Stephen Rebello

On May 30, 1988, Abbeville Press published his award-winning non-fiction book Reel Art: Great Posters From the Golden Age of the Silver Screen (with Richard C. Allen). The book generated film poster exhibitions in 1988 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens, New York and in 1990 in the Paine Webber Building in New York City.[3] The book was honored at an event at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as one of the best ever written about Hollywood.

Rebello's 1990 non-fiction book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, distributed by W. W. Norton, received considerable praise on publication. Christopher Lehmann-Haupt in the May 7, 1990 edition of the New York Times declared it a "meticulous history of a single film production."[2][4] Critic, author and filmmaker Richard Schickel called the book "indispensable and marvelously readable" and "one of the best accounts of the making of an individual movie we've ever had." Reviewer Gary Johnson called the book "one of the best books ever written about the making of a movie" and "unquestionably the best source available." [5] Critic Leonard Maltin on his blog called the book a "landmark."

Paperback editions have been published by St. Martin's Griffin and by W. W. Norton. Hardcover editions have been published in the U.K., Germany, Australia, Italy, Portugal, China, Russia, Korea, and Japan. The book has become a standard and continues to be used in film studies classes on director Alfred Hitchcock. The book was optioned by a major network for production as a TV film and, subsequently, by three film companies for a feature. The 2012 film Hitchcock starring Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, and Scarlett Johansson was adapted from the book.

During the latter half of the 1990s, Rebello worked alongside many Disney artists as a writer on several animated film concepts and projects that remain unproduced. He also wrote three books for Disney Hyperion based on the art of Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), and Hercules. In addition, Rebello developed a teleplay for a live-action Disney musical for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which is yet to be produced.

In 2005, several entertainment magazines announced the optioning of the screen rights to Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho for a television movie or miniseries. That option was superseded when two other major production companies optioned the rights for a theatrical motion picture version. In January 2010, Paramount Pictures purchased the screen rights to the book. The film began development in 2011 by The Montecito Picture Company with director Sacha Gervasi at the helm of the feature, subsequently entitled Hitchcock. Early screenplay drafts were written by Black Swan co-writer John J. McLaughlin; Rebello wrote several subsequent revised drafts. By late 2011, Fox Searchlight Pictures bought the project and the film was cast with Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, James D'Arcy, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, Danny Huston, Michael Stuhlbarg, Ralph Macchio, Michael Wincott, Richard Portnow and Richard Chassler. Principal photography began on location on April 13, 2012 and the film was released in selected U.S. cities on November 23, 2012, with a nationwide and worldwide theatrical expansion thereafter. Hitchcock was chosen as the opening night film of the 2012 American Film Institute's annual film festival, with the Steven Spielberg-directed Lincoln as the closing night attraction.

Penguin Books published Rebello's non-fiction book on June 2 and rushed it into a second printing less than a month later. The book received considerable media attention and critical praise. The editors of Vogue chose it as one of best books of the summer, praising its “great detail and heavy research” and calling it “as heady and colorful as the pulsating Pucci prints Susann so famously wore.“ Kirkus Reviews thought the book “written with a cinematic excitement,” “meticulously detailed,” and “a blissful treasure trove of gossipy insider details that Dolls fans will swiftly devour.” Publishers Weekly called it “exuberant” and “loving.” Library Journal wrote “Rebello packs tons of information into this loving look at a cultural and cult phenomenon ... Go ahead: indulge yourself. Fans will love! love! love! and newcomers will enjoy the Hollywood insider aspect.” The Washington Post called it "full of surprises and even suspense" and The Hollywood Reporter placed it on its list of 20 books of the summer. During its first month of publication, the book was listed on Amazon as #1 Best Seller in such categories as: Entertainment Industry; Movie History & Criticism; Literary Criticism & Theory; and on Amazon Kindle in various categories including #1 New Release in "Sports & Entertainment."

In 2019, Stephen Rebello optioned and adapted for the screen a 1940s-era British thriller novel; the screen version, set in contemporary London and Scotland is currently in development for production in 2021. His satirical non-fiction book dramatizing the clash of an embattled cast, crew, writers, and pair of studio heads before, during and after the making of the 1967 movie Valley of the Dolls was published on June 2, 2020 and quickly became a bestseller.