Bringing Back The Old Hollywood: Wild Times and Life Lessons With Sinatra, Cruise, Reeve, Madonna and More

Hollywood producer/director/executive Stephen Simon’s provocative and entertaining new book illuminates a bold and controversial new plan to save new movies from extinction. Simon also shares the fun of growing up in The Old Hollywood: Frank Sinatra was my “godfather.” My Dad was a successful producer/director and I spent the Sundays of my youth with Dad’s best friends Red Skelton, Milton Berle, Jack Benny, and Lucille Ball. I played touch football with Elvis Presley, and rode horses every Saturday with Ronald Reagan. In my own thirty-five year Hollywood career, I fired Nancy Meyers, who went on to become the most successful woman film director in history and I also said no to Steven Spielberg. A genius, I’m not. I produced a film with Tom Cruise before he was TOM CRUISE, made a classic love story with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, and had more fun producing a film with Madonna than anyone with whom I have ever worked. Madonna gave me lessons in honesty. Yes, really. She did. I believe that the moments that haunt us most are the things we yearned to do but were afraid to attempt. When we try and fail, at least we know. I’ve tried and failed a lot. In 1990, I got divorced, I declared bankruptcy, my home went into foreclosure, and my car was repossessed out of my garage. My family and career were in ruins, and my life looked and felt like a country and western song. When I left Hollywood in 2001, I was broke, demoralized, desperate, and again deeply in debt. I thought that my movie career was over. No, I knew it was over. Wrong again. It was only by leaving Hollywood that my movie career came rushing back into my life, stronger and more exciting than ever. The spirit of The Old Hollywood is engrained in my soul and my book is a passionate declaration that The Old Hollywood is most definitely not gone forever. I invite you then to join me in welcoming back The Old Hollywood as it is reborn. That rebirth can come sooner than we can even imagine. Because we are the ones who can now bring it back. From the book: “Fade In. We’re in a family room in the year 2023. A couple in their early fifties are watching one of their favorite films on Turner Classic Movies as their teenage daughter walks in, sits next to them for a moment, and speaks. “You guys are so cute with your old movies.” “Thanks, sweetheart,” Mom laughs. “Can I ask you something?” the daughter responds. Putting the film on pause, Dad says “Sure. What’s up?” “It must have been so cool for you guys to have lived during a time when they still actually made new movies every year. What was that like?” Fade Out. Or Not. It’s up to us.”