Customer Reviews

Killer Instinct

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

 

 

I give 'Killer Instinct' this much: it was a quick and entertaining read -- a fun ride. The type of book you tear right through in a night. However, I find it difficult to take seriously Jane Hamsher's account of events. I find it curious that every single woman in this book is portrayed as a sweet, strong-willed, honest-to-goodness saint, worthy of enormous sympathy -- (not least of all, Jane Hamsher herself!) -- while almost every single man (save for one writer friend of hers) is portrayed as, more or less, an utter demon (at times, almost literally.)* Even her "partner in crime," Don Murphy is shown, at times, in a critical light -- but never Iron-Willed Jane. She is the very picture of patience and professionalism, often beset upon, but rarely (if ever) in error. It's interesting that at several points, particularly on the production of NBK, it is implied that a lot of people on the set are losing patience with her and are irritated by her presence -- but unfortunately, we don't have their side of the story, and as far as Jane is concerned, it is (always!) all miraculously due to their inability to handle the fact that she's a woman. (!!!) Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt there's plenty of sexism in Hollywood, but Hamsher's account, with its suspiciously unfailing tendency to portray every single woman as a flawless, tough-hearted angel, leads me to believe that this is not just a one-sided account, but quite possibly entirely out-of-whack, the rays of truth refracted wildly through Hamsher's "feminist fairytale" vision of her own experiences.

Additionally, I find it interesting that while initially very smitten with Tarantino's ideas and scripts, that as their professional ties go south, he magically turns into a thoroughly talentless hack, milking stolen ideas for all they're worth. But then she remembers that NBK is her dream project, and it was, of course, scripted by him -- drats! Thinking fast, she asserts that by far the best part of the script -- the TV sitcom parody -- was the work of her writer friend, not Tarantino. Well, uh ... OK.

Particularly priceless, though, is her initial (and I think only) direct encounter with Lawrence Bender, Tarantino's producer. They meet at a party, he says hello and is perfectly friendly and polite to her, and that's pretty much the extent of her experiences with him. Given that, it's pretty amazing (and terribly questionable) exactly how much hostility she has towards him and how much dirt she shovels in his direction throughout the rest of the book. Upon meeting him, she feels "queasy," shakes, and has to immediately leave the room for some air when they part! Why? Because she feels intuitively that she has just been in the presence of -- I believe she uses the term "jackal" -- but given the incredibly over-the-top way she describes it, the impression is more that of a "demon."* And why does she feel that way? Well, it's not one of those things you can explain, see, but essentially, it seems to mainly have to do with the fact that his eyes have a distant look to them. (They "recede into an emotional abyss when he speaks" according to Hamsher.)

I've never met Lawrence Bender, and I have no trouble believing that Quentin Tarantino and Oliver Stone and the host of other male Hollywood stars and hopefuls that appear in Hamsher's tale have their fair share of shortcomings and ballooned egos. Maybe a few of them really are even bad, dishonest people, through and though. Maybe. What I find more difficult to believe is that Hamsher and her coterie of oppressed agents and starlets and mother-figures are half as immaculate as they seem in the version of events she gives us here.

I also question the motivation for writing this book. A fun ride through the Hollywood system, or just an excuse to trash-talk people who've gone on to have more successful careers than she? Looking through Hamsher's filmography, I notice her unfailing tendency to grab interesting projects and turn them into mediocre films with mediocre earnings. It seems unlikely that Hamsher would ever deign to admit to an emotion as base as jealousy, but one wonders all the same.

