I love a good Hollywood story. It doesn't matter if it's fact or fiction, comedy or tragedy, romance or mystery …as long as it is set against against a Hollywood backdrop I will get excited about it. So I thought I'd share two of my non-fiction favorites with you:
I have read many books about '80s teen movies, but none of those can compare to Smokler's Brat Pack America. He covers a lot, including some movies I had never heard of (something I definitely want to fix), but instead of focussing on the characters or stories Brat Pack America is a journey through all the real and fictional places that made these movies so great.
From the Goonies Day festivities in Astoria, to a Lost Boys tour of Santa Cruz, Smokler goes everywhere, from north to south. But that is not everything, Brat Pack America also includes interviews with actors, writers and directors, and is full of little tidbits and facts. So if you're in the mood for some time traveling and can't get your hands Doc Brown's DeLorean, this book is the next best thing.
If you have not read the story behind the greatest bad movie ever made, you are really missing out. Sestero, who stared as Mark in the Room, tells the story of how he met the mysterious figure that is Tommy Wiseau and how The Room came together.
I am a fan of The Room. Yet, I do not think that you necessarily have to love the movie – or even be familiar with it – to enjoy the book. The whole tale is so bizarre that it might as well be a fictional story – a well written, interesting, and hilarious story that will have you rolling on the floor.
The thing that makes The Disaster Artist so great is, however, not the comedy but how honest and heartfelt Sestero's words feel. It would have been so easy to write a tell-all book that makes fun of Wiseau's antics, but at the end of the day The Disaster Artist is a story about one man with a big dream. And soon, you can even see it play out on the big screen. I can't wait!
Peace, Love, and Lobsters
Laura
