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skirmishgirl's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book. I loved it there first time I read it, years and years ago, and I love it now.
uosdwisrdewoh's review
5.0
After getting back from Los Angeles, the first thing I did was pull out and reread this favorite, a hilarious take on L.A. and the movie business.
Brian Michael Bendis is an indie cartoonist in Cleveland who finds that a simple article in Spin Magazine sends studios to his door wanting to sign him up, not really to make a movie, but just to make sure that no other studio can do so. Bendis slowly wades into the Hollywood development morass, meeting with countless slick producers and executives, all of whom love his work (which none of them have actually read). Nothing really goes anywhere, but Bendis's light cartoony artwork and crisp dialogue make him a really fun guide through the whole mess that is Los Angeles, from the absurd (the way every crowd scans you when you enter a restaurant to determine if you're a celebrity) to the depressing (he sits in a waiting room "with these guys that all looked like they might be a Cohen brother" and, quietly doing the math, realizes that probably no writer in this room will ever have his movie made).
Recommended for anyone with more than a passing interest in the movie business.
Brian Michael Bendis is an indie cartoonist in Cleveland who finds that a simple article in Spin Magazine sends studios to his door wanting to sign him up, not really to make a movie, but just to make sure that no other studio can do so. Bendis slowly wades into the Hollywood development morass, meeting with countless slick producers and executives, all of whom love his work (which none of them have actually read). Nothing really goes anywhere, but Bendis's light cartoony artwork and crisp dialogue make him a really fun guide through the whole mess that is Los Angeles, from the absurd (the way every crowd scans you when you enter a restaurant to determine if you're a celebrity) to the depressing (he sits in a waiting room "with these guys that all looked like they might be a Cohen brother" and, quietly doing the math, realizes that probably no writer in this room will ever have his movie made).
Recommended for anyone with more than a passing interest in the movie business.
jhstack's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the look at the inner workings of Hollywood and how adaptations work, but I was a little mixed on Bendis' illustrations.
jmanchester0's review
5.0
This was a fascinating book. I've always wanted to be a screenwriter, and I love that this book takes you inside the big mess that is Hollywood and shows what it's like. Brian Michael Bendis is a fantastic writer, and he really gets you into this autobiographical story. It doesn't hurt that I'm also sort of obsessed with comic book movies.
Regardless, I think this would be interesting story even to someone that wasn't as interested in the writing as I am.
Regardless, I think this would be interesting story even to someone that wasn't as interested in the writing as I am.
cemeterygates's review against another edition
5.0
Having recently made my own movie to the city where dreams are made, this is more of a depressing guide for how to live your life. It's pretty great.
amalelmohtar's review
4.0
Because of this book I am now incapable of watching a film trailer without imagining the rigmarole the creative team went through pitching it to all and sundry. Frequently hilarious and super well done.
zerobot's review against another edition
3.0
Mostly interesting because I have an interest in the movie industry, but there's really not much there there. The story is an (entertaining enough) series of anecdotes. But that's all I was expecting.
will_sargent's review
4.0
A feel good, thrill a minute ride that will leave you breathless and wanting more!
Or an idea of what Hollywood is like, and how it tries to sort out good ideas from bad ones. It's funny.
The interesting thing is that Bendis is a damn good writer who has gone on to do some really amazing work since, and you could argue that Spiderman wouldn't have happened without Bendis's Ultimate Spiderman work. So in a way, he has made a big budget movie, and comic book movies are now "credible" in a way that they weren't at the time this was written.
Or an idea of what Hollywood is like, and how it tries to sort out good ideas from bad ones. It's funny.
The interesting thing is that Bendis is a damn good writer who has gone on to do some really amazing work since, and you could argue that Spiderman wouldn't have happened without Bendis's Ultimate Spiderman work. So in a way, he has made a big budget movie, and comic book movies are now "credible" in a way that they weren't at the time this was written.
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