Hit and Run tells the improbable and often hilarious story of how two Hollywood film packagers went on a campaign to reinvent themselves as studio executives -- at Sony's expense. Veteran reporters Nancy Griffin and Kim Masters chronicle the rise of Jon Peters, a former hairdresser, seventh-grade dropout, and juvenile delinquent, and his soulless soul mate, Peter Guber -- and all the sex, drugs, and fistfights along the way. It is the story of the ultimate Hollywood con job and the standard by which every subsequent business blunder has been measured. Hit and Run delivers rock-solid business reporting liberally laced with inside gossip and outrageous scandal -- plus a new afterword bringing us up to date on the latest fallout from the Guber-Peters legacy.
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From Amazon
If there is a more archetypical tale of Hollywood in the '80s than the buccaneers' adventures of Jon Peters, Barbra Streisand's former hairdresser, and his business partner Peter Guber, it hasn't been written yet. This thorough, stylish book recounts the rise of Peters and Guber, who together earned fortunes by schmoozing their way to the top, seducing gullible investors, and shoving aside the filmmakers who actually turned out successful films like "Rain Man" and "Batman." The Japanese executives at Sony, in this delightful insider account, were just the most recent and most hoodwinked in a long line of Peters' and Gubers' dupes.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
This is basically the story of two boys who never grew up, but ended up running Sony-owned Columbia Pictures into the ground. Peters, whom the Los Angeles Times described as a "seventh-grade dropout and reform school graduate who began his show-business career as Barbra Steisand's hairdresser-boyfriend-manager," was a master at self-promotion; only semi-literate but able to count well enough to make it big in Hollywood. Bostonian Guber earned several academic degrees before "going Hollywood," somehow managing to indifferently run several studios and make high profits and only a few good films. This book will leave film fans drooling at charges that Peters hired Heidi Fleiss's prostitutes as gifts and that he either bedded or assaulted his numerous conquests (Jacqueline Bisset and Lesley Ann Warren, among others). Guber, the quintessential New Age yuppie, is seen heading off his divorce because it would cost him too much, and participating in hand-holding group-therapy sessions with business-partner Peters. The business side of this book is also intriguing, recounting internecine financial twists and turns that finally have a top Sony executive exclaiming: "Huh! You bankrupt Sony!" Griffin, the West Coast editor of Premiere magazine, and Masters, a reporter for the Washington Post, present a shocking read that will have readers gasping at the obscene overindulgence of Hollywood. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
ON THE SUNNY AFTERNOON of September 16, 1955, ten-year-old John Peters was playing in the street near his family's ranch house at 13215 Bloomfield Street in Sherman Oaks, a San Fernando Valley suburb of Los Angeles. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
ON THE SUNNY AFTERNOON of September 16, 1955, ten-year-old John Peters was playing in the street near his family's ranch house at 13215 Bloomfield Street in Sherman Oaks, a San Fernando Valley suburb of Los Angeles. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I was totally engrossed in this book. Flew through it. I thought it was too cool that I found this in hardcover in... store! Best [$$] I ever spent!
By 718 Session
Format:Paperback
I read this book three years ago and I'm still laughing.
Griffin & Masters have created THE required reading book on everything that is wrong with Hollywood. They were able to tell the inside stories of multi-million dollar deals and make them understandable. Jon Peters, a barely literate hairdresser who happened to be friends with Barbara Streisand, and his business partner Peter Guber schmoozed their way through the 80s and were picked by Sony to run their newly acquired Columbia/Tri-Star pictures. Billions of dollars in losses later (Last Action Hero, I'll Do Anything) they got kicked out.
It is really an incredible story. If it was fiction, you'd think it completly impossible to believe, but it is all true.
By P. Sedun
Format:Paperback
Fascinating behind-the-scenes look at Hollywood dealmaking, mainly about Sony's unrelenting (and costly) desire to become a major player in Hollywood. This book points out how good business sense, contacts, timing and greed are what it really takes to get to the top in Hollywood, although not necessarily in that order - as long as you have someone like Jon Peters on your side.
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4.6 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hit and Run
The main characters Eddie,Scott,Winks and Cassie are all involoved in a horrible prank that nearly results in the death of the four. These teenagers are best friends. Read more
Published on Jan 22 2002
5.0 out of 5 stars
SONY taken by surprise by Hollywood movers!
A great read about Jon Peters and Peter Guber and the moving and shaking going on in the Hollywood movie industry. Read more
Published on July 7 2001 by Sven Isaksson
5.0 out of 5 stars
An essential book on Hollywood
Halfway through this title, I thought it was a good read and I was happy I picked it up. At the end of the book I realized there is only one word for it: essential. Read more
Published on May 11 2001 by "vincia1"
5.0 out of 5 stars
True tales from the Dark Side of Hollywood
Nancy Griffin and Kim Masters has written a interesting book about the two Hollywood Hustlers: Jon Peters and Peter Guber. Read more
Published on May 31 2000 by Simon Lund Larsen
4.0 out of 5 stars
As frightening as The Exorcist.
This is one of those must-read Hollywood exposes, along the lines of "The Battle for Brazil" and "Indecent Exposure". Read more
Published on Mar 20 2000 by William E. Hunter
4.0 out of 5 stars
A true-life hollywood horror story
Griffin and Masters have done a remarkable job of portraying the childishness of Hollywood executives. Read this if you think you may want a career making movies. Read more
Published on Oct 14 1999
3.0 out of 5 stars
hit and miss
Plenty of good tidbits in here and an excellent feel for the way the insane Hollywood system works. The mix of muckraking, gossiping and moralizing, however, confuses as much as it... Read more
Published on Feb 18 1999
5.0 out of 5 stars
A different look at the Hollywood Machine
Nancy Griffin and Kim Masters has written a interesting book about the two Hollywood Hustlers: Jon Peters and Peter Guber. Read more
Published on Aug 14 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
A compelling tale of a great Hollywood tragedy
The authors have done an amazing job of compiling an incredible amount of information and assimilating it in a well-thought out and informative manner. Read more
Published on Feb 10 1998
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fast paced gossipy romp through Tinsel Town.
This light and easy read is a wonderful tour through the world of business, money and excess in Hollywood. Read more
Published on July 7 1997
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