Was the making of Chinatown that interesting? It was tricky to write the script, sure. There were some troubles. But everyone had enjoyed a hit recently - it wasn't that hard to finance. A big star wanted to do it. People "got" it was a Chandler throwback. (Come to think of it there's not enough in this book about 30s nostalgia that dominated Hollywood).
Of course the personalities are fascinating- Evans, Polanski, Nicholson, Towne, Dunaway.
Wasson is an excellent writer. He's superb on the different drafts of the script. I was shocked Town used a ghost writer for most of his career - Eric Taylor. That was a true revelation for me. That's amazing. One of the greatest screenwriters of all time. It does explain the quality of his work. But Taylor should be better known.
The book is less good elsewhere. I feel Wasson was overly influenced by who would talk to him - he goes in soft on Polanski and Evans, and hard on Dunaway and Towne. I'm sure he would argue that's not the case, but it's the impression I got. And like far too many writers he accepts the comments of Peter Bart uncritically.
Worth reading. But I feel it would've been a better book had he not done interviews of the famous people.
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