Customer Reviews

Six Degrees of Paris Hilton: Inside the Sex Tapes, Scandals, and Shakedowns of the New Hollywood

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Ebner can write--I am a big fan of his blog hollywoodinterrupted.com, and his articles for RADAR where I first read him. This story is a deep, griping, nasty, exciting, star studded, crime filled, intense look at the "pretty people" and their dangerous play pals. THE MUST READ BOOK for anyone interested in Hollywood, crime, celebrities--Six Degrees of Paris Hilton is FACT but it reads like a novel, great turns of phrases, plot twists, awesome characters...and it's REAL. Wild!

This is one of the most original and well-researched books I have read in some time. Mark Ebner starts with one fairly publicized crime - the kidnapping of Joe Francis - and unweaves a vast web of the characters, businesses, crimes, and stars that all are somehow related to this crime. In doing so, he paints a fascinating, if not downright scary, picture of modern day Hollywood.

This is not quick read. It is 285 pages and the words go the entire length of the page; if it was printed like a regular book, it would probably be 350+ pages. However, despite its length, it is truly fascinating. Ebner did A LOT of research for this book. The story just keeps getting more and more interesting, and Ebner has a gift of describing the people and events in the book in such a way that you feel you are watching a movie about all of this.

The only critique I have of this book is whether it can be called 'non-fiction.' Even Ebner admits that he doesn't know if many of these stories are actually true - indeed, his muse (Darnell Riley) is sitting in a prison and clearly has reason to exagerrate his claims. But to Ebner's credit, he admits all of this and is extremely honest with the reader. Many writers would just pass a story like this off as a "100% true" but Ebner admits this probably isn't the case.

In the end, though, it just doesn't matter how "true" this entire story is because no one will ever really know. The beauty of this book is every single story, every single chapter, and every single connection, ranges from intersting to very intersting to downright fascinating. It is a very good book and if you are interested in the 'true' Hollywood or like crime stories, you need to read it. I really look forward to Ebner's next book. He is a very talented writer.

Having been a fan of Mark Ebner's reporting for years now, this book of heavy-hitting revelations has me completely absorbed. While the title might imply that this book is a tome about the over-exposed Paris Hilton, it's really more of an examination into the lives of the the criminal nature of the Hollywood scene and how they all seem to have a tie to Paris Hilton, which just makes the contents all the more frightening. We already knew Hollywood was rife with weirdness but this book exposes it in a way my mind can barely comprehend (if at all). Definitely a good read and re-read!

Former tabloid journalist Mark Ebner has all the hardboiled instinct of the best true-crime writers, and he's found his mother-lode in celebrity hustler Darnell Riley. Darnell is a street smart charmer who feeds the need for celebrities who want to feel dangerous by association, and Darnell quickly becomes pals with high-rollers like Paris Hilton, Mickey Rourke and rapper Heavy D. But Darnell is the real deal, a kid who survived time for homicide by the age of 15. Club junkies, obsessed by the myth of gangsters, are willing to climb over themselves to get some of Darnell's coloration on their bland auras.

What Ebner does is follow how Darnell, a solid student cum scene-maker as he fell to the punk accused of kidnapping "Girls Gone Wild" mogul Joe Francis and forced Francis to commit self-sex acts on tape at gunpoint. A smooth talker who discusses hanging out with real gangsters and thugs one minute and quotes "The Great Gatsby" the next. Darnell soon discovers that this subset of Hollywood that exists for nightlife and ecstasy needs props like him as much as he needs their money and attention, and he is soon landing bigger and bigger fish. (As Ebner puts it, the real Hollywood is in bed by 9, resting up before the 6AM casting call.)

Since the only filming many of these celebutantes do is of each other having sex, Darnell manages to get one of Paris Hilton's infamous videos into his hands. It is between this and the Joe Francis episode that he meets his downfall, but the time between is lurid and shabby, sleazy and gripping. Working from letters and a manuscript sent from prison by Darnell and in prison interviews, along with follow-ups from many of the "stars" that pulled Darnell into their orbits, Ebner shines a strobe onto the scummy party palaces where everyone tries to act more important than they really are, and a savvy confidence man like Darnell needs do little more than smile charmingly, with a handful of goodies to be taken in.

There was an episode of "Law and Order" where the officers had to go to Los Angeles while investigating a murder that took place in NYC. They finally catch a break when a studio exec comes forth with a document and disdain, saying something along the lines of "They talk like gangsters and act like hippies, and I'm tired of it." But for the likes of Hilton and so many others, as soon as the dangerous acquaintance becomes a real danger, they will turn tail and deny everything...as Darnell, serving time in a Central California jail. And while Ebner makes it very plain that Darnell's manuscript may not be 100% honest, "Six Degrees of Paris Hilton" actually makes Darnell look like the only one with integrity. A fascinating and well written look at the Hollywood shows like "Access" or "ET" won't show you, because they would be mortified to lose their seat at Spago's.

I have to admit that this book took me longer to read than I had anticipated. With it's huge cast of characters - I was thankful for the list of some of them in the front of the book - I found myself referring to it every so often. I would have really appreciated a time line in the front of the book so I could have referred back to it at times.

The author, Mark Ebner, is an Investigative Journalist who has worked for the likes of the "National Enquirer". He lays out the foundation of his writing perfectly by introducing the reader in the Prologue to his journalistic style and his penchant for tabloids. This book reads like a tabloid.

