Which Lie Did I Tell?: More Adventures in the Screen Trade

In this follow-up to his previous industry memoir, William Goldman analyzes the mechanics of screenwriting and the chaotic reality of high-budget filmmaking in the late twentieth century. He provides detailed breakdowns of script structure, using his own work on films like The Princess Bride and Absolute Power to illustrate how scenes are paced and dialogue is sharpened. Goldman examines the collaborative friction between writers, directors, and stars, while dissecting why specific sequences succeed or fail visually. The text includes a workshop section where several professional screenwriters provide contrasting treatments for the same story premise, demonstrating the subjective nature of narrative choices and the difficulty of studio approval.

Aspiring screenwriters and film students read this book to understand the professional constraints of the Hollywood system. It serves as a practical guide to the technical demands of a screenplay, from formatting to narrative economy. Readers walk away with a realistic perspective on the frequency of project cancellation and the necessity of constant revision. The book provides a framework for evaluating commercial scripts and offers a set of diagnostic tools for fixing structural flaws in a draft.