Promotional Information

• Perfect for Film Buffs: Stanley Kubrick’s 1961 classic Spartacus won four Academy Awards and is a regular installment on the American Film Institute 100, a list of the top 100 films of all time. I Am Spartacus! shares details and stories from the making of this classic film never before revealed.
• Never-before-seen lost photos: The book features a collection of behind-the-scenes photos from the making of the film never before released.
• A story that needs to be told and the perfect man to tell it: Spartacus was made during the height of McCarthyism in America, a time when the Hollywood Blacklist persecuted screenwriters, actors, and directors for alleged Communist sympathies. Here Kirk Douglas tells the story behind the film that broke the blacklist once and for all.

About the Author

Kirk Douglas was a renowned actor who appeared in almost ninety movies before retiring from film acting in 2004. His work on and off the screen was rewarded with three Academy Award nominations, an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, and the Medal of Freedom. Through his production company, Bryna, he produced acclaimed films such as The Vikings, Lonely Are the Brave, Paths of Glory, and Seven Days in May. A master storyteller, Douglas also penned tennovels and memoirs. In 2009, he starred in an autobiographical one-man show called Before I Forget at the Center Theatre Group’s Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles. For many years, Douglas maintained an active life in Beverly Hills and Montecito, where he lived with his beloved wife Anne. He passed away on February 5, 2020, in Los Angeles. He was 103 years old.

Reviews

“An entertaining and informative look at the troubled gestation of a film of both artistic and social significance.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Kirk Douglas is many things . . . But he is, first and foremost, a man of extraordinary character. The kind that’s formed when the stakes are high. The kind we always look for at our darkest hour.” —George Clooney

"A glorious book . . . Kirk Douglas is a wonderful writer and a courageous one, which should surprise no one. Courage has been his battle cry all his life." —Steven Spielberg

"The making of I Am Spartacus! is a remarkable story told with the wit and charm of a great entertainer. Kirk Douglas revisits the complex political and social context surrounding the production of a cinema classic." —Henry Kissinger

"Hugely entertaining." —Liz Smith, Chicago Tribune

"I Am Spartacus! is a great read." —Bill O'Reilly

"Kirk Douglas is a lion." —Bill Maher

"A lively new memoir about one of [Douglas'] greatest triumphs." —Los Angeles Times

"Carries the power of a self-made man who continues to meet life on his own terms but with grace and aplomb." —Associated Press