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Average Customer Rating: 
Boffo!: How I Learned to Love the Blockbuster and Fear the Bomb >
Customer Review #1:
 A must for any film director, producer, or Hollywood wannabe.
BOFFO! HOW I LEARNED TO LOVE THE BLOCKBUSTER AND FEAR THE BOMB comes from the editor-in-chief of Variety and co-host of AMCs Sunday Morning Shootout, and provides a vivid, experienced look at Hollywood, using nearly thirty hits from film, TV and theatre to examine the making of blockbusters and the lessons they hold for any would-be hit maker. From budget concerns to anticipating changes in audience tastes, BOFFO covers pitfalls as well as successes and is a must for any film director, producer, or Hollywood wannabe.
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lt;br /gt;Diane C. Donovan
lt;br /gt;California Bookwatch
Boffo!: How I Learned to Love the Blockbuster and Fear the Bomb >
Customer Review #2:
Mini "making of" documentaries
Think of each of these essays as half hour VH1 specials on "The Making of . . ." a series of unexpected and unlikely hits. It seems hard to believe that all of the films, TV shows, plays, and personalities here (CSI, All in the Family, The Godfather, Lord of the Rings, Oprah, Cats, and more) - things that are American media icons - were once turned down, cut back, and, once they were finally allowed to begin, had so many chips stacked against them (organized crime wasnt so sure they wanted anyone making THE GODFATHER), that its a miracle any of them saw the light of day. Andrew Lloyd Webber was about to pull the plug on CATS a week before it opened. How each of these productions and people eventually made it to the top makes for fascinating reading.
Boffo!: How I Learned to Love the Blockbuster and Fear the Bomb >
Customer Review #3:
 A real grab-bag
Peter Bart admits that the book is a grab-bag of essays on blockbuster movies, TV series and stage shows. I found it entertaining enough, but Im not sure I got much out of it. He basically presents the history of a couple of dozen shows, several of which have already been chronicled in longer, more informative books (Casablanca, I Love Lucy, King Kong, etc.). This book is not unlike a Readers Digest version of famous show business stories. I did find one item that I think is a mistake. In his "I Love Lucy" chapter, he writes that William Frawley and Lucille Ball hated each other. Ive never read that before. I think he meant to write that Vivian Vance and Frawley hated each other.
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