The Devil's Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood » (REPRINT)

When film director Brian De Palma invited author Julie Salamon to follow him on the set of The Bonfire of the Vanities, he had no idea that the $50-million movie would become one of Hollywood's biggest flops.

The Devil's Candy is the juicy, best-selling expose that sent Hollywood honchos running for cover. Who was responsible for the last-minute casting change that cost $4 million? Who knew that Melanie Griffith would show up halfway through the filming with a new set of breasts? Settle down in your front-row seat for a story that has more drama, hilarity, greed, folly, and ego than the movie that eventually ended up on the screen. Expertly reported and elegantly written, The Devil's Candy is a classic insider's look at the movie business and irresistible fun.

Publishers Weekly

Wall Street Journal film critic Salamon systematically and incisively lays out the process that conceived of Bonfire as a socially relevant epic, then turned it into a successor to Heaven's Gate. Moving from pre- to post-production, she charts the ruinous situations--the stars' high salaries and scheduling problems, the limited range of Bruce Willis, the conflicting messages from studio heads and more. The requisite tidbits are here, as well--did Melanie Griffith have breast augmentation during the shooting? (Yes.) What does Brian DePalma drink for lunch? (Three cappuccinos.) There is also much detailed material on how a movie is made, including the range of instruments used to recreate sounds and the type of beading attached to Griffith's eye-popping party dress. Casual film fans may be overwhelmed by the scope of Salamon's information; aficionados will feel they've finally gotten enough. More speculation would have been welcome on whether Hollywood will learn from the mistakes of Bonfire or always fall prey to ``the devil's candy''--that ``impossible, expensive, possibly monumental thing.''420 Photos not seen by PW. First serial to Vanity Fair. (Nov.ok )