Hype & Glory: William Goldman's Account of Judging Miss America and the Cannes Film Festival in the Same Year

Quick quiz: Who is the only person to ever be a judge at the Miss America pageant and a judge at the Cannes Film Festival in the same year? If you said David Hasselhoff, I'm sorry but you're wrong. No, the answer is none other than the author of The Princess Bride, William Goldman. Not being one to pass up a golden opportunity that falls into your lap, William Goldman took advantage and produced a memorable book that gives a rare glimpse into the machinations, politics and backstabbing that takes place during two of the most famous judgments on the human façade in history.

The book William Goldman produced is titled, appropriately and punnily enough, Hype & Glory The book is another example of the magnificent deadpan wit that makes Goldman one of the most entertaining writers of the latter half of the twentieth century. Like most of the Goldman's best stuff, there are points in Hype & Glory at which the reader cannot help but laugh out loud. Goldman has an uncanny ability to observe what is taking place around him and then transform those observations into humorous anecdotes. Even more amazing is how he can turn episodes that illuminate the darker side of celebrity into such lighthearted romps.

Goldman takes full advantage of his status as one of the most sought-after and celebrated screenwriters in Hollywood and his relationship with many stars and directors to give the kind of dishy behind the scenes look at just those Cannes awards are chosen that perhaps precious few other people could manage. For instance, there is just as much backroom wheeling and dealing going on in the jury room at Cannes as there was in any smoke-filled room to pick Presidential candidates a hundred years ago. Goldman puts all his incredible writing talents to work to conjure up magic as he relates, for instance, how the other embers of the jury that year-which included actress Nastassja Kinski and Mad Max director George Miller-actually worked to make their final choices. If you've ever wondered just how political the choices for film festival winners are, your worst fears will be confirmed. You can't help but laugh as compromise after compromise is made in order to ensure that everybody's favorite in a particular category is given the prize they most want.

After Cannes, William Goldman sends you off to to Atlantic City, NJ to take part in the great American tradition of grading women in swimsuits. The really surprising thing about the Miss America pageant section is how well this whole enterprise comes off. Let's face it, it would have been ridiculously easy for Goldman to satirize every single aspect of the Miss America pageant, but by the end you begin to share his respect for what pre-Donald Trump pageant really represented, which was giving these women a chance for college money that they may never have found anywhere else.

Still, there's plenty of opportunity for laughs and most of it comes at the expense of the eventual Miss America. Not from William Goldman, who treats her with a great deal of respect, but from the comments of friends and acquaintances and complete strangers who can't understand how he could have voted for the ugliest woman in the pageant.

Two long lasting traditions both take a ribbing of sorts, but generally come off pretty well in this hugely entertaining book by a Hollywood insider.