James Wolcott reads from Tommy Dearest

Published: Jan. 28, 2009, 5 p.m.

b"With Oscar Night only three weeks away, Vanity Fair has just published a film fanatics' dream--Vanity Fair's Tales of Hollywood (Penguin), edited by Graydon Carter--a rollicking new collection revealing the back stories behind the making of 13 iconic films. In this excerpt, the inimitable James Wolcott reveals the secrets of director Ken Russell's Tommy, the perverse 1975 big-screen adaptation of the Who's rock opera."