Joseph P. Kennedy Presents: His Hollywood Years (Vintage) Review

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Joseph P. Kennedy Presents: His Hollywood Years (Vintage) ReviewThis review refers to the Audible version of the book, since the new Audible site has disabled its review and ratings features (no buttons for this any more).
Joseph P. Kennedy Presents is an interesting book, although it's less engaging than Beauchamp's earlier book on Frances Marion, Without Lying Down. Beauchamp has done a lot of work in the archives and is able to trace Kennedy's business dealings in intricate, sometimes excruciating, detail. Although she dispels the idea that Kennedy was a bootlegger, she does point out that at the beginning of WWII he was able to send 200,000 cases of liquor back to the U.S., when such shipments were prohibited, by using his diplomatic status as U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James.
The Kennedy that emerges in this book is a brilliant businessman and a charismatic figure who had the foresight to invent new ways of structuring companies to maximize profits for himself, although in a classic case of shutting the barn door after the horses have escaped, many of these methods were later regulated out of existence, due perhaps in part to the wreckage that he left behind. Beauchamp points out that to Kennedy's way of thinking, this kind of wreckage was not his problem: if Gloria Swanson or others who trusted him did not look out for themselves, that was their fault for being too naive. The women left in the wake of his serial and incessant womanizing (as described here) were similarly at fault, in his mind, if they didn't manage to escape the charm offensive (and occasionally hands-on groping) that he continued to engage in throughout his life.
Lest this sound too negative, Beauchamp stresses Kennedy's love for his children despite absences from home that seem from this book to stretch for months at a time. Kennedy had charm, energy, intelligence, and charisma, and he could read a balance sheet like nobody's business. Ethics in business seems to have eluded him as a concept, but he had a powerful grasp of the idea of public relations. Although he used these in damaging ways (as during his isolationism in WWII), he's still a fascinating figure to read about.Joseph P. Kennedy Presents: His Hollywood Years (Vintage) Overview

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Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood Review

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Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood ReviewI bought this book on a whim. I was looking for books on some of the great silent stars..Marion Davis, Mary Pickford, Colleen Moore, Olive Thomas, etc. I find it incredibly hard to find books about the Golden Age of Hollywood. After reading this work, I was taken back to a time when flickers were just coming in to vogue and when women could thrive in a burgeoning industry! The author - Cari Beauchamp did an excellent job of capturing the feel of the Golden age of Hollywood. I thought that her research was extensive and considering the limited amount of information available on women in this era, very complete. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in recapturing the essence of the Golden Age of Hollywood in their very modern living rooms of today.Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Powerful Women of Early Hollywood Overview

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Hello, He Lied -- and Other Tales from the Hollywood Trenches Review

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Hello, He Lied -- and Other Tales from the Hollywood Trenches ReviewWhile Lynda Obst certainly knows her way around Hollywood and has survived and even prospered in an arena where megalomaniacs, narcissists and pathological liars abound and indeed make the rules, her book is most useful in describing why good business makes for lousy art. Obst again proves the observation that 'Hollywood is high school with money'. Ambitious and driven (and obviously intelligent) though Obst may be, the deal-making she painstakingly describes is the art form, the pictures themselves mere adjuncts. Shopping witless scripts to a tiny group of hugely overpaid stars and directors insures a steady stream of 'product' and little beyond the most common entertainment and certainly rarely anything approaching art. Sheer persistence overcomes all. A project moves forward only when the right people are 'attached'. Risky, personal pictures do not fit into this equation and subsequently rarely get produced. Instead the motion picture audience receives a steady stream of generic diversions, soulless to the extreme, dull, predictable and adolescent, near perfect reflections of their creators.Hello, He Lied -- and Other Tales from the Hollywood Trenches Overview

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Where Did I Go Right?: You're No One in Hollywood Unless Someone Wants You Dead Review

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Where Did I Go Right: You're No One in Hollywood Unless Someone Wants You Dead ReviewFor those of us hooked on "The E True Hollywood Story," "VH1's Behind The Music" and other outlets for real life Hollywood dish, Bernie Brillstein's book is a wonderful treat. This is a candid, honest look at a half-century long career in the trenches. Bernie Brillstein nurtured the careers of Lorne Michaels,Jim Henson, Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and many more icons. Besides the wonderful stories (ok, dish) about his clients, Brillstein shares behind the scenes anecdotes from the deal making trenches. Great insights for any future Hollywood agents/managers. But even if you don't work in this town, you will love Bernie's story and possibly pick up some useful life lessons. An appealing, infinitely readable Hollywood read, and if you like this, check out books by Bob Evans and Ken Kragen!Where Did I Go Right: You're No One in Hollywood Unless Someone Wants You Dead Overview

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