Devil's Candy

The Devil's Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood by Julie Salamon, 423 pages

"The Devil's candy" is how producer Peter Gruber described the actress needed to play the character of Maria in The Bonfire of the Vanities, lust for whom drives Sherman McCoy to disregard morality and prudence, "She's gotta be the Devil's candy."  For journalist Julie Salamon, who was granted open access to the cast and crew of Bonfire throughout its production, the term can just as accurately describe the entire project of attempting to adapt Tom Wolfe's bestseller into a major motion picture, and to the allure of big-budget filmmaking in general.  This is only reinforced as the pursuit of this particular bit of candy unfolds just as disastrously as McCoy's.

Although Salamon spends plenty of time with the stars of the movie - Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith, Bruce Willis, Kim Cattrall - her book really shines when dealing with the crew - the cinematographer, second unit director, set designers, foley artists, editors, even the gaffers and grips.  The candor of many of her sources is almost incredible - director Brian De Palma most of all, as the book gives a remarkably personal, intimate look into the mind and heart of a director known to have little room for sentimentality in either his life or his art.  Best of all, Salamon is able to trace the development of the film step by step, making clear the reasoning behind seemingly baffling creative decisions and providing a remarkable window into the process of Hollywood filmmaking.