Book Details
| Title: |
|
Who The Hell's In It |
| Author: |
|
Peter Bogdanovich |
| Times Read: |
|
1 |
| Last Read: |
|
06.18.05 |
Other Books Read By This Author (0)
Notes History
| Date Read |
Note |
| 06.18.05 | When he came to town, I bought his latest book so he could sign it. I'm a big fan of the interview books of his that I've read (This is Orson Welles and most notably Who The Devil Made It) so I thought I'd give his new one a read as well. It's supposed to be a loose companion to Who The Devil Made It but with actors this time instead of directors. The book is also roughly half the size as his previous (nearly five hundred pages instead of nearly a thousand) and much more personal and "written." In only a few cases are there straight-up interview transcripts (the largest of which is Jerry lewis, which spans over a hundred pages) but overall there are 25 "portraits" here written about each star's career as well as any personal interaction Bogdanovich made with them. The book has just a smidge too much of Bogdanovich's own stuff in there (like the 40-page introduction) but, seeing as though he's the author I guess that's his perogative. My favorite chapter was Cary Grant, whom Bogdanovich knew for many of the years after Grant left the spotlight. That dude was alright, man. Other standout chapters are his interviews with John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and Henry Fonda. The whole book was interesting but these chapters were the most captivating. All in all, it was a fine read but I felt like I got a much better feel for the directors' personalities in his previous effort (through more interview transcripts and less essays applauding his career). What can you do though, if you never get a chance to interview someone randomly for a book that you might make thirty years later. His anecdotal storytelling in here is pretty good too (most of the stories he told during the Q&As after his screenings here in town are included in the book). |
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