Customer Reviews

Admit One: A Journey into Film

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Emmett James was born in 1972 in South London, where he grew up watching a lot of movies with his family at the local theater. He was seduced by the cinema, eventually studied acting, and moved to Hollywood in the early 90's to try to make it as an actor. He did make it, finally, becoming a successful working actor if not a household name, most significantly landing a small part in the biggest movie of all time, Titanic. James tells the story of his life in Admit One in chapters that are named after and loosely organized around movies--films that influenced him during the period described or whose plots mirrored his own experiences, or films he appeared in. But while the pictures he selects for each chapter heading provide a framework for James's book, it's not really about the movies.

Nor is Admit One, as the above summary might suggest, an insipid story about a boy who pursued and finally achieved his dream. The author is too acerbic to have written such a book. Here he is early on, for example, describing Croydon, the borough of London in which he grew up:

"The streets were lined with filth, the people were bitter and miserable and a fantastic night out meant a large kebab rather than the regular size, which of course went hand-in-hand proportionally with the amount you would subsequently vomit later that evening."

And again:

"Unfortunately, it was that type of town, inhabited by those types of people, living that type of crap life."

James's familial relationships meet with similar criticisms. His mother had a "permanent melancholy demeanor." His maternal grandparents were an overbearing couple whose home "was always rich with the smell of old people," a smell that "left a thick, pungent coating in the fibers of your clothes.... They were," he says, "much less benign in the days of my mother's childhood." Of his brother he writes:

"My older brother was a weaselly boy named Cymon (pronounced Simon, just spelled wanky to give him some added torment in school), and for as long as memory serves we have loathed one another."

It's unfortunate that the author's experiences weren't more positive--though this is not the sort of book that leaves you feeling sorry for him. On the other hand, it's quite refreshing to see such candor on the page.

Admit One is divided into two parts. The first concerns the author's childhood in England. It has universal appeal but will probably be enjoyed particularly by readers who grew up around the same time, and who will remember BMX bikes and Star Wars tie-in merchandise as fondly as does the author. In the second half James moves to America to make his way in Hollywood. This part of the book is less personal, yet it's interesting for its depiction of the life of a struggling actor. Also fascinating is the behind-the-scenes story of his work on Titanic: whatever you're thinking that might entail, you're wrong.

Coming away from the book I'm not entirely sure that I like the author. But that's a testament to his honesty. He's not only not afraid to look stupid, but he reveals some quite unflattering truths about himself--from an ill-conceived instance of, well, something approaching stalking (in tights!), to his willingness to participate in activities both legally and morally sketchy. (He's also due for a whomping from Steven Seagal, whom he sucker punches in an open letter at the beginning of the book.)

If nothing else, James is by no means a run-of-the-mill guy. Having been given this glimpse into his history and character, it will be interesting to watch his career unfold on screen.

-- Debra Hamel

Emmett James's Admit One is an absolutely delightful read.

Emmett starts with his youth in Croydon, South London. Each chapter is wrapped in the context of a movie that in some way impacted his life. Thinking at once of all the ways in which this could become a too-cute and ultimately annoying trick, I was delighted when the book deviated immediately from the expected. When Emmett saw the first movie he used to frame a chapter, Disney's The Jungle Book, he was so young that he fell asleep within minutes, and saw only the beginning and end credits. Yet the experience of going to the movies with his family, and the effects it had on his mother and brother, profoundly affected him.

When I finished Admit One I was surprised to note that it was put out by a publisher I'd never heard of before. It had been such a fun read, so filled with quotable quotes, that I fully expected it to be an offering from a big-name group. Well, their loss. Emmett writes with a tone that can shift from wryly humorous to childlike delight, self-deprecation to sly jabs in an instant. I was hard put to keep from constantly laughing out loud and reading selections to everyone around me.

At a time when folks are getting burned out on tragic memoirs, Emmett takes both the good and the bad in his life and mines them for sharp, witty humor instead. It's exactly the breath of fresh air we need.