Paying no heed to some scathing reviews of this book, I decided to purchase this as I am a fan of Oliver Stone's 'Natural Born Killers'. I was hoping that it would give some insights to the creative process that went into making the film--such as how the director approached certain scenes, or some input from the cinematographer (as this is a visually arresting film) etc. But expect for a few tidbits here and there, there's nothing that is worthwhile--you don't feel like you gathered any knowledge, expect for the fact that Hollywood is corrupted (gasp!) and run by men 'who want to get laid by a better class of people'.
As many other reviewers have said, all the men in this book are either 'geeks' or players, back-stabbing individuals while the women are virtuous and innocent.
Oliver Stone is portrayed as a drug user and womanizer, and his crew are equally in bad light. Maybe some of the accounts have credibility considering Stone's reputation, but then this would be a gossip tome--which it ultimately becomes, although sometimes entertaining to read.
Frankly, if you have Natural Born Killers on DVD, there's a segment called 'Chaos Rising: The Storm Around Natural Born Killers'--which details most of the accounts in this book in 30min. Other than that, the only things you'll be missing from this book is the author's obsessive ire at Tarantino and his success (she calls him a geek), and her incessant bragging about her partner Don Murphy.

It was refreshing to read a book by Hollywood insiders that isn't afraid to be honest. Hamsher's often-scathing perspectives on big egos such as Quentin Tarantino and Oliver Stone was both satsfying and entertaining. Natural Born Killers wasn't a great film but this book gives you an idea of what might have been...

Behind the scenes dirt on the tumultuous production of "Natural Born Killers"? A post publication brawl with Quentin Tarantino? This book definately sounded too juicy to miss- and didn't disappoint! The conversational tone of the tome sucked me in completely. It read as though Jane Hamsher was plopped beside me on the couch, telling her hedonistic, bash em all account.

Wild tales about almost every film leak to the press-it's like Hamsher needed to let everyone know that all the zany anecdotes about her movie were absolutely true. The stories are so far removed from the reality of most people that the book should prove to be (at least) slightly shocking, entertaining, and laugh out loud funny for nearly every reader. What a great thing! Especially now, with QT's face popping up everywhere to promote his new movie, it's super to see him referred to as a "one trick pony". I also expected Hamsher to pansy around saying anything honest about Oliver Stone, (he hired her, which got her out of debt, helped her earn enough power to do things...like to write a tell all memoir) but it's like she deliberately tucked away every slight implication of a bad mood he (and everyone else on the set)experienced, just to tell someone else "later".

The never give up gumption that took Jane where she is now is more than inspirational, the dirt endlessly amusing, but did the mood carry an entire book? Almost. It a compelling read until the last chapter. After reading accounts of Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis's fights, the crew doing 'shrooms in the desert, Oliver Stone's many girlfriends, it's disappointing that certain truly life affecting stories that popped up are glazed over. Jane's bout with breast cancer that she believes was brought about by too much stess is barely discussed in terms of the affect on her job, the deaths of people she knew are mentioned in a "huhm, how bout that" manner and dismissed, and, well, she does seem a bit too into herself.

All in all, the book is good fun and completely worth reading. I just wish that Jane's producing partner Don would've contributed as well. So much is said about him, it would be nice to hear his voice in this story too. Actually, after THIS account, it would be hysterical to hear the same story from a whole lot of people- once they pick themselves up off of the floor their faces were just used to mop.

Nuts-and-bolts, wonderfully gossipy account of how to produce a movie .Hamsher's conversational tone draws you in and pulls you along on the wild ride that was the shoot for NBK.
Yes, she is somewhat self-aggrandizing (as one would expect from any decent producer), but her partner Don Murphy comes across extremely well. He's about the only one, though. Her portrait of Oliver Stone as a drug and sex-obsessed maniac is pitch-perfect (and believable).

Come to think of it, an enterprising director could make a damn good film out of this story (I see Sarah Polley as Hamsher, Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Don Murphy, and Stanley Tucci as Oliver Stone.)

While author Jane Hamsher doesn't seem to care if she or her partner ever eat lunch in this town again, beware the blatant self-aggrandizement that wafts over every page. There's no way to tell who really did what to whom...it's a he said she said sort of tale. But if you need proof positive (or as close as you're likely to get) that Oliver Stone and Quentin Tarantino are pigs, this one does the trick.

