MY TOP 12 BOOKS ABOUT MOVIES

High Concept: Don Simpson and the Hollywood Culture of Excess by Charles Fleming

MY FAV MOVIE BOOK OF ALL TIME!

A no-holds-barred dive into the cocaine-fueled, power-obsessed, blockbuster-crazed world of 1980s Hollywood. Don Simpson, the producer behind Top Gun (1986) and Beverly Hills Cop (1984), practically invented the formula for high-octane, high-concept filmmaking—and lived a life that made those movies look tame. Author Charles Fleming pulls back the curtain on the guy who turned explosions and catchphrases into a billion-dollar industry, all while throwing himself into a spiral of sex, drugs, and unchecked hedonism.

This book is less a biography and more a wild ride through the Hollywood dream machine at its most unhinged. Simpson wasn’t just making movies—he was rewriting the rules of the game, all while burning out in spectacular fashion. Fleming spares no details in documenting Simpson’s rise, fall, and legacy, painting a portrait of a man who was as self-destructive as he was visionary.