Hollywood, Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon -- The Case Against Celebrity

by Mark Ebner and Andrew Breitbart

Book Overview

Hollywood, Interrupted is a sometimes frightening, occasionally sad, and frequently hysterical odyssey into the darkest realms of showbiz pathology, the endless stream of meltdowns and flameouts, and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471450510
• Release Date: February 2004
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 394 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.3" x 6.1"

Customer Reviews

Frightening and Funny!

I thought I was picking up just another summer beach read, but was surprised to find this book to be suitable for not only the beach, but it's also a handy bathroom reader and the perfect bedtime companion. Frankly, Hollywood,Interrupted should be required reading in any media or entertainment-related course of study.The book is no cheeky roman a clef. Generously backed up with interviews and footnotes, the authors name names and take no prisoners. If you are a diehard Michael Jackson fan or a Courtney Love follower, you will not enjoy Hollywood, Interrupted. If you are a Scientologist, you will not be allowed to read it. Now, if you work in Hollywood, reading this book is a remarkable argument for a career change.I work in Hollywood. I recently graduated from USC, and now I read bad scripts all day for a living. I'm glad I found this great book to help break the monotony.

The Best

Hollywood, Interrupted is the best book on celebrity, the media and Hollywood that I have ever read. In fact, it's the only entertainment industry book ever written by true rebel outsiders from completely different political standpoints. Ebner is a left wing journalist from Venice and his co-writer (Breitbart) is a right wing Drudge guy. Yet, the authors share strong opinions about an industry that is ripe for criticism. Maybe that was putting it mildly. These authors are absolutely ruthless with their approach. Breitbart and Ebner build a convincing argument for the sterilization of actors based on testimony direct from celebrity nannies. Then they attack religion. Egads! Are these guys fascists? Hardly. But they are politically incorrect to the extreme. And funny. The media mocks fruity faiths like Kaballah daily, but Breitbart and Ebner not only mock, they deconstruct these cults with academic expertise, with special emphasis on the most dangerous Scientology. Spoiler: "the heterosexual Tom Cruise!" Hollywood, Interrupted is no-holds-barred nonfiction at its best. The authors have bravely jumped right into the cribs of celebrity offspring. They have stalked the children into high school and desecrated their belief systems. Sounds awful, doesn't it? It is. I definitely sense that the writing of this book took the authors down roads they would rather not tread, but to build their case against Hollywood, they had to go to the root of the problem to help us understand why celebrities-on-trial has become a growth industry in America.I have recommended this book to everyone on I know.

the case AGAINSTcelebrity

Wow. This book is like nothing I've ever read on Hollywood, certainly not anything from Entertainment Weekly. Reading Hollywood, Interrupted was like entering a no-spin zone when it came to the headline stories we're fed on a daily basis. From Michael Jackson, to Eddie Murphy, to Courtney and Winona, we get the behind the scenes stuff that never ever makes the news reports. Then there's the stories from the mouths of Hollywood nannies that would make a child molester seem like an upright citizen, and a classic briefing on the elite Hollywood educational system called, appropriately, "Hollyweird High." Breitbart and Ebner systematically prove that the Hollywood machine is set up for failure by the nature of the upbringing of those who work there. They either wind up dead, on trial,in jail, in the loony bin or in an executive suite making creative decisions. HELLO? The creative output from Hollywood is dismal at best these days! I enjoyed every page of this book because each turn of the page led to the strengthening of the authors' argument against celebrity.

Consequence of their Free Speech

I find it facinating thta Publishers Weekly wrote a bad reivew of this book...I wonder if that is because their bread and butter comes from articles kissing the behindes of the very people that this book takes to task for bad behavior?Hollywood has been full of mean, childish hypocrites for as long as it's existed. The only reason that Lawyers, Politicians, and Used Car salesmen get a bad rap and actors don't is because none of those other folks get to constantly go on the tonight show to tell us how wonderful they are.About time somebody writes a book that takes people to task, such as a certain Million dollar an episode actress harrassing an unpaid intern at her management company and bragging about it. This is just one of the tid-bits in this book. Hollywood can blame middle america all it wants but the real meanspirited childish homophobic etc.. behavior lies much closer to it's own doorstep.

If you love Page Six...

I love reading about the collapse of the over inflated egos that populate Hollywood. These authors make the case against the cult of celebrity that has so many in its grip. This book is dripping with new details of the sad lives of the people so many mistakenly envy. The chapter I call revenge of the under paid and abused employees is my fav. These nannies know all and tell all.