"Not Authorized," Says Beatty
Irked by salacious excerpts that have appeared here and there (like in Sara Stewart's story in today's N.Y. Post), Warren Beatty has issued a statement through his attorney that Peter Biskind's "Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America" is "not an authorized biography."
Biskind hasn't responded to an e-mail I sent him a while ago, but as far as I can discern he's never claimed that the book is authorized. He's been a little vague about it (like Beatty tends to be about many things), but has written that Beatty spoke to him off and on, but not, apparently, in a way that added up to very much. My impression is that Beatty's input wasn't substantial.
Biskind says in the introduction that he's talked with Beatty many times over the years and that he "sat down [with Beatty] a few times" as part of his research. He also writes that during these sessions Beatty "was clearly uncomfortable, watchful about what he said, dispensing his responses one grain at a time, telling me nothing I didn't already know."
He also says Beatty told him during a lunch "that the only reason he had agreed to do the book was because he thought that once word of [the] book spread around, the other writers with books in progress, specifically Ellis Amburn and Suzanne Finstead, would just go away...in other words, he was just using me to scare other writers off."
In a statement to the Huffington Post, Beatty's attorney Bert Fields states the following: "Mr. Biskind's tedious and boring book on Mr. Beatty was not authorized by Mr. Beatty and should not be published as an authorized biography. It contains many false assertions and purportedly quotes Mr. Beatty as saying things he never said. Other media should not repeat things from the book on the assumption that they are true or that the book is an authorized biography."
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 3, 2010 at 3:57 PM
comment #1
gogocrank10
says ...
Reminds me of the great Neil Young bio "Shakey," which the author had worked on with notorious control freak Young's cooperation for years, with Young even sitting down for several extensive interviews only to sue to keep it from being published the second it was completed. The book came out, but in some sort of vague semi-authorized version.
Posted by gogocrank10
at January 3, 2010 5:17 PM
comment #2
joe banks
says ...
it's cute that Warren Beatty (or his reps) still thinks anyone cares what someone else writes about him, "true" or not
Posted by joe banks
at January 3, 2010 5:21 PM
comment #3
Terry McCarty
says ...
Might be fun if Bert Fields guests on the latest Bart and Guber show (airing in L.A. on KNBC) to discuss Biskind's book.
Posted by Terry McCarty
at January 3, 2010 6:46 PM
comment #4
BurmaShave
says ...
Why would anyone ever want to read an authorized biography?
Posted by BurmaShave
at January 3, 2010 6:47 PM
comment #5
bitplayer
says ...
With all due respect who gives a fuck who he fucked 30 years ago. I mean come on. He should have a sense of humor about himself by now. If this book is full of lies then we'll see a lawsuit about those things.. But I doubt this will happen. Most of these stories probably help his hollywood legend status. Say what you will about Biskind I haven't found any of his books boring.
Posted by bitplayer
at January 3, 2010 6:50 PM
comment #6
gogocrank10
says ...
It's not about keeping secrets, it's about control.
Posted by gogocrank10
at January 3, 2010 6:55 PM
comment #7
wwlkd
says ...
Today's NYPost says Biskind became friends with Beatty and that Beatty finally agreed to let him write an *authorized* biography. So maybe that's what prompted a response from Beatty's lawyers. Apparently the book also says that Beatty slept with "12,775 women, give or take...a figure that does NOT include daytime quickies, drive-bys, casual gropings, stolen kisses and so on."
Posted by wwlkd
at January 3, 2010 7:49 PM
comment #8
Bob Violence
says ...
it's cute that Warren Beatty (or his reps) still thinks anyone cares what someone else writes about him, "true" or not
lol yeah, that guy sucks
Posted by Bob Violence
at January 4, 2010 4:42 AM
comment #9
Mark B
says ...
How the crud do you come up with a figure like 12,775, anyway? If you're Beatty, are you really counting so carefully that you wouldn't simply round up to 12,800...or even 13,000?
Posted by Mark B
at January 4, 2010 5:29 AM
comment #10
Bob Violence
says ...
How the crud do you come up with a figure like 12,775, anyway?
Biskind has Beatty's "misc.xls" file
Posted by Bob Violence
at January 4, 2010 5:35 AM
comment #11
Don Murphy
says ...
It's pretty well known among people in the industry that Biskind is a fast and loose "journalist" who cares less about the truth and accuracy than he does about sensational quotes. In my experience with him, both with articles in Premiere magazine and the Sundance book, he got dozens of easily checkable facts simply wrong, repeatedly. Nothing he writes should be treated as truthful.
Posted by Don Murphy
at January 4, 2010 7:04 AM
comment #12
Snoop Marlo
says ...
Too bad Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin arent around anymore to have Warren Beatty on their show.
Seems like they're the only demographic that Beatty's
followers appeal to anymore.
Heaven Can Wait is one of my favorite movies, but Beatty's arrogance, considering he's been out of the loop for almost 20 years, is laughable.
Posted by Snoop Marlo
at January 4, 2010 7:41 AM
comment #13
Floyd Thursby
says ...
But did he ever do it in the road?
Posted by Floyd Thursby
at January 4, 2010 10:20 AM
comment #14
Terry McCarty
says ...
Hoping that Warren Beatty/Sony might someday consent to a Criterion DVD of SHAMPOO--regardless of media chatter re Biskind's book.
Posted by Terry McCarty
at January 4, 2010 1:02 PM
comment #15
nemo
says ...
"How the crud do you come up with a figure like 12,775, anyway? If you're Beatty, are you really counting so carefully that you wouldn't simply round up to 12,800...or even 13,000?"
12,775 just happens to equal exactly 35 times 365. In other words, it's a bullshit number, claiming that Beatty slept with a different woman every single day of the year for 35 years straight, without a single repetition. Bullshit. Not even a Don Juan like Beatty did that, unless he was paying for it.
It's bullshit just like Wilt Chamberlain's claim he made it with 20,000 different women during his career. A guy who makes that claim can't count, much less do simple arithmetic.
Posted by nemo
at January 4, 2010 5:44 PM