In this Book
- Bruce Dern: A Memoir
- Book
- 2014
- Published by: The University Press of Kentucky
- Series: Screen Classics
One of Hollywood's biggest personalities, Bruce Dern is not afraid to say what he thinks. He has left an indelible mark on numerous projects, from critically acclaimed films to made-for-TV movies and television series. His notable credits include The Great Gatsby (1974), The 'Burbs (1989), Monster (2003), Django Unchained (2012), and Nebraska (2013), for which he won the Best Actor award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. He also earned Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor in Coming Home (1978) and for Best Actor in Nebraska (2013).
In Bruce Dern: A Memoir, Christopher Fryer and Robert Crane help the outspoken star frame the fascinating tale of his life in Hollywood. Dern details the challenges he faced as an artist in a cutthroat business, his struggle against typecasting, and his thoughts on and relationships with other big names in the industry, including Elia Kazan, Alfred Hitchcock, Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Bob Dylan, Matt Damon, Jane Fonda, John Wayne, and Tom Hanks. He also explores the impact of his fame on his family and discusses his unique relationship with his daughter, actress Laura Dern.
Edgy and uncensored, this memoir takes readers on a wild ride, offering an insider's view of the last fifty years in Hollywood.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- pp. ix-xvi
- 2. Dinner with the Derns
- pp. 8-17
- 4. The Name Is Stern, Bruce Stern
- pp. 33-43
- 5. Sick Brucie
- pp. 44-56
- 6. I’m Having Bill Smithers’s Career
- pp. 57-76
- 7. “You Are Not a Leading Man”
- pp. 77-82
- 9. Jack Job
- pp. 88-95
- 10. Saying No to Coppola
- pp. 96-106
- 11. I Killed John Wayne
- pp. 107-120
- 12. I’m Still Sorry, Burt Reynolds
- pp. 121-129
- 13. Saying No to Woody Allen
- pp. 130-139
- 14. And I Said No to Bertolucci
- pp. 140-147
- 15. Le Dern Hot
- pp. 148-152
- 16. Dr. Death El Demento
- pp. 153-173
- 17. I Can’t Make It through a Hobbit Movie
- pp. 174-181
- 18. Briefer’s Better
- pp. 182-187
- 19. Three Days, Two Million
- pp. 188-193
- 20. Glencoe Asshole
- pp. 194-202
- 21. It’s a Maud, Maud, Maud, Maud World
- pp. 203-209
- 22. Cycle Savage Meets Gumby
- pp. 210-215
- 23. A Manilow for All Seasons
- pp. 216-224
- 24. The Final Frontier, for Now
- pp. 225-229
- 25. The Encyclopedia Brucetannica
- pp. 230-242
- 26. Hitting the Wall
- pp. 243-254
- 27. Apocalypse Marriage, Redux
- pp. 255-271
- 28. Making a Monster
- pp. 272-278
- 29. Going Right for the Jugular
- pp. 279-287
- Acknowledgments
- pp. 288-290