New Memoir on Bruce Dern thought to be too 'egotistical'

By M&C News Jul 10, 2007, 14:27 GMT

In an interview with the Associated Press, Bruce Dern admits, "I was lucky to work with people of a certain kind of magnificent stature," he said. "They didn't call them legends without a reason; they were legends. There was much more personality-driven film machinery than there is today. Now it's more about personal behavior off the set, off the screen, than it is on the screen."

Although Dern also admits to being a poor typist as well as writer, many believed that his life was worth reading about. Having worked with these onscreen legends like Bette Davis, Robert Redford, as well as having connections with other famous types (the article states he is the nephew to poet Archibald MacLeish, and that his grandfather had been the governor of Utah at one time) leads one to believe he’s led an interesting life.

The memoir, called Things I've Said, But Probably Shouldn't Have: An Unrepentant Memoir, is authored by Bruce Dern as well as Christopher Fryer and Robert Crane. 

Publisher’s Weekly states, “His memoir details his fellow actors, directors and pictures, and reveals that he turned down an audition for The Godfather and rebuffed Woody Allen. While briefly touching on his marriages and his obsession with running, Dern saves his eloquence for the magic that can occur on a set.”

Reviewers have said that Dern trumpets his own abilities too much, and comes across as egotistical. In a PC society, false modesty is encouraged. But why should one be modest if it is true? Readers should judge for themselves. Published by Wiley, the book finishes at 304 pages.

The AP article can be read here.