Reel Shame: Bad Movies and the Hollywood Stars Who Made Them [Paperback]

Christopher Holland (Author), Scott Hamilton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2002

Kevin Costner doesn't want you to see his role as a wealthy rancher with a midget sidekick ("Sizzle Beach U.S.A."). Shannen Doherty would rather you never discovered the role in which she left both her clothes and her talent at home ("Blindfold: Acts of Obsession"). Long before becoming a paragon of fashion in "Sex and the City," Sarah Jessica Parker was a victim of '80s style in "Girls Just Want to Have Fun." And Harrison Ford probably still has nightmares about the time he hugged a Wookiee named Itchy in "The Star Wars Holiday Special."

Unfortunately for all of these actors, film critics Chris Holland and Scott Hamilton (creators of the b-movie web site Stomp Tokyo) have collected the most embarrassing moments of more than a hundred Hollywood celebrities and put them all in this book. But be warned – you may never look at your favorite movie stars the same way again.

The actors under the microscope in this book include Brad Pitt, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Perry, Roddy McDowall, Shannen Doherty, Drew Barrymore, Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Sean Connery, Peter Fonda, Dennis Quaid, Pia Zadora, Denise Richards, Jack Palance, Jessica Lange, Alyssa Milano, Vanna White, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gillian Anderson, Matthew McConaughey, Renee Zellweger, Jeff Bridges, Sherilyn Fenn, Adam Sandler, Calista Flockheart, Russell Crowe, Meg Ryan, Jennifer Lopez, Paul Reiser, Robin Williams, and many, many more!

The book includes several appendices, including reference information on every film mentioned in the book with capsule reviews, a recommended reading section, and a list of b-movie web sites for your surfing pleasure.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...an excellent addition to the libraries of discerning fringe cinema fans." -- CineSchlock-O-Rama at DVDTalk

"...great bathroom reading about movies that went straight down the toilet." -- St. Petersburg Times

"If there's going to be a book about horrible movies . . . it had better be funny -- and this one is." -- East Bay Express

"In the new guilty-pleasure book Reel Shame . . . Scott Hamilton and Christopher Holland get bitchy about the beautiful people." -- Total Movie & Entertainment Magazine

"These guys have suffered through a lot of lousy movies . . . their criticism is sharply-written, often vicious and funny as hell." -- Shock Cinema

A humorous, tongue-in-cheek read, Reel Shame is especially recommended for B-movie enthusiasts. -- Midwest Book Review

In the new guilty-pleasure book Reel Shame . . . Scott Hamilton and Christopher Holland get bitchy about the beautiful people. -- Total Movie & Entertainment magazine

About the Author

Scott Hamilton and Christopher Holland have been writing about movies together for nearly ten years, at first in their college newspaper, and later in magazines like SFX and The Radio Times, and on the web. In 1996 they started Stomp Tokyo, a web site designed to focus on all kinds of movies on home video, but which quickly became synonymous with b-movies, cult flicks, and genre films. (With a name like Stomp Tokyo, it was bound to happen.)

Since then, Stomp Tokyo has evolved to include a number of side projects and sub-sites by other authors, including The Bad Movie Report, Attack of the 50 Foot DVD, and Bad Movie Planet. In 2000, Chris and Scott wrote a number of reviews for The Radio Times Guide to Film. The New York Times called Stomp Tokyo "a place to indulge your questionable cinematic taste," and Entertainment Weekly has dubbed it "trash movie paradise." The site has also been featured in The St. Petersburg Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and a number of "site of the day" web sites, including the original Cool Site of the Day and PCWorld Online.

The authors live in St. Petersburg, Florida, where they maintain Stomp Tokyo as a publishing business for their online and print endeavors. Reel Shame is their first book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Stomp Tokyo (August 2002)
• ISBN-10: 0971835608
• ISBN-13: 978-0971835603
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,589,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A humorous, tongue-in-cheek read, September 9, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reel Shame: Bad Movies and the Hollywood Stars Who Made Them (Paperback)

Collaboratively written by the creators of the B-movie website ..., Christopher Holland and Scott Hamilton, Reel Shame: Bad Movies And The Hollywood Stars Who Made Them is an unflinching look at some of today's most popular stars, including Kevin Costner, Shannen Doherty, Sarah Jessica Parker, and more, and the truly gut-wrenching bottom-barrel movies they once made. Individual chapters group the movies by trashy genres ranging from chainsaw massacres to sexy sizzlers, and discuss alleged reasons why these now-great names allowed themselves to become part of some of the sleaziest frames to be served upon the silver screen. A humorous, tongue-in-cheek read Reel Shame is especially recommended for B-movie enthusiasts.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the worst, and the worst of the best., October 21, 2002

By 

Chadwick H. Saxelid "Bookworm" (Concord, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reel Shame: Bad Movies and the Hollywood Stars Who Made Them (Paperback)

...Chris Holland and Scott Hamilton have compiled some of their funnier/est reviews of bad b-movies, along with some new material, from their website for this very funny book. The duos criticism always blend good-natured sarcasm/ribbing with just the right dose of critical honesty, and it is impossible to read just one (believe me, I've tried). The authors have even added in some dollops of information for the b-movie newcomer/curious, along with a list of recommended reading and other, similar websites worth visiting. For fans of b-movies (or just of sarcastic reviews of silly movies) this is a must read.... Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just how bad is my taste?, August 19, 2002

By 

"nick9578" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reel Shame: Bad Movies and the Hollywood Stars Who Made Them (Paperback)

What does it mean when your personal collection is full of the same movies that authors Christopher Holland and Scott Hamilton have listed as 'Bad Movies'? It means that you now have to reclassify your collection from your personal favorites to 'A study in bad movie-ology'.

What? You don't HAVE a collection of bad movie-ology? Then you need this book. Where else can you get a complete review of some of the worst movies made by some of the best known stars? The authors point out some of the worst cinema made and keep you laughing the entire time. Until you remember that Mazes and Monsters made your Mom throw out 1/2 of your D&D library.

If you are a fan of MST3K, bad Sci-Fi, or horrible acting by people that should have known better, this is the book for you!