British actor Emmett James has written a hilarious memoir about breaking into the film industry after a lackluster South London childhood. Beneath his witty portrayal of starting out in a dingy room at a Los Angeles YMCA -- surviving by working in porn films and C-movies nobody has ever heard of (or seen) -- is a frank, honest voice. James doesn't hide the con artists, the sleaze and the hopefulness that much of the population in L.A. has toward getting their big break. And though he doesn't touch upon the bleakness he must have felt at times trying to get a real acting job, we sense it.... along with his passionate, unashamed love for cinema.

"If you have every truly loved a film, you will surely find yourself within these pages" is a caption, on the back of the book,that truly expresses the feelings that Emmett James writes with in this childhood to adult story of his life so far.

I went back in time with him at the beginning of each new chapter as he used a movie title to describe the content of each section. He is detailed in his writing about his childhood of family outings to the movie theater, where he went from falling asleep before the movie began to sitting through a whole movie. His love of movies spread from just going to the movies to wanting to be an actor. He doesn't get the support for his acting in England, so he decides to try making it in Hollywood. Emmett James gives a wide eye view of how hard it can be for those people trying to `make it' in Hollywood. He explores having to live in a YMCA, forge his travel papers to stay in the U.S., disguise himself to get in to an Academy Awards party, be characters he didn't like and knock on the door of a producer's house to try and get part. His break finally comes when he gets a small part in a BIG movie called "Titanic."

Even after finishing this book, I am unsure about how I feel about it. When I first started, Emmett James' candor and English slang usage about his life almost turned me off to the book. I slowly got use to his writing style and respected his ability to speak so openly about life. He did make me smile and laugh at his use of relating certain movie titles to different parts of his life. "Grease" reminds me of a special summer camp I went to that changed my life before going in to high school.

I am glad I finished the book. It definitely was an eye opening view in to the life of an actor and the extremes he had to go through to achieve a dream he had since childhood of being in the movies.

[...]

I got this book for my kindle when it was free. After reading it, I would pay for it. I must say, it was a great read. It was different than I expected and I enjoyed it very much. The author has a fresh way of relating films to events in his life. I'm a lifelong movie buff so I understand how some movies represent times in your life.

I loved this memoir....the author had such a lively and funny way of recounting his boyhood and the trials and tribulations of breaking into his acting career. Well done!

No need to rehash the story of the book as this has been done here.

As a Briton (British born for those who don't know) I enjoyed the beginning part of this book. The book seemed to change writing style once the author arrived in America.

I enjoyed the book but it didn't "grab" me and I wouldn't call it a page turner.

What amused me the most was the fact that it was written with American spellings (by a British born author) but the funny part was that they left in the British words that many Americans would not understand and that even the Kindle dictionary could not understand.

For example

Bristols (dictionary - a city in England) - true but in the plural form and about a woman it refers to a certain part of their anatomy :)

Tosser - not going there in a polite review but any English person will know this one! :)

So a decent read but I'm glad I didn't pay for it.

Admit One is Emmett James' nostalgic and whimsical memoir of his passion for movies. Marking his personal milestones with cinema favorites, James recounts his childhood in South London, telling stories that many will fondly relate to. In the section titled Coming Attractions, he expounds on his childhood. From his mother's giddy fascination with John Travolta in Grease to his experience with a dodgy Santa, James is always entertaining. Through his introduction to petty crime, and his very own ghost story, James recounts his childhood along with his favorite must-see films. The later section, Feature Presentation, deals with his life as an adult trying to break into the movies. This section really takes off, as he divulges his crashing of the Oscars, his hilarious stint as an extra, the unintentional stalking of a director, and his defining moment: a brief appearance in Titanic. Each of these anecdotes is recounted in conjunction with a movie that shaped him during the experience, making this a colorful and interesting tale. As he moves from watching the movies to actually being a part of the cinema magic, he realizes that his dreams of Hollywood are more encompassing than mere movie appearances.

