The Making of a Blockbuster: How Wayne Huizenga Built a Sports and Entertainment Empire from Trash, Grit, and Videotape

by Gail DeGeorge

"The Making of a Blockbuster is an engrossing depiction of an outof nowhere, self-made American industrialist, Wayne Huizenga. Itcaptures with intensity the true grit and dynamic, unwaveringcharacter of a blockbuster personality and his rise to thiscountry's preeminent entrepreneur." -- Sumner Redstone Chairman ofthe Board, Viacom Inc.

"This is more than a book. It's a fantasy about a man with greatvision. A must read for anyone with dreams for their future." --Aaron Spelling Spelling Television Inc.

"I have always admired anyone who makes it on their own and Waynehas done that in a big time way while never forgetting where it allbegan. The whole story is between the covers of this fascinatingbook, The Making of a Blockbuster." -- Frank Gifford ABCSports

Despite all the media buzz surrounding Blockbuster video, littlehas been written about Wayne Huizenga, the charismatic man behindit all--until now. Here is the complete inside story of how thiscollege dropout-turned-garbage collector rose to become a corporatetitan. This eye-opening book reveals everything from Huizenga'sincredible transformation of 19 Blockbuster stores into a $4billion entertainment conglomerate to his successful entry into thesports arena as owner of the Miami Dolphins, Florida Marlins, andthe Florida Panthers. Huizenga's winning combination of businessstrategies, management style, and vision is explained in thisbook--a fascinating testament to the power of true grit,seat-of-the-pants dealmaking, and sheer entrepreneurial genius. TheMaking of a Blockbuster is an enthralling read for all who followthe entertainment and sports industries, and business readers whowant to find out just how it's done.

Genres: Business, Biography, Baseball, Nonfiction

354 pages, Paperback

First published October 17, 1995

Reviews

[Mark Dantonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

ISBN = 0471122696 Gail DeGeorge

I felt I needed to read this book because I recently was accepted to NOVA Southeastern University and I wanted to learn more detail about the life of Wayne Huizenga.
He is an interesting man. Huizenga is very driven but in a low-key kind of way. He wanted attention directed towards his companies, Waste Management, Blockbuster, and Auto Nation. He would rather remain low key himself.
Huizenga is a true entrepreneur. He has a great desire to start and build new ventures. He has a large understanding of the big picture and he is willing to surrender the administration of the details to others. This is the mark of a good leader. He seems fair by most accounts and he seems very comfortable in his own skin.
The book is not a hard read but also not easy. The times and places change all around. Basically, it starts when Huizenga was young until the late 1990's but it is all over the place while in the middle. It does give lots of great examples of how fair he is in treating people. He seems like a very decent man. He states that he neglected his family for a time and he made up for it. Basically, he is a guy that does not take himself too seriously and seems approachable. I bought the book on eBay for $2.00. I like Wayne Huizenga.

Mark D.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

 
“That nights lesson I learned
If you say you’re going to do something, be darn sure you do.”

- Wayne Huizenga started in business by buying one garbage truck in Pompano Beach Florida, amazing story that includes pretty much owning everything during one time or another in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.

[Miguel A. Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great explanation on Wayne Huizenga’s story. His ultimate success and few shortcomings along the way. For any business professional or South a Florida native, this is a great read! Highly recommend it!

[Denny Troncoso · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for entrepreneurs! Dealmaking, success habits and just great stories. Highly recommend

[Sy. C · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing was slightly dry but the underlying material is fascinating to anyone who has an interest in business. Wayne Huizenga focused on service businesses, consolidating fragmented industries that were not professionally run, and expanded rapidly through acquisitions and deal-making. While the "merger" with Viacom seemed controversial at that time, I think there's probably no dispute now that Blockbuster shareholders are better off for it. DeGeorge did a great job of covering the business and investing side and spent very little time on the type of sensationalistic gossip that derails some biographies.

[Scwisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not finished reading this entire book, but what I didn't know is that Wayne Huizenga also founded Waste Management. The first few chapters of this book are about his adventures in the trash business, which I found fascinating. Mr. Huizenga was a master at creating a business, building it big, and selling it for millions of dollars. If you like business biographies, this one makes for a good read.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wayne Huizenga is the entrepreneur you've never heard of. Having been the only one to have founded three Fortune 500 companies, and six NYSE-traded companies; the book illustrates building businesses the Huizenga way: true grit and balls to the walls work ethic. His style of leveraging debt while acquiring competitors through building relationships with their owners is unique. A must read for those who want to build business empires.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told Huizenga's story of building Waste Management and Blockbuster into a page turner, if you like business biographies. Also fairly shows the personal compromises made when one's career is uncompromised.