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

Andrew Breitbart (Author), Mark Ebner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0471706248 | ISBN-13: 978-0471706243 | Edition: 1

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 the inexplicable behavior on the part of show business personalities.

Charting celebrities from rehab to retox, to jails, cults, institutions, near-death experiences and the Democratic Party, Hollywood, Interrupted takes readers on a surreal field trip into the amoral belly of the entertainment industry. Each chapter — covering topics including warped Hollywood child-rearing, bad medicine, hypocritical political maneuvering and the complicit media — delivers a meticulously researched, interview-infused, attitude heavy dispatch which analyzes and deconstructs the myths created by the celebrities themselves.

Celebrities somehow believe that it's their god-given right to inflict their pathology on the rest of us. Hollywood, Interrupted illustrates how these dysfunctional dilettantes are mad as hell... And we're not going to take it any more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Not since Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons have two journalists (Breitbart feeds stories to Internet scandalmonger Matt Drudge and Ebner wrote for Spy) gathered more mean-spirited gossip about celebrities they condemn as sick and depraved. This diatribe is so unrelentingly negative that it loses all power to persuade. Breitbart and Ebner cover a variety of subjects they stand against, among them celebrities voicing their political views, a woman's right to choose, single motherhood and celebrities adopting children. In a chapter devoted to anonymous nannies discussing disrespectful kids of anonymous movie stars, the authors suggest mandatory Norplant and vasectomies for Hollywood parents. Hugh Hefner can't win for being wild or conservative; the authors blast the "fossilized relic embalmed in nostalgia and Viagra" for watching a bestiality video 30 years ago, and then condemn him for his intolerance of illegal drugs. Peculiarly, the authors adore gay porn director Paul Barresi, who paid off the "she-males of the night" that Eddie Murphy frequented so they'd change their stories. But when Murphy's lawyers didn't compensate Barresi, he turned all his records over to the authors. Barresi went on to warn Michael Jackson that his latest videographer was also a gay porn director. But when Jackson wouldn't pay for the information, Barresi leaked the story to the tabloids. Instead of calling Barresi a blackmailer, the authors announce that "he has a code of ethics emphasizing loyalty and respect." Most of the gossip isn't new (e.g., Greg Allman was an uninterested father; Whitney Houston, Nick Nolte and Robert Downey Jr. have had drug problems), and without any illuminating backstories, this is a sour and joyless read.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

" Literary assassinations don't come any more vitriolic than Hollywood Interrupted... fascinating stories and explosive revelations... " ("Daily Record, 24 April 2004)

" ... capitalises on our base interest in the more scandalous antics of the showbusiness elite... " ("Birmingham Post, 17 April 2004)

" ... makes for a riveting read." ("Hotdog, May 2004)

" ... lifts the lid on some of Tinseltown's weirdest and most notorious celebrities... " ("Western Daily Press, 3 April 2004)

..."the industry has never been without a scandal, as this jaw-dropping book reveals..." ("Hot Stars, 3 April 2004)

"has appeal and certainly it has shock value" ("The New York Post, Liz Smith, March 15th, 2004)

"terrific book, both snappy and snappish...." ("The Wall Street Journal)

"The next best thing to a Los Angeles friend with a nose for juicy gossip." ("The Wall Street Journal)

"A Hollywood horror-fest. Celebrities are skewered like shish kabobs in Andrew Breitbart and Mark Ebner's.... "Hollywood, Interrupted "Entertainment journalism...[is] a stampede of A-list a**-kissing...this bracingly impudent expose...declined to pucker up."("Penthouse, February 2004)

"Shockingly delicious!" ("Star magazine)

The entertainment industry ...takes a beating in [this] scathing collection of revelations about ... scores of luminous entertainment med ia personalities. ("Fort Worth Star-Telegram)

"This is a fun book!" ("Jon Stewart, The Daily Show)

..."a wildly... entertaining jeremiad against the entertainment industry...against the perverts, flakes, egomaniacs, junkies, bullies andcriminals..." ("Rick McGinnis/Metro Toronto)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 394 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (March 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471706248
• ISBN-13: 978-0471706243
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (146 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

152 of 174 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Consequence of their Free Speech February 26, 2004

By Cambel

Format:Hardcover

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.

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars the case AGAINSTcelebrity June 19, 2004

By Karen

Format:Hardcover

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.

57 of 64 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best June 21, 2004

By Nikki Heath

Format:Hardcover

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.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Cult of Celebrity March 3, 2004

By mark calvi

Format:Hardcover

This book is a well-written, often-times hilarious expose of the ridiculous status given to celebrities. They are definitely the most dysfunctional group of narcissists in the world. From the insane "religion" of Scientology, the wacked out private schools their children attend, to the Pan Men of Hollywood, each chapter keeps the reader intrigued. My favorite chapter is AOL girl; somebody big in Hollywood should be shaking in his "shoes"! This book really
makes me glad I am just an average, normal, middle class American.
What amazes me is how the media unjustifyingly glorifies actors! Kudos to the authors for their bravery in writing this!

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking, funny. Liked it March 9, 2004

By Lamb Sorbet

Format:Hardcover

After reading the many reviews up here (and watching the numbers of reviews multiply!) I got curious about the polarization, so many folks on this board were extremely hostile in their comments, while others seemed to like to book for various reasons.

So I read the book, or at least a couple chapters, Dr. Feel Good and Karma Chameleons, and they convinced me to invest in the hardback, and now I am very glad I made a decision based on my own mind and not a bunch of grumblers. The chapters were well written and insightful, as was the rest of the book, which I didn't put down all weekend. This book, like many bios is heavily researched and has plenty of footnotes because people like to sue, and by quoting their sources--a number of which are actual first time interviews, not just snips from articles--the authors completely support their ideas, like it or not, agree with it or not.

I laughed out loud at every reference to Tom Cruise. The auhtors made very sure that the actor wouldn't sue them, in a very, very funny way!

I found it interesting how the Los Angeles Times went after one doctor and only one doctor in the death of producer Don Simpson, like in the Winona Ryder case only one doctor out of all of the doctors she had was prosecuted. Hmmmm. That is media bias. And so is all the media ignoring this book because they are afraid of the truth. I suggest that people check this book out and really pay attention to what it has to say. It is very thought provoking and so I wonder why so many reviewers here are so down on it and warning people away from it. Not to go into a conspiracy but....