Customer Reviews

Roadmap to Stardom: How to Break into Acting in Hollywood

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This book is a must for anyone looking to "make it" in the Hollywood industry as a performer.It gives a very thorough inside look at what goes on behind the scenes and helpful information for what is needed when starting out. The fact that the author is writing this as he is trying to start out himself allows you to feel as if you are experiencing it along side him. "Roadmap to Stardom" helps to give a real perspective on what can be expected and I highly recommend it for anyone that is serious about coming to Hollywood.

If you want to arm yourself before plunging into the works here in Los Angeles, you should read this book. No, actually you must. The author details the Hollywood system and gives a touching account of his experience getting gigs in commercials, TV, and film. I had the pleasure of reading the writer's first book and went to this one to see how his humor could entertain me more. It delivers. My friends trying to make it in the business are getting a literary stocking stuffer.

This book is full of great information on how to make it in the industry. It is by no means extensive on any one subject, but it gives you a wonderfully helpful overview of what steps you need to take to make it in Hollywood. If anyone asked me what they needed to know about the business, I would tell them they needed to read this book. This is one of the aspiring actors most helpful tools. This and "The Camera Smart Actor" are the two most useful books I've read so far about acting (this being all you need to know about the industry, the "Camera Smart Actor" being all you need to know about a set and the technical aspect of shooting). Acting technique is one thing, but knowing the practical stuff is a horse of a different color, and equally valuable if you hope to become a working actor. I am planning to move to LA next year and I feel like this book has given me an invaluable inside scoop. Not only does Rif Haffar lay it all out for you in a step by step process, but the plan he bases it all on his own experience of trying to make it as an actor.

Anyone who thinks they can go to Hollywood and based on looks or talent alone start making big bucks will have their illusions shattered. Haffar shows that with perseverance after a year he was a SAG member and making enough to live on - but barely (a little under 10,000 - and much of that went to SAG membership, an agent, and headshots). He also shatters the image that many have of Hollywood being a glamorous, mean place. He illustrates that most people in the business are down to earth and how much of a team effort this work is. Overall this is a fabulous book, written simply and with a sense of humor. I would recommend it to anyone!

Roadmap To Stardom: How To Break Into Acting In Hollywood by Rif K. Haffer is an informative introduction to the professional world of Hollywood filmmaking and how to secure work as an actor. Deftly compiling a comprehensive and "user-friendly" body of practical advice and "insider information" on becoming an actor for any project from small independent productions to big budget studio projects, Roadmap To Stardom offers aspiring actors sound and essential information on such aspects of the industry as TV, film, features, shorts, commercials, industrial films, union, and non-union productions following. Based upon the authors personal experience and seasoned expertise, Roadmap To Stardom is very highly recommended reading for anyone aspiring to a career as a screen actor and searching for practical and "user friendly" guide to getting started in their chosen career.

If you are thinking about becoming an actor, ever thought about becoming an actor or openly ridiculed those who aspire to become actors, this is the book for you. This book should be issued to everyone who crosses the border into California, its way funny and reads like a summer novel, yet it sincerely informs the would be Hollywood star.

I literally couldn't put it down (That may be due in part to eating a peanut butter bagel while reading at the breakfast table) Loved it!!!!!!!!!!! kiss kiss.
Better than a table at Spago!

I admit to being something of a Haffar aficiando but even so "Roadmap" -his exploring of the making of a working actor- is an amazing achievement: a truly utilarian work of scholarship both lucid, informative and (yes, truly, truly) USEFUL book.

If you are new to acting or have been trying to break through for years, youll learn from "Stardom".

"Stardom" is a fascinating and insighful and exciting read. And here's the connection to his last work "While You Were Out" -both are fun even if you have no intention of following in Mr. Haffar's footsteps by either making a living as a working actor or going round the world in a motorbike.

The closest Ive ever been to the movie world is my local quadraplex but now I feel that I know an industry that is closed to the common man. I don't know what more you can ask from your reading experience.

Rif Haffar is one of those fortunate aspiring actors who got his career going in a relatively short time. Within months of starting out, he was making some income. And within the year, he was a member of the Screen Actors Guild with an agent and had made many appearances in films and TV shows. Yet he does not lose sight of what getting an acting career started is like for the large majority of newcomers. In this "Roadmap to Stardom," he's as helpful and encouraging as he can be without raising false hopes. The value of his book is that it describes the acting workplace, tells the young, beginning actor how to get a foot in the door of the business, and prepares the reader to make important decisions which come up during the early stages of a career. Joining the Screen Actors Guild when the opportunity arises versus remaining a non-union actor for a while longer to get more work and experience is one such choice Haffar discusses.
The author unfailingly gives sensible advice and imparts relevant information on all areas and steps the beginning actor will face. Frequent insets of quotes by Hollywood insiders and of show business facts work with the text to give the reader a good idea of what the business is really like. In the author's diary covering several months he relates details of specific assignments while at the same time displays his enjoyment in working in the field even with its setbacks. The book is of worth to the aspiring actor for its demonstration of the temperament conducive to success in the demanding, often nerve-wracking field as for its knowledgeable and practical content.
Haffar's book is a reliable map for sure, but also an up-to-date reference with its appendices of resources such as casting agencies and trade publications, its glossary containing many current terms, and its four-page bibliography.

Leave it to Haffar to write an entirely comprehensive guide to stardom. Thoroughly enjoyable digest and "how to" compendium replete with resources, relevant quotes and searing commentary on the 'biz'. The chapter on crooks and slimballs masquerading as agents is worth the price of the book alone!

Rif Haffar dives into the acting world with gusto and reveal secrets that every Hollywood hopeful should know. His humorous and unpretentious writing style makes the reader feel at ease as he takes you on a tour of the strange land of auditions, managers, unions and 'La-La-Land' in general. He not only succeeds in his acting goals, but he proves that as a writer, he's a star!