February 13, 2003
By Derek Miner
If you read my last column (probably the second-best coverage I’ve ever given to books I’ve never read), you might remember I promised to wrap up my 2002 wrap up with some books I actually did read. As promised, I’ve returned with some lows and highs in entertainment biz books that I slobbered upon in 2002. But after that, I still must mention a couple books that, despite my basest consumer intentions, I still haven’t bought.
There were two books I picked up in 2002 with no hesitation whatsoever. One of them I even sought out specifically. Despite copious pages of text, both books unfortunately lacked a little of the depth and polish that I had hoped for.
As a child, I was fascinated with the Beatles’ film YELLOW SUBMARINE. Because the Beatles were basically not involved with the creation of the animated feature, the actual development and production of YELLOW SUBMARINE were kept somewhat under wraps. Over the years, Dr. Robert R. Hieronimus researched the making of the film, interviewing nearly all of the designers, animators and voices that made the SUBMARINE come to life. Over the years, Hieronimus promised a book was forthcoming that would tell the whole story, and it finally arrived in 2002.
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INSIDE THE YELLOW SUBMARINE (Krause Publishing, $24.95) is a big book. Glancing over the 400+ pages suggested that I would find the answer to any and all questions I ever had about the film. This is somewhat true, but the book is distractingly segmented and episodic. Almost all of the 19 chapters contain numerous sub-headings that break ideas into chunks of information rather than a history or narrative. The structure is loosely chronological and is almost completely made up of interview excerpts. The first-hand commentary and sheer volume of information are nice, but ultimately better suited for research than a casual read.
A similar problem plagues ROCKY HORROR FROM CONCEPT TO CULT (Sanctuary Publishing, $18.95) by Scott Michaels and David Evans. The book begins with such a bang, a vivid verbal recreation of the London scene circa 1973 that tries to place THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW in historical perspective. But as one reads on, you realize that there is little material that supports the thesis I imagined the book to have. Instead, this is a collection of full interviews with everyone that would talk about staging ROCKY HORROR as a play and then a film. Anyone who was still alive and wasn’t Tim Curry seems to have granted at least a bit of time to the book. In some cases, the interviews reveal a bit too much about their subjects than ROCKY HORROR.
I came to ROCKY HORROR via the 1990 anniversary blitz, which included the first home video release of the film. I felt that FROM CONCEPT TO CULT would finally provide a definitive chronicle of the film’s history, answering some of the nagging questions that only die-hard fans would really be interested in. Some of that is here, including the mysterious person who overdubbed vocals for Rocky Horror himself, but the best parts have to be dug up with patience. The book is not really suited for a cover-to-cover read, due to the text being almost all interviews, however the index and the chapter headings don’t guide a reader toward the information they might be specifically looking for, either. File this and INSIDE THE YELLOW SUBMARINE under “thorough but unfocused.”
I seem so negative so far, don’t I? Well, believe it or not, there were books I thoroughly enjoyed in 2002. I guess the following could be considered my top three of 2002 list. Must remember to keep the same number of books in mind for next year at this time, so it will rhyme.
You’ve all heard of THE ONION, right? Occasionally I’ll hear my roommate burst out in a fit of laughter, and usually it’s because he’s come upon some wittily satirical piece from THE ONION. I shouldn’t be telling you this, lest you divert your attention from Le Poop Shoot, but THE ONION (in print and on the web) has an entertainment section as well. THE ONION A.V. Club takes a similarly clever stance on entertainment, focusing on those in the entertainment industry with a passionate following stemming from a respectable body of work. That’s the M.O. in the selection of interviews within THE TENACITY OF THE COCKROACH (Three Rivers Press, $16.00), the first ONION A.V. Club book.
“Conversations With Entertainment’s Most Enduring Outsiders,” the book’s subtitle, intrigued me immediately. Then I thumbed through TENACITY’s list of interview subjects, and I became completely ecstatic – Douglas Adams, Aimee Mann, William H. Macy, Penn & Teller, David Cross, Joss Whedon, Andy Partridge, TIM QUIRK! Holy crap! Must buy this book! (And it’s a bargain at $16, might I add.)
If you read a handful of the interviews from THE TENACITY OF THE COCKROACH, you will get a cross-section of some of the most unique and outspoken voices in the entertainment industry. This isn’t giggly story-time with Jay Leno here, this is where Jello Biafra takes a dump and where Lloyd Kaufman calls FORREST GUMP “that shit movie with the chocolates.” In other words, everything is fair game.
