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. HBO cancelled the project and gave the rights to Sony Pictures, who produced and released the television series on Amazon Studios in 2016.
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. Some 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 à 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
- Monroe Stahr, Hollywood film producer
- Pat Brady, Stahr’s associate, also a film producer
- Cecelia Brady, Brady's daughter
- Kathleen Moore, Stahr's love interest
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
- 1957: John Frankenheimer directed a TV version for Playhouse 90, with Jack Palance as Monroe Stahr.
- 1976: A 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.
- 1998: A stage adaptation of the 1993 edition, by Simon Levy and authorized by the Fitzgerald Estate, opened at The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles. It received high praise and numerous awards.[2]
- 2016: On November 19, 2013, HBO announced that it planned to adapt The Love of The Last Tycoon with Billy Ray writing the script.[3] On November 7, 2014, Amazon Studios picked up Billy Ray's adaptation after HBO passed it off and announced it would 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 it was announced that Ray would write and direct the pilot.[5][6] The pilot was released June 17, 2016.[7]
- 2016: Simon Levy's stage adaptation, authorized by the Fitzgerald Estate, will have its European premiere, opening at the Arts Theatre in London on August 17, 2016. Produced by Ruby In The Dust Theatre with the permission of the author. Directed by Linnie Reedman.
Publication history
- 1941, as The Last Tycoon, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Edmund Wilson. current ISBN 0-14-118563-5
- 1993, The Love of the Last Tycoon, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-40231-X, hardcover
- 2003, The Love of the Last Tycoon, Charles Scribner’s Sons, ISBN 0-02-019985-6, paperback
References
- ↑ J. Donald Adams (1941-11-09). "Scott Fitzgerald's Last Novel". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ↑
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie. "Billy Ray Adapting F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'Last Tycoon' As HBO Drama Series". Deadline. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ↑ 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. - ↑ Franklin, Gareth. "Matt Bomer Is Amazon's "Last Tycoon"". DarkHorizons.com. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
- ↑ The Last Tycoon at the Internet Movie Database
- ↑ "The Last Tycoon". Retrieved 20 June 2016.
External links
- F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Last Tycoon An Unfinished Novel. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1941. Full text online in Internet Archive.