I found this to be a curious book. James relates a story that is at once universal yet unique. His experiences could have been the everyman's, yet the framework and method of delivery made them distinctive. The sections on his childhood would have seemed common and interchangeable without the inclusion of the movie introspection. It was impressive the way that movies shaped and defined his childhood, and sustained him throughout his later years. The later sections I found to be more entertaining, as James went out of his way to maintain his connection to the silver screen. Many of the incidents were zany and incredible, leaving me hungering for more. I felt that he could have divulged more details of his escapades to win and delight the reader. It was almost as if he withheld the most compelling and forceful part of the narrative by leaving off the more satisfying bits of the story. Another puzzling aspect is that the author seems to have bypassed any emotional reflection throughout the book. He never speaks of his deeper feelings about his family or friends (except for a brief excerpt about his father), or expounds on the feelings he had as a struggling actor making his way in show business. Instead of emotional exposition on his part, he catalogs a list of hardships endured at the time. At one point, while having an unexpected adventure in Mexico, he does seem to make the emotional connection, but it is brief. Most memoirs I have read have captured more fully the experience and viewpoint of the subject, and it was odd that this book didn't seem to have that emotional connection to the reader. His attitude throughout the book seemed to be strangely distant and miffed, as if he wanted to simple tell a story, not share it.

On the other hand, his passion for movies and movie making was clearly communicated in such a way as to be infectious. I wanted to go back and re-watch the movies to experience the awe and excitement that James had found, to be shaped by what was on the screen in undefinable ways. Though most people love movies, James took his passion for cinema and channelled it into a life appreciating and being surrounded by the art.

This book had its ups and downs. I loved the anecdotal way in which the stories were described, and found that the book was very clever and witty. James' tone was descriptive and engaging, which gave the book a light and conversational feel, yet I wished that I could have been privy to more of his feelings and insights. I laughed and discovered the joy of film with him, but in the end, felt like I really didn't know him. He was clever in describing the movies and how they made him feel, but that's where it ended. It seemed as though if an emotion wasn't related to a movie, it wasn't worth delving into. A bit of an uneven book, yet diverting and amusing nonetheless.

Found this book to be a liitle slow at first. Then as I read further it was very entertaining and could not stop reading.....

Admit One? First, I have to admit this...
I'm a buffoon. I read the first eleven (that's right I said eleven) chapters of Emmett James's book
Admit One: My Life in Film before I caught on to fact that the author is actually an actor (hence, the title). I got it right about the time he finished hunting down a well known director that was filming in England and headed off to America to make his way in life via the craft of actor.
Yep, I will repeat, I am a buffoon.
Up until that light bulb went off, I was enjoying the book, but not nearly as much. I thought it was about a writer that was writing his memoir & relating it to movies he'd seen. Sure, the name seemed familiar, but every writer tries to coin a name that reeks of best friend or someone famous comfort. I thought Emmett James was one of the lucky ones that came out with a great moniker or picked on up to sell his writing.
Wow, was I wrong. This guy was in Titanic, a porn & a soap opera that claims the love story of Luke & Laura. Not in that order of course, but you get the idea. He crashed Oscar parties pretending to be a director and convinced James Cameron to keep him on the set long after his bit part wrapped. This guy is an evil genius.
In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't have the full back story. I actually think it was more fun that way. Plus, I believe my review is far less tainted than those that were star struck from page one.
I give the book four stars. I think if I were from England, it might have been a five star review (humor is just a little different over there). His antics in the quest for fame are unbelievable; and it carries a good message. To paraphrase: life's success is in the journey. Do what you love. A list status isn't the grand prize...that comes from following your passion & enjoying the ride.
The only issues I had were as follows: I felt that he isn't very fond of his mother at all. He seemed to prefer his father. He also clearly hates his brother. None of those things should have bothered me, but they did. I thought it came across as a tad bitter. But, then again, those are his feelings. Can't change that.
It's a good read; and as promised, right now it's FREE for your Kindle on amazon.com!

Cheers! (that's British for until next time...I think)