I loved this book. It takes you on a wonderful journey from the depths of living the unrealized dream through the real nightmare of producing a big budget Hollywood film. While books like this have been written before, Killer Instinct is unique in two ways: it chronicles the making of one of the most controversial films of the 90s and the writing is fantastic. Hamsher throws all the emotions of the moment into her writing; despair, madness, anger, joy, hope and a multitude of others. Most important for me were Hamsher's conclusions at the end of the book, particularly the lesson of finding and keeping a good partner for the perils ahead. Hamsher is my hero; for her bravery, her courage of convictions, and her "never-give-up" approach in being able to make it in the "Boy's Club". Well written, fast paced, funny and inspiring, "Killer Instinct" is my solid recommendation for any aspiring producer's bookshelf.

The book of Jane Hamsher relates how two inexperienced "producers" fresh out of a film school acquired the rights to "Natural Born Killers", the screenplay of an obscure aspiring filmmaker named Quentin Tarantino. It goes on describing brilliantly how this modest acquisition (10.000 $) became suddenly hot property when Tarantino hit the jackpot in Sundance with his first feature, "Reservoir Dogs". And becomes outrageously funny when it shows how agents, "passionate" directors and screenwriters are all at cut throats with each other trying to put their hands on that treasure, which (not surprisingly) Quentin Tarantino does not want to be made as a film any more. But there is no way they will let Quentin getting back his rights, because even Oliver Stone has now in mind to direct it. Yes, as the book says, "the" Oliver Stone. Thanks for the description of the antics of this "three Oscar celebrity" and how he succeeded in turning a disturbing but modest "Tarantino movie" into what most qualified a hopelessly overblown mess. But the book could have left aside the internal disputes in the production staff, which will not remain in Hollywood's hall of fame. More than anything else, it should have abstained from attacking endlessly Quentin Tarantino for being what he is, an extremely gifted screenwriter and director. (After all, why did they buy HIS screenplay in the first place?)

...if this book were rated on its believability, it would rate one star or lower. While there are no doubt some grains of truth to the incidents it describes, other parts of it are utterly insane. Either there is a heavy degree of fabrication and embellishment, or Oliver Stone and company are COMPLETELY FREAKIN' NUTS! My money is on the former simply because so much of it is unrealistic: towards the end of the book, Jane tells about how Quentin Tarantino hit on her in Italy, and includes a picture of his letter to her, written in childish scrawl and including ridiculous misspellings of common words. It looks like it was written by a five-year-old! Either Mr. Tarantino was taking drugs, or he is in serious need of psychiatric help! Also, Oliver Stone is portrayed as a philanderer and a drug addict. However, there are plenty of other accounts of the productions of his films. The kind of behavior attributed to Mr. Stone in this book would stick out like a sore thumb. Why none of those other accounts have revealed more than a shade of those characteristics of his personality is beyond me! In other words, I believe Jane's account is heavily exaggerated.

Anyway, I don't mean for this to be completely negative, because the book is truly funny--the ominous buildup to meeting Oliver Stone after Jane and Don hear that he is interested in the project, the funny captions on the pictures, the crew doing psychedelic mushrooms during location scout in the desert, the prison riot, the film festival in Italy, etc. (Don't read this book in a library. You will die trying to stifle your laughter.)

This book is worth buying... but take everything it says with a heaping bowl of salt.

This is absolutly one of the best insider book ever written. Together with "Final Cut" and "Hit & Run", this is the top titles. Jane Hamsher is without doubt one of the best AND funniest producers to come out of the Hollywood mayhem for years. If you're are just the least interested in either Oliver Stone, producing or just the other side of Hollywood, this is the book for you. And it also paints a different kind of picture of the "wunderboy" Quentin Tranatino, and when you're finish with the book you'll say: "Goddam she was right, he is a fad".