The Hollywood Handbook: The Insiders' Guide to Success

Rating:
Summary: Perceptively funny
Review: I howled at the observations in this book. Everyone was at the mercy of the pen and the light humor was in very good taste. Some references I didn't understand (guess that's why I needed the book....). I recommend it to anyone who is curious about what goes on beyond the scenes in Hollywood.

Rating:
Summary: love this book
Review: I love this book and the way it's written, it's an excellent grade A top choice meat book, organized, so you get a great detailed overview of everything, and great guide.

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious jab at surviving La-La-Land
Review: It's another fine skewering of the motion picture industry subculture like the Jay Mohr series "Action," focusing primarily on the glory jobs like Actor, Producer, Agent, Publicist, Writer (the only job that is given any sort of empathy or survivability), Poseur, and Model/Actress/Whatever. The Top 10 lists are clever--like how to get a studio deal, how not to get a studio deal, how to get into a big party, how to get thrown out of a big party, and so on--as are the nepotism lists and which applications of it were good moves and which weren't. I especially loved the five-year plan section (everyone seems to suffer career death--or literal death in the case of the Producer--except for Writer/Directors).

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious jab at surviving La-La-Land
Review: It's another fine skewering of the motion picture industry subculture like the Jay Mohr series "Action," focusing primarily on the glory jobs like Actor, Producer, Agent, Publicist, Writer (the only job that is given any sort of empathy or survivability), Poseur, and Model/Actress/Whatever. The Top 10 lists are clever--like how to get a studio deal, how not to get a studio deal, how to get into a big party, how to get thrown out of a big party, and so on--as are the nepotism lists and which applications of it were good moves and which weren't. I especially loved the five-year plan section (everyone seems to suffer career death--or literal death in the case of the Producer--except for Writer/Directors).

Rating:
Summary: Best and funniest since "The Preppy Handbook" 10 years ago
Review: Really good, easy and funny reading. The humor is targeted as much to readers in Middle America as it is to Hollywood insiders. Like a bunch of well-written Spy Magazine features (back when Spy was good.) Includes funny "top 10"-type lists that are even better the second time you read them, because you start to get the various inside jokes involved. A dishy parody of all the Hollywood stereotypes whose images now populate the world. Some of the "how to" lists are both real and absurd at the same time, which is one reason why the book is so funny. The pictures and captions are great (unfortunately printed a bit too dark to be able to make copies to fax to friends). A few of the book's references are over my head, like when you can't quite figure out what unspoken joke David Letterman is laughing about, but you know it's gotta be funny so you feel like laughing anyway. I think I'll end up buying a bunch of copies to give out as holiday gifts.