By Vivien Mao

 

“Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.”, by Sam Wasson ’99 reached 13 on the New York Times bestseller list for hardcover non-fiction books on Aug 13. The book is about the making of the 1961 movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” starring Audrey Hepburn.

“[Being on the bestsellers list] was a total shock. I started screaming and laughing at once. I was in my room and my editor called me screaming into the phone and I could barely understand what she was saying, but I knew it had to be something good,” Wasson said.

Wasson’s previous book, “A Splurch in the Kisser: The Movies of Blake Edwards”, addresses the work of director Blake Edwards, who directed “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” along with many others, such as “The Pink Panther” series, “Days of Wine and Roses”, “The Party” and “Micki and Maude.”

During his research for “A Splurch in the Kisser: The Movies of Blake Edwards,” Wasson decided to write “Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.”

“When it came time for the next project, writing on ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ itself was the next step. I was amazed when I was doing research on Blake Edwards at the makings of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

“Fifth Avenue took me about a year of research and writing and rewriting,” Wasson said.