New tomes prove book usually better than the movie

September 19, 2008 It's a terrific read: classy like Wagner and full of interesting showbiz stories and insights. During the course of his long-distance movie career, Wagner has worked with a staggering number of iconic headliners -- such names as Spencer Tracy, Audrey Hepburn, Laurence Olivier, John Ford, Sophia Loren, James Cagney, Paul Newman, Fred Astaire, Blake Edwards, Steve McQueen and Elizabeth Taylor only scratch the surface. Also coming soon to bookstores and highly recommended are a pair of new bios about high-ranking directors of Hollywood's past, both of whom have famous names and giant films to their credits -- though both, for years, have remained enigmas, each being less interested in being publicized and profiled than in making good movies.

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