The Picture Business

Published by the Sager Group

The Picture Business

Forthcoming October 13th, 2026

From Stage 24 at Warner Brothers to the backlot of Universal, from the movie-star eating alone in his swank trailer to one-hundred fifty people eating lunch at midnight in the middle of the Mojave Desert – The Picture Business is a delicious collection of stories about the people who make the movies. A close-up look at the intimate bond of a cast and crew, a sneak peek into the day-to-day intrigue on location and off. The key grip and the actress rekindle a reckless love affair. Five retired stunt guys get caught in an unexpected stunt over huevos rancheros in the San Fernando Valley. Two best friend female writers and the accident that drastically changes their lives. The actor who’s “acting up” and the hilarious endeavor of the production team to settle him down. A movie-star/writer/director and the three women who love him – before, during and after his extraordinary life and his devastating demise. The dirt, the deals, the drama. The mystery, the glamour, and the secrets – it’s all here, baby, written by someone who was there.

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  • “These exquisite stories, hard and heartfelt, are about the shadow side of the business of making movies. They are knowing and they are caring and they are about the people whose work allows all our celluloid dreams to come alive. Not so much stardust, but an abundance of truth. No one has written so well about this side of movie-making since the Hollywood stories of John O’Hara, and Elaine Kagan does it with more soul.”
    Jay Cocks
    Scribbler, Academy Award Nominee for A Complete
    Unknown, Writer of Gangs of New York, The Age of Innocence, and Silence
  • “The Picture Business by Elaine Kagan is the most realistic, human and funniest portrayal of the film world that is as good as anything I’ve ever read.”
    Mike Lobell
    Producer, The Freshman, Honeymoon in Vegas, The
    Journey of Natty Gann, Striptease
  • “Elaine Kagan brings not only a veteran’s perspective to these delicious stories – she brings the warmth and affection of someone who truly loves her subject. Character by character she weaves a narrative tapestry of Hollywood’s diverse and eccentric community that will undoubtedly amuse both insiders and outsiders alike.”
    Noah Wyle
    Actor, Writer, Director, Producer
  • “The Picture Business has the right title. Elaine Kagan, a gifted actress and a supremely talented writer, knows it inside-out and after you’ve read it and laughed and cried your fill, so will you.”
    Lawrence Block
    Author of A Walk Among the Tombstones