of “having a style” as they are “capturing a moment and telling a story.” It is this philosophy that influences his work. Robert has documented over a thousand weddings worldwide and created iconic imagery that has graced the covers of countless national and international publications. Robert has been invited by some of the biggest names in film, music, business, and television to photograph their weddings and personal events, a world which, according to Robert, chose him; as humbling as that is, he still prefers the one on one connections he has with his everyday clients. Robert travels the world photographing weddings, corporate, and personal events, capturing the heart of the moment and telling the stories in his clients’ lives. His fantastic eye has earned him the honor of photographing some of the most incredible weddings over the last decade; Robert is most notable for having photographed the weddings of Shania Twain, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, Miranda Lambert, and Blake Shelton, Trent Reznor, Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer, Jason Aldean, Amy Sherman Palladino, Ian Ziering and many more. Robert also photographs personal events for Jim Carrey, Jenny McCarthy, and Christina Aguilera. Robert’s top corporate clients include Best Buy, Google, The Gap, and Sony. Robert’s work has been showcased on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, Ente Robert Evans (photographer)
Biography
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