Hollywood Animal : A Memoir

Rating:
Summary: shock and awe
Review: As an avowed feminist, I refused at first to buy this book because I have never been a fan of Joe Eszterhas. At my best friend's insistence, I finally, begrudgingly, picked one up. That was Friday night. On Saturday at 4 a.m. I was still reading. I cancelled my plans on Sunday. Didn't pick up my phone. When I finished it Sunday night, I was sobbing in bed. I was totally unprepared. I never expected to laugh so hard, hold my breath and, finally, have my heart broken. It is an amazing piece of writing and one which I know will stand the test of time. I was shocked at how it affected me and awed that someone could take the circumstances of their live and turn them into what reads like sweeping novel, full of rich characters and events that defy belief. But I do believe. So, Joe Eszterhas, if you're reading this -- you got me. Please write another book. And please -- write another movie. I promise to go this time. You are not who I thought you were.

Rating:
Summary: How do you write a life?
Review: In reading this memoir, I am reminded of the brutally honest autobiography of Elia Kazan. Telling the world who you are, how you see yourself, and acknowledging to the world that "I know how you see me," is one of the most challenging feats in writing. I can imagine it would be a daunting task to edit. Much of Hollywood Animal gives us what we would expect for Eszterhas. It is sensual. It is graphic. It has twists, turns, and shock value. At any given point, you are not sure where your loyalties stand. Do you want to rescue the poor immigrant child from the horrors of the refugee camps, or turn your back on the man who betrays a friend, a wife, a family? Or do you admire the man who risked his career, his entire world to find true love? It's hard to believe that this could all be in one book. If it was a movie, it surely would have been rejected by a studio because, "no one would believe it." But one has to assume that it is true. Yes, there are the juicy details, the gossip and the innuendo. You can't tell a truthful tale about Hollywood without it. despite the book's length, it flows in a way that catapults you into his world...and refuses to let go of you- even when you've put the book down. That's the sign of great writing--but the sign of a brilliant editor. So Mr. Editor, whoever you are...you deserve some serious accolades.
It's a great book whether or not you care about Eszterhas as a person. But I dare you not to care about him by the end.

Rating:
Summary: Fasten Your Seatbelts, It's Going to be a Bumpy Ride
Review: A raw, honest look at the life of one of Hollywood's most powerful screenwriters, Eszterhas' book is a rollercoaster ride through relationships with high profile actors, actresses, directors and producers. I found the most touching pieces to be descriptions of his relationship with his Hungarian mother and father, growing up in Ohio and the shock and bitter disappointment of his father's betrayal. Segments from his second wife Naomi's journal provide the story from another viewpoint, layering on complexity. He bluntly gives his view and wrings every ounce of juice he can get out of life. A great page-turner of a memoir - not for the faint of heart. There's enough gossip, but Eszterhas doesn't let it take over the story - and he is a great story-teller.

Rating:
Summary: Much More Than A Hollywood Tell All
Review: Love him or hate him, at the very least you have to tip your hat for such a raw and honest biography. I admit when I first bought this it was for the titilation factor; I wanted to read all the dirt on Sharon Stone and Michael Ovitz, and all the other Hollywood heavyweights he's worked with. What I didn't expect/didn't know is how much of the book would be about his young life, growing up a Hungarian immigrant in Ohio, and the struggles his family had. Nor did I expect the deep and complicated relationship with his father, or the heartbreaking recounting of the end of his first marriage. It's an epic biography. Frankly I'm surprised he's not dead after all that's happened to him. The stress alone would knock out most people.

Rating:
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.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Read the Water
Review: Eszterhas is a corpulent, chain-smoking, ill-begotten, beknighted, pothead whose only contribution to literature is the greatest contribution: a memoir that encourages other writers to value themselves in the entertainment industry and get paid what they deserve. Eszterhas got paid four million for a treatment (One Night Stand with Wesley Snipes) that took him four hours to write. 'Nuff Said. Buy the Book.

Rating:
Summary: Eszterhas Keeps It Real
Review: As a native Clevelander, I loved Ezsterhas' book, "Hollywood Animal" because he kept it real. He tells the truth. Doesn't sugarcoat it. Anyone who has lived a life, can relate to what he reveals of his own. Especially poignant after all his success, is his need to even the score with his high school tormentors at Cathedral Latin to the point where he accepts no upfront money to get his script, "Telling Lies in America" produced. He turns down $750,000 in upfront money for the script because that studio wants to change the protagonist's nationality from a Hungarian Eszterhas to a Latino male. No go for Joe. He wants it clear this is autobiographical. A lengthy book...the complex relationship with his father who turns out to have a checkered World War II past, is a book onto itself. He tells the truth, too, about how little screenwriters make in comparison with the actors who are "stars" which makes no sense since without a brilliant script, it doesn't matter who the star is... Bravo, Joe!

Rating:
Summary: I always like happy endings
Review: Reading this book can't leave you without a distinct feeling about Joe Eszterhas... mine was that he was honest, funny, passionate, imperfect.
Other people may leave with different feelings, but the beauty of this book is that it has that power to evoke feeling... to make you think about something. While there are bookstores full of cookie-cutter boring books, this one has the ability to be remembered. Eszterhas'controversial personality shows through every page and every line. That's why it exemplifies a memoir, it is truly the author- no censoring, no writing revisionist history- only life as he saw it.
Beyond all of the Hollywood stories (which have their place in this book), is a complicated person with an unusual, sometimes difficult and sometimes wonderful life, who seems to have found his happy ending with a simple, healthy life in a small town with his loving family. That is truly the best part of this book.

Rating:
Summary: Screenwriter Propaganda with Dirty Stories Attached
Review: Joe Eszterhas has an engaging prose style much simlilar to Bukowski in content as well as sentence structure. The book reads quickly so do not be daunted by its 730 plus pages. However, Eszterhas complains constantly how he has been bullied, manipulated and dumped upon while in the self reflective moments he shows he can give as much as he takes. He takes pride in claiming he is a family man with family values but shows how he deliberately alienates family members, frequently uses drugs and drinks, smokes and cheats on his wife to excess. The man is full of hyperbole and self/moral contradiction. If I have learned anything from this book it is that perhaps I still have time to reincarnate myself as a screenwriter as most of the dilemmas he depicts in achieving career success do not involve issues with writing only ego wrestling. I liked the book but not more than average.

Rating:
Summary: Four stories for the price of one
Review: I'm a sucker for the shenanigans that accompany the genesis then acceptance and then production of a film, hollywood style, and this part of Hollywood Animal is a gripping, entertaining read. The films Barton Fink and The Player making worthy accompaniment to this book. There are however, more stories interspersed within, which I wanted out of the way, including the childhood reminscences, the fight with throat cancer and the revelations about daddy. The book has also encouraged me to revisit at least three of his films.