Homemade Hollywood: Fans Behind the Camera [Paperback]

Clive Young (Author), Chris Gore (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2008

 

Fan Films: Fun, free and totally illegal!

Who would swing off a six-story building for a homemade
Spider-Man movie? Why would newlyweds spend $20,000 on a Star Wars film from
which they can never profit? How did three nobodies blow Steven Spielberg's
mind with an Indiana Jones flick they made as teens in the Eighties?

They're all part of the Fan Film revolution--an underground
movement where backyard filmmakers are breaking the law to create unauthorized
movies starring Batman, James Bond, Captain Kirk, Harry Potter and other
classic characters. Regular people are making movies that the fans want to
see--and which copyrights and common sense would never allow.

Homemade Hollywood:
Fans Behind The Camera traces the fan film movement from the 1920s, when con
men made fake Little Rascals movies, to the internet video sensations of today.
Crossing the divides from a pop culture history of truly outlaw cinema, to an
exploration of Hollywood's
changing attitude towards its audience, Homemade Hollywood uncovers the
innovations and controversies surrounding these secret films and reveals how
they're changing today's media.

Get insights from the fan filmmakers themselves as well as
Hugo Award-winning author Timothy Zahn, director Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever),
punk rock icon Tommy Ramone, authors Henry Jenkins (Convergence Culture), Don
Glut (The Empire Strikes Back), Andrea Richards (Girl Director) and others. A
foreword from Chris Gore, founder of Film Threat and movie expert on G4TV's
Attack of the Show, sets the tone.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Terrific.... The cool, revealing tales...make Clive Young's book, Homemade Hollywood, an absolute pleasure to read. If you're interested in fan movies, or the subterranean world of Hollywood, it's a must-read." --Annalee Newitz, io9.Com

"He knocked this book out of the park...I had a hard time putting Homemade Hollywood down." --ComicBookBin.com

Review

"He knocked this book out of the park...I had a hard time putting Homemade Hollywood down."

"He knocked this book out of the park...I had a hard time putting Homemade Hollywood down." --ComicBookBin.com

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 297 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic (September 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826429238
• ISBN-13: 978-0826429230
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,930,218 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars passion of the December 16, 2008

By Christian Macht

Format:Paperback

This book is as passionate as the subject that its about - "fan films" and the people who make them. Clive knows his topic and has a love for it...and it shows! This book is rich with history, interviews, the past -present - and future of film making. A lot of film makers have went through a lot to make these fan films and its about time someone has told that story! Clive does just that - and the best thing you can do is support the community and buy a book of you own - its an entertaining and interesting read and it would also make a great gift!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating Tales! December 15, 2008

By Michael L. White

Format:Paperback

Former Mos Eisley Multiplex maven Clive Young has taken his love of fan films to a whole new level with his book Homemade Hollywood: Fans Behind the Camera. This diligently researched tome goes far beyond a fish in a barrel essay about the latest handful of dull fan films at [...] and dives deep into the history of independent productions based on established works from an unsanctioned Little Rascals/Our Gang shorts (which may have been part of a grift, and perfect fodder for a heartwarming film) to Ernie Fosselius's Hardware Wars to Kevin Rubio's Troops to today's freshest crop of films which may or may not get a thumbs up from the rights holders.

The tales of these films are captivating and Young relates them via perfectly structured chapters. I thought I knew the stories behind some of the more recent films discussed in Homemade Hollywood but Young provides a wealth of new information that put everything in proper context. Great stuff.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read - Well Crafted December 15, 2008

By Shane Felux

Format:Paperback

I have to say I found this a very good read and I was amazed at the stellar research the author did on the subject. This book gives some great insight and I found myself reading page after page. No BS.

If you are into film making and the wanting to see how the "Home Hollywood" wave of artists are going out and making their films, and what they go through, this is a great book for you. Highly recommended.

I have to say the author impressed me as most book on this subject are not half as well crafted, researched and written as "Homemade Hollywood: Fans Behind the Camera". The book is worth it's affordable price!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I could not put this book down... December 15, 2008

By Fishcreature

Format:Paperback

A great look into the world of underground films and the people that make them. This book was absolutely fascinating... It's a must for any filmmaker or film fan. From the foreword to the last page, it was a fun and easy read. I highly recommend this book, its kinda like the special features on a DVD of your favorite movie. Sometimes, the behind the scenes story is much more engaging than the film itself.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fan Film Follies January 8, 2009

By C. Moshier

Format:Paperback

Fan Films are a hobby of mine probably to the point of what people would think would be insanity. I'm glad that someone wrote a book about the subject making that person more insane than I. Mr. Clive Young is that crazy person and his book Homemade Hollywood is crazy awesome.

The book has three levels. Of course Clive discusses the Fan Films through the film maker ages, but there is also the stories of how these films are made. Some are true underdog stories that anyone can appreciate. It's interesting to read how people can make a true piece of entertainment with a shoe string budget.

Another level of the book is the accessible equipment used through the years by Dicks and Jane's like you and me to create their works. From cranking the camera in the years of old to the digital age it's all there. How this technology has evolved is a subtle piece of the Homemade Hollywood. To me that was of great interest.

So...if you like independent film...you like unique stories told well...and of course if you like fan films then you got to pick yourself up a copy.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The token "but he completely ignores..." review January 13, 2011

By Steven W. Hill

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I fully realise this review is going to be received negatively by most of you who are reading it, and for that I apologise in advance, but I need to put it out there nonetheless, even if it does sound like a whine about being ignored... :)

Yes, this book is well researched and goes into far greater depth, and far more distant history than one might expect on such a topic, nicely laying the groundwork for the main course, picking up real steam in the 1990s. Focusing greatly on Star Wars, Star Trek and Indiana Jones fan films becomes the book's biggest problem for me personally. As a maker of Doctor Who fan films since the mid-1980s, I am simply dismayed that there's an enormous gap in the book. The thing is, the book does its job so well when talking about what it *does* cover that it's almost unnoticeable, unless looking for it (like I did), that the gap exists. But think about this for a moment - why is there (almost) nothing covered in the 1980s? Not just a whole decade, but THE decade that camcorders hit the mainstream and people were just discovering their potential? The (only?) decade that cable access programming actually welcomed fan films? There are actually *hundreds* of Doctor Who fan films, exploding in popularity in the mid-1980s at the same time the show did (in America). There isn't a single mention of Doctor Who or its fan films in the book's index, and, like I said, the 1980s are pretty much completely passed over as if nobody was making any fan films then. Boy, do I refute that!...

Perhaps if the author ever makes a revised edition, he can take a bit of time to discover that which he has completely missed the first time around - a heavily active fan film making community in the latter half of the 1980s, centered around Doctor Who rather than around Star Wars, Star Trek or the others. As it stands now, this really is a great book, albeit with a huge gap where there shouldn't be a gap at all. Read more ›