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Rating: 
Summary: SEXY AND SAVVY - YOU'LL BE HOOKED AT FIRST BLUSH
Review: Following on the 4 inch heels of her deliciously addictive first novel "Cigarette Girl" (1999), California screenwriter Carol Wolper presents a hip and hysterical look at Hollywood. "Secret Celebrity" is smart and sassy, sexy and savvy - you'll be hooked at first blush. A 35-year-old newly divorced film maker, Christine Chase is not down at the Manolo Blahniks but down in the dumps. Her life, she feels, is at an absolute standstill. She needs more than spice, she needs a spur. That impetus, she concludes, would be a "whatever happened to" type of documentary focusing on Richard Gault, a once top singer/actor who seems to have disappeared in the 1970s. Equipped only with a few old magazine articles and a record or three, Christine begins her quest. It's a madcap tracking game as we come to know her ex, James, "a personal manager - mostly actors and actresses - though probably no one you've ever heard of." He's now involved with a woman Christine has dubbed "Psycho Girl" due to a proclivity for throwing fits. James covers his ears and ignores the screams because "he's convinced she could be the next Julie Christie." We are also introduced to the nubile Jennifer, a Starbucks fan and celebrity groupie, a victim of the "Hollywood virus," whose physical attributes are a 10+. Christine initially views her as "...the kind of girl who could be at a table, seated across from the person who had just discovered the cure for cancer, and her opening remark would be: `I love scientists. I hear Russell Crowe might play one in his next movie.'" The cast of characters is both wild and wacky; the read is breezy, unadulterated fun. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: SEXY AND SAVVY - YOU'LL BE HOOKED AT FIRST BLUSH
Review: Following on the 4 inch heels of her deliciously addictive first novel "Cigarette Girl" (1999), California screenwriter Carol Wolper presents a hip and hysterical look at Hollywood. "Secret Celebrity" is smart and sassy, sexy and savvy - you'll be hooked at first blush. A 35-year-old newly divorced film maker, Christine Chase is not down at the Manolo Blahniks but down in the dumps. Her life, she feels, is at an absolute standstill. She needs more than spice, she needs a spur. That impetus, she concludes, would be a "whatever happened to" type of documentary focusing on Richard Gault, a once top singer/actor who seems to have disappeared in the 1970s. Equipped only with a few old magazine articles and a record or three, Christine begins her quest. It's a madcap tracking game as we come to know her ex, James, "a personal manager - mostly actors and actresses - though probably no one you've ever heard of." He's now involved with a woman Christine has dubbed "Psycho Girl" due to a proclivity for throwing fits. James covers his ears and ignores the screams because "he's convinced she could be the next Julie Christie." We are also introduced to the nubile Jennifer, a Starbucks fan and celebrity groupie, a victim of the "Hollywood virus," whose physical attributes are a 10+. Christine initially views her as "...the kind of girl who could be at a table, seated across from the person who had just discovered the cure for cancer, and her opening remark would be: 'I love scientists. I hear Russell Crowe might play one in his next movie.'" The cast of characters is both wild and wacky; the read is breezy, unadulterated fun. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: Hollywood fun!
Review: From Marisa D'Vari, author Media Magic, Presentation Magic, & Script Magic -- Glamor gal Carol Wolper has captured the Tinsel Town I know and love in this delicious romp of the classic Hollywood novel. As a very young studio exec at MGM I'd expected "Hollywood" to be as glitzy as a Carol Wolper novel. Increasingly corporate, Wolper gives color and spice to an industry much more fun to read and fantasize about than live in reality.
Rating: 
Summary: Rare combination- quick read and good literature
Review: I enjoyed reading this novel. THe story is generic- woman trying to make her mark in Hollywood before she gets too old, but it's the way that the story is told that makes it interesting. Christine is 35, about to get divorced, and in search of "it". Her new goal is to produce a documentary about Richard Gault, a "secret celebrity"- he was on the verge on huge success in the 70's, and then he dropped out. As the story unfolds we meet her cast of characters- they are all artfully drawn characters. Wolper presents us with enough information to make them alive, without going into overload and boring the reader with the minute details of their lives. The pace of the book is brisk- the lines funny, the character traits are very funny. It is exactly how I want to view a book about Hollywood- light, humorous, a little social commentary. My only problem with the book is the amount of pop culture references that are thrown in- I realize that any book about Hollywood must include these, but they unfortunetly date a book- the book is out before it's even been published. Two years from now the novel will loose much of its potency, and that's a shame because it is a fun book.
Rating:
Summary: Rare combination- quick read and good literature
Review: I enjoyed reading this novel. THe story is generic- woman trying to make her mark in Hollywood before she gets too old, but it's the way that the story is told that makes it interesting. Christine is 35, about to get divorced, and in search of "it". Her new goal is to produce a documentary about Richard Gault, a "secret celebrity"- he was on the verge on huge success in the 70's, and then he dropped out. As the story unfolds we meet her cast of characters- they are all artfully drawn characters. Wolper presents us with enough information to make them alive, without going into overload and boring the reader with the minute details of their lives. The pace of the book is brisk- the lines funny, the character traits are very funny. It is exactly how I want to view a book about Hollywood- light, humorous, a little social commentary. My only problem with the book is the amount of pop culture references that are thrown in- I realize that any book about Hollywood must include these, but they unfortunetly date a book- the book is out before it's even been published. Two years from now the novel will loose much of its potency, and that's a shame because it is a fun book.
Rating:
Summary: Woman from Mars seeks Secret Celebrity
Review: In 1999, Christine Chase is living up to her last name --- she is chasing 1970s songwriter/actor Richard Gault, who has dropped from the limelight decades ago. She decides to do a documentary on this man she has never actually met, nor seen a photo of him more recent than 1989. But Christine suspects that she is in a premillenial lull, and filming a documentary on finding Gault will shake her out of it. Her marriage has ended, her career is at a standstill, and her best friend and object of desire is William, who runs the newsstand where she buys her weekly fix of ...celebrity magazines. Christine teams up with William and Jennifer, another newsstand regular whom William is in lust with (Jennifer is a 22-year-old It girl, Christine is a 35-year-old transplant from South Boston who has spent 10 years in LA behind the camera.) They start looking for leads to Gault any which way they can, more for lack of something to do. But it becomes an actual quest to Christine as Gault reaches mythical proportions in her mind. This is a great book, you feel like Christine is your cool smart friend as you go along on this crazy ride (indeed, her best friend in the book is the heroine of Wolper's first book, Elizabeth West, who is in the man's world of writing scripts for action movies.) Wolper captures the ephemeral quality of relationships and the fine dance we all play but especially when with celebrities (am I his girlfriend if he openly dates 5 other women and I see him in People magazine with another woman?) It has bite but also heart and will keep you enthralled.
Rating:
Summary: Great Fun!
Review: This turned out to be a great read. The characters were all well written and the plot was unique. I will definitely try her other book!
Rating:
Summary: Great Fun!
Review: This turned out to be a great read. The characters were all well written and the plot was unique. I will definitely try her other book!
Rating:
Summary: She does it again!
Review: Wolper has done it again. This book is just as fun and insightful as Cigarette Girl. I highly recommend this book as an entertaining read but also very wise and witty. I will absolutely be giving it to my friends at Christmas.
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