Book The book chronicles Evans' rise from childhood to radio star to film actor to production chief of
Paramount Pictures to independent producer, his marriage to
Ali MacGraw, his downfall including his 1980 cocaine bust and implication in the murder of
Roy Radin, aka "The Cotton Club Murder", his banishment from Paramount Pictures, and his return to the studio in the early 1990s. The audiobook version was read by Evans himself, with (presumably impromptu) additions. A revised edition of the book, published in 1995, adds several chapters of new material, including material on his projects after his return to Paramount Pictures.
Film The film version, released in 2002, uses Evans' narration interspersed mostly with photographs from Evans' life as well as brief film footage from films such as
Love Story,
The Sun Also Rises, ''
Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, and The Godfather, along with interviews to tell the story from his discovery by Norma Shearer for Man of a Thousand Faces'' (1957) to his return to Paramount Pictures. According to the commentary by directors Burstein and Morgen on the DVD, many elements from the book, such as Evans' childhood and his other marriages (the film concentrates only on his marriage to Ali MacGraw), were dropped because they felt they did not move the story along. ==Critical response==