I got another great book born out of a website in 2002. REEL SHAME: BAD MOVIES AND THE HOLLYWOOD STARS WHO MADE THEM by Christopher Holland and Scott Hamilton (Stomp Tokyo Books, $14.99) is spawned from StompTokyo.com, a B-movie lover’s paradise. Usually books that purport to skewer “bad” movies (THE GOLDEN TURKEY AWARDS, for example) take pot shots at big-budget Hollywood flops like ISHTAR, HOWARD THE DUCK or HUDSON HAWK. Holland and Hamilton eschew such an easy approach and go right for the jugular. When you want to hear about some BAD movies, try the authors’ takes on SHAKES THE CLOWN, PRIVATE RESORT, and CRUEL INTENTIONS 2. Having seen all three, I can confirm HOWARD THE DUCK to be immensely more enjoyable, and not just because Lea Thompson appears in underwear.
I will be reviewing REEL SHAME a bit more in-depth in my next column, but I will point out another great feature of the book. The authors self-published this puppy, and you can read more about it at their site, StompTokyo.com.
The last of my “top three” for 2002 reveals my “geeky obsession” side. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER THE SCRIPT BOOK “ONCE MORE WITH FEELING” (Simon Pulse, $12.99) is total candy for BUFFY fans. The book hit stores approximately one year after the notorious “musical episode” actually aired, but my enthusiasm for said episode did not diminish in the interim.
If this book had just contained Joss Whedon’s script, that would be wonderful, as Whedon’s dialogue and asides are a fun read for fans anyway. But this is a treasure trove for those who got in the groove with ONCE MORE WITH FEELING. Whedon provides a witty introduction, lauding his collaborators and actors. There’re also 18 pages of behind-the-scenes info and stories about how this single episode was created and developed. And for the musicians in the audience, sheet music is included for the episode’s main numbers. This is also great for a non-musical doofus like myself, as I can now program my cell phone to ring to the tune of “Something To Sing About.”
Of course, there’s always a book or two that slips through the cracks. I’ll leave you with three more books that I did not read in 2002, and I still can’t believe I’m not reading them right now.
Without the good graces of Kevin Smith, Movie Poop Shoot wouldn’t exist, so as an admirer and independent content supplier, I find it unfathomable that I haven’t read the first book to cover the director’s entire career, AN ASKEW VIEW: THE FILMS OF KEVIN SMITH by John Kenneth Muir (Applause Theatre Books, $18.95). Reviews at Amazon.com indicate this is a good one, featuring interviews from a handful of Smith regulars and some neat behind-the-scenes stories. Some suggest there’s not much “new” to be found here if you have heard the DVD commentaries and read books such as SPIKE, MIKE, SLACKERS AND DYKES. But as someone who has had the same enthusiasm for Smith’s work since the days when CLERKS came out on laserdisc, I’m sure I’ll thoroughly enjoy AN ASKEW VIEW anyway.
Another flick from the mid-90s that blew me away was AUSTIN POWERS: INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY. Putting aside the mediocre reviews, I took the advice of a friend who knew better and went to the movie. And wouldn’t you know it, I laughed my proverbial ass off. At the time, there was a little book published that smacked of cash-in, and I thought there should be something much more substantial available to fans. Well, with the arrival of a third AUSTIN film, GOLDMEMBER, this came to pass. THE OFFICIAL WORLD OF AUSTIN POWERS (Universe Books, $22.50) by Andy Lane, is the full-sized, colorful, glossy book I had imagined (I have at least thumbed through it, okay). This is the kind of book that exists only to show you splashy color stills and rehash the plot and highlights of the films. But, if you’re a fan, hell, it’s still a lot of fun.
Also a lot of fun, I would imagine, would be reading Kevin Murphy’s A YEAR AT THE MOVIES (Harper Entertainment, $14.95). My friends might recognize the author as some guy who signed a poster on my living room wall, while the real in-the-know types would recognize him as the man behind MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000’s Tom Servo. The setup for Murphy’s A YEAR AT THE MOVIES is the most brilliantly insane thing I’ve ever heard. Murphy went to the movies every day for A WHOLE YEAR. If I were suddenly divested of all other responsibilities, I would definitely consider such a bold venture, and I would relish reading how someone pulled off such a stunt. Alas, I have yet to pick up this book. Why? Hell if I know. Maybe I spent too much time at the movies.
Of course, there are plenty of intriguing 2002 books that I haven’t mentioned. As they say, visit your local bookstore or library, where they’ll be happy to help you Read More About It!
Derek Miner would actually buy HOWARD THE DUCK if it were available on DVD.
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