The Love of the Last Tycoon

The Love of the Last Tycoon

First edition
Author F. Scott Fitzgerald
Country United States
Language English
Publisher Charles Scribner's Sons
Publication date
 1941 (posthumously)
Media type Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages 163 pp (paperback edition)
OCLC 28147241
813/.52 20
LC Class PS3511.I9 L68 1993
Preceded by Tender Is the Night (1934)

The Last Tycoon is an unfinished novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In 1941, it was published posthumously under this title, as prepared by his friend Edmund Wilson, a critic and writer.[1]

It was adapted as a TV play in 1957 and a film in 1976 of the same name, with a screenplay for the latter by British playwright Harold Pinter. Robert De Niro and Theresa Russell starred.

In 1993, a new version of the novel was published under the title The Love of the Last Tycoon, edited by Matthew Bruccoli, a Fitzgerald scholar. This version was adapted for a stage production that premiered in Los Angeles, California in 1998. In 2013, HBO announced plans to produce an adaptation under this title as a TV series.

Publication history

The novel was unfinished and in rough form at the time of Fitzgerald's death at age 44. The literary critic and writer Edmund Wilson, a close friend of Fitzgerald, collected the notes for the novel and edited it for publication. The unfinished novel was published in 1941 as The Last Tycoon, by which it is best known. Critics generally regard this as Fitzgerald's masterpiece.

In 1993, another version of the novel was published under the title The Love of the Last Tycoon, as part of the Cambridge edition of the Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli, a Fitzgerald scholar. Bruccoli reworked the extant seventeen chapters of the thirty-one planned according to his interpretation of the author's notes.

Plot summary

According to Publishers Weekly, The Love of the Last Tycoon is "[g]enerally considered a roman a clef." Fitzgerald modeled his character Monroe Stahr on historic film producer Irving Thalberg. The story follows Stahr's rise to power in Hollywood, and his conflicts with rival Pat Brady, a character based on prominent studio head Louis B. Mayer.

Main characters

Point of view

Fitzgerald wrote the novel in a blend of first person and third-person omniscient narrative. While the story is ostensibly told by Cecelia, many scenes are narrated in which she is not present. Occasionally a scene will be presented twice, once through Cecelia and once through a third party.

Awards

The revised edition of The Love of The Last Tycoon won the Choice Outstanding Academic Books award of 1995.

Adaptations

In 1957 John Frankenheimer directed a TV version for Playhouse 90, with Jack Palance as Monroe Stahr.

A 1976 film version was adapted for the screen by British playwright Harold Pinter, directed by Elia Kazan (his last film). It was produced by Sam Spiegel and released as The Last Tycoon. It starred Robert De Niro as Monroe Stahr and Theresa Russell as Cecelia Brady, and featured appearances by Robert Mitchum and Jack Nicholson. Pinter later won the Nobel Prize for his dramatic plays.

A stage adaptation of the 1993 edition, by Simon Levy and authorized by the Fitzgerald Estate, opened at The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles in 1998. It received high praise and numerous awards.[2]

On November 19, 2013, HBO announced plans to adapt The Love of The Last Tycoon as a television series with Captain Phillips writer Billy Ray writing the script.[3] On November 7, 2014, Amazon Studios has picked up Billy Ray's adaptation after HBO passed it off and will be produced by Sony Pictures Television.[4] On November 23, 2015, actor Matt Bomer was cast as Monroe Stahr, Lily Collins as Cecilia Brady, and Ray will write and direct the pilot.[5][6]

Publication history

References

  1. ↑ J. Donald Adams (1941-11-09). "Scott Fitzgerald's Last Novel". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie. "Billy Ray Adapting F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘Last Tycoon’ As HBO Drama Series". Deadline. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  4. ↑ Selcke, Dan. 211588 "Amazon may pick up The Last Tycoon, a period drama that HBO turned down" Check |url= value (help). avclub.com. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  5. ↑ Franklin, Gareth. "Matt Bomer Is Amazon's "Last Tycoon"". DarkHorizons.com. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  6. ↑ The Last Tycoon at the Internet Movie Database

External links


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, May 07, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.