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Summary: Angry Vent on Hollywood (Not a Bad Thing)
Review: I understand the comparisons to My Fractured Life because of subject matter, but the tone of the books is different. Hollywood Animal is very angry. Joe Eszterhas is pissed off at Hollywood for its treatment of him. My Fractured Life is a little more about taking the ups with the downs and having a sense of humor about it. Both great books and highly recommended, but in terms of comparison Hollywood Animal is far angrier (which can be just as fun).
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Summary: My favorite book
Review: First let me qualify that I am an English Language and Literature major. By far one of my favorite authors is now Joe Esterhaus. If you like James Joyce, and his struggle with alcohol, religious guilt,and the desparate need for redemption, then you will love this book. It is well-written, rich in metaphors and subtext. Most of all you will recognize something in yourself that connects you with the author, who defines himself as the "devil," but in reality acts like a morally outraged man, as he exposes the cruel world around him. Like most of us he desires to succeed, but ultimate struggles with how much of his soul has to be lost to achieve this goal. His struggle is universal, and one cannot help but examine their own life in the course of sharing this story with the author. He made me enjoy reading again, and his book is so compelling, I could not stop turning the pages. Many of my friends who have read the book find themselves crying, because the depth of pain in this man's heart touches something deep within ourselves.
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Summary: The "devil" in Hollywood
Review: At first, I was reluctant to read so many graphic details about the insiders in Hollywood. I normally do not like to read "tell-all" books. But after reading the first ten pages, I couldn't put the book down. One thing that impressed me was the wonderful literary style of Joe. In a publishing industry that has gotten so lazy, it is refreshing to read a book that is well written and with substance. His honesty, as a writer about others and his personal life, created a compelling novel. I highly recommend it. It will affect you on many levels.
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Summary: Fantastic and Unforgettable
Review: This book is one of the best memoirs I have ever read. It is exceptionally well-written, it's funny, full of real life stuff, there's dialogue, there are visuals and anecdotes, there is LOVE, and the story of Joe Eszterhas's life should give inspiration not pause and vitriol. Frankly the level of enmity he elicits from people surprises me--of course many of them have not actually read the book, but that's almost besides the point. Why take the time to bash something you haven't read? It must be the wild money he made doing something he liked. Yet, there's something else, too, for Jerry Seinfeld--to name just one wealthy celebrity--with sixty cars in his airplane hangar makes much more money than J.E. yet doesn't provoke nearly the same level of bile. But Eszterhas's memoir is not just a E! True Hollywood story, it's an American story--he suffered inhuman privation as a small boy, saw things no child should see, came to America with nothing, lived poor and lonely for many years, and then made something of himself, raised a family, raised two! He found his heart, he found his life. The account of his mentally ill mother while he was a teenager is heartbreaking, as is his complicated relationship with his father. His whole life is on the page. This book is astonishing, honest, and unputdownable through and through.
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Summary: Did some of these people read the book?
Review: After reading some of the bad ratings, I have to wonder if these people read the book! They spend all of their time reviewing his movies. The fact is that this is a beautifully written book and, having just finished it I have to say that I am sad that the experience of reading it is over.
The wit of this guy , his extremely interesting life and his insights into the shallow Hollywood idiot culture, of which he was a part, make this a really great pick.
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Summary: Don't Judge a Book by its cover
Review: The title "Hollywood Animal" is enough to seduce the most curious reader to this memoir. However, it is what lies inside that is truly shocking. This is one of the most brutally honest, heartfelt memoirs ever written. While Hollywood is a major player in the Eszterhas narrative it is only a bit player in a journey that is filled with heartache, regret and ultimately redemption. It is the ultimate story of finding one's way in a sea of temptation and desperation. It has been interesting to see the way in which some have chosen to ignore the substance of this book. The early scenes at a Hungarian refugee camp and the immigrant neighborhoods of Cleveland set a metaphorical stage for his later life in Hollywood where the struggle for survival evolves from food and shelter, to fame and power. Eszterhas's moments of arrogance and bravado are there to illustrate his journey to self actualization. It becomes clear that he wants you to loathe his former incarnation--because HE loathes the life he led as a Hollywood Animal. Open your mind and open your heart to the book and you will see that there are happy endings in Hollywood.
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Summary: The good, the bad, and the unlikeable
Review: Something great came out of buying this truly mediocre book. I found another book, one that succeeds in every way this one fails. Where "Hollywood Animal" made me yawn, Grant Jarrett's "More Towels," an irreverant memoir about Jarrett's twenty years in the music business, drew me in and made me laugh out loud. Both books are about unlikeable characters, but Jarrett is able to make you care about him. You root for him in spite of his failings as a human being and as a musician. You feel a part of his strange world and you laugh hard as he loses control of his life. And Jarrett can write. If you want to hear more of the same about Hollywood written in a style that will lull you to sleep, read "Hollywood Animal." If you want to read a memorable memoir written by a talented writer, try "More Towels."
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Summary: Hey Joe
Review: I hope Joe Eszterhas fully recovers from his recent health problems (throat cancer) but also hope he'll give up screenwriting. As they say, if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem, and Joe has been part of the problem by commanding obscene amounts of money for simply awful movies. I don't begrudge him his success. It is great that a writer managed to enjoy the clout that he had. Unfortunately, the size of his paychecks were the only thing worth bragging about. What has he given us? "Casablanca"? "Schindler's List"? Nope. "Basic Instinct" is as good as we got from Joe. The fact that he made a fortune from such tripe guarantees movie audiences get more of the same, and this book is more of the same. It's all dirt, at least when he's not bragging about himself or his wife (and what did she accomplish?). Joe goes on and on about the money he made, the women he screwed, and his love of writing, but other than the news that he writes on a manual typewriter, he has nothing to say about the craft. Oh, he got his big break as a screenwriter from a woman at United Artists who thought a book he had written showed he had promise as a screenwriter. The same woman gave a bad rap to Paddy Cheyefsky's script for "Network" and passed on it (which meant it ended up at MGM whose films were distributed by United Artists--weird business). "Network" went on to critical acclaim and 4 Oscars, including one for the screenplay. It also prophecized the sewer that TV (and movies) would become. Joe went on to write "F.I.S.T," "Hearts of Fire," "Sliver," "Showgirls," and other rotten titles that helped make Cheyefsky's prophecy come true. Joe admires Cheyefsky, but why? Is it because of his talent? Nope. To Joe, Cheyefsky was worth his admiration because he had power that other screenwriters did not. Joe would have that power, too. Unfortunately, he didn't have the talent to justify it. It's great that "Network" reached the screen exactly the way Cheyefsky wrote it. Can anyone say the same about "An Alan Smithee Film: Burn, Hollywood, Burn" or "Showgirls"? I think not. As I said, Joe was part of the problem. A talented hustler, but not a talented writer or artist. His book is worth reading though just to see what kind of egos have ruined the entertainment industry.
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Summary: Are they kidding?
Review: This man's talent is clearly as a salesman. Eszterhas has yet to write even one thing of merit. His movies are horrible. Yet he was once the highest paid screenwriter in Hollywood. It demonstrates that the studios do not know anything about quality. Eszterhas is no dummy, but he's no writer either. His success is a testament to something, but God only knows what. An epidemic of bad taste?
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Summary: An Amazing Life and an Extraordinary Man
Review: I found the book to be an excellent memoir, and an awesome example of the American Dream. I originally bought the book to read a tell-all of the big deals and bigger egos in Hollywood, but what Joe Eszterhas delivers, really, is the elusive Great American Novel. It just happened to him in real life is all. I hope he continues to write as passionately as this, either books or screenplays. It was a hell of a good read.
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