Bonfire of the Vanities was to be the film of the year, an instant success - the devil's candy itself. How could it lose? Huge stars - Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffiths, Bruce Willis; the brilliant director Brian De Palma; perfect locations. But behind the cameras a story unfolded that often imitated the story being filmed. With vanity never in short supply, ambitions and tempers and expenses escalated, the director rebelled, the crew balked, and Tom Wolfe would have nothing to do with it. Even so, no-one dreamed that the end result would be a fifty-million-dollar flop. This book reveals how a big-budget Hollywood movie really gets made. Julie Salamon has unlimited access to every detail of the production and her riveting inside chronicle illuminates the hidden workings of an industry where art, talent, and money combine - and often clash - on a monumental scale.