The main character is Darnell Riley who acts within the system of illegal acts -- doing so relieves his conscience of any harm done because he is working amidst criminal acts anyway.

The book is downright sensational and some of it is very difficult to believe. The book is written while Darnell is serving time in prison through the use of a huge handwritten manuscript by Riley and many, many interviews conducted by Ebner. Much of it is hard to believe and there is plenty of Hollywood name dropping if that is your thing. Darnell insists the story told within the pages of this book is not the "half of it".

Is Darnell a guy looking for his 15 minutes and one who tried to hang out with the rich and famous--something he was not?

I did not find this book as riveting as I expected because I found myself having to turn to the "Cast of Characters" and would have appreciated a time line.

The book reads like the tabloids and will provide entertainment for those who enjoy this type of writing.

This is a thoroughly engrossing and very entertaining book that reads as a novel, but contains a lot of dirty truths about Hollywood and those "special" people that are really no different than you and I with the exception that they possess a talent for acting or have a pile of money in a trust fund. Or in some cases both.

Why the average person puts these people on a pedestal just because they have money or make a movie or two is beyond me. Remember that nothing exceeds like excess. Seems that the people in Hollywood could learn a lesson from that. If anything, this book reaffirmed my sheer joy at not being around any of those celebrity types. For the most part, what a bunch of losers. Although there are some really legitimate and nice people in the bunch, but those are the ones you don't hear about. And that in this case is a good thing.

Shawn Kovacich
Author of the Achieving Kicking Excellence series.

Part pit bull, part Columbo whacked out on a pot of espresso, they don't make investigative journalists like Mark Ebner anymore. And that's good news if you're a dirt bag, scum bag, douche bag or any sort of Hollywood low-level, window peeping, carpet crawling, celebrity want-to-be.

Mr. Ebner is one of the few writers left today willing to get down in the gutter with his subjects just to hear their truth. In his new book Six Degrees of Paris Hilton, Mr. Ebner takes you to the places they never show you on "Access Hollywood," because if the general public could access the side of Hollywood Mr. Ebner uncovers, that tub of popcorn in your lap at the multiplex would serve only one purpose, that of a barf bucket.
The book is a classic. Now stop your idol worship and order it!

It's about time someone wrote a book about the connection between Hollywood elite and the criminals they use to do their dirty work. Unfortunately, this book is a disorganized laundry-list of famous people.

The author begins by explaining his sideline role to the circus that is Hollywood, but never fully steps back into the shadows. As he tells the tale of his subjects, you are taken into Hollywood's underbelly of has-beens and one-hit wonders' children.

Since the author's subjects are not the most reliable people, many are currently incarcerated or pathological liars, the onus is on the author to create a coherent narrative or even chronological thread to weave together the different characters. He fails to do this and the book starts to become bogged down in day-to-day minutia that are both uninteresting and tedious.

Overall, the book was a tiring read that made me glad when I finished it.

Let's be honest with ourselves for a moment: We read books like this because we want to read some sleazy gossip. There is no shame in that. Legendary director Alfred Hitchcock knew we are all voyeurs to one degree or another (a subject I discuss in my book, A Year of Hitchcock: 52 Weeks With the Master of Suspense).

So, there is neither shame nor surprise in wanting to be treated with racy stories about spoiled young rich kids doing the sort of thing spoiled young rich kids do.

Alas, Six Degrees Of Paris Hilton is less about those brats than it is about the people around them, most notably Darnell Riley, a clinger-on with a penchant for leading an anti-social lifestyle. Crimes, drugs, sex. A nice man he is not.

So yes, this book is filled with lots of wonderfully salacious sleaze -- hooray! -- but it's from a less-than-reputable source. This is a guy who has done time. A swindler and liar. The kind of guy you just don't trust. Kind of puts a taint on the stories here. Author Mark Ebner is a good writer and reporter, but his source? Not so much.

Still, there ARE some eye-opening, terrifically raunchy stories here. Violence, drugs, sex, and the kind of wild lifestyle you thought was little more than fictional tabloid fodder. Even if only half of this stuff is true ...

And that's the fun of the book. It's like swapping high school gossip, talking about who slept with who and what drugs they did before doing the naughty. It's pointing and staring at people who live their lives on stage and who do not know the meaning of the word moderation. It's painfully embarrassing (for them), but you can't look away.

In fact, more appalling than the actions of career criminal Darnell Riley are the actions of the people who allow him into their lives, mostly so they can appear "real" by associating with the kind of circles he runs in. Riley may have been a clinger-on spending time with stars, but the stars were worse, using him and people like him to boost their "cred" with one another, only to distance themselves the moment things looked bad.

Sound like great friends, huh?

Six Degrees of Paris Hilton is every bit the sleazy window into the New Hollywood you'll hope it will be.

A few years ago, Andrew Breitbart and Mark Ebner collaborated on a great guilty pleasure of a read, Hollywood, Interrupted: Insanity Chic in BabylonThe Case Against Celebrity. There the prurient amusement of reading about things like Eddie Murphy's penchant for transsexual prostitutes was at least offset somewhat by the focus on major Hollywood players and the authors' polemic against how transgressive of American values the myth factory is. Still, after reading it you did have a feeling you ought to wash your hands.

Marc Ebner's solo effort focuses on the B or C list underbelly of Hollywood and the hangers-on who feed off of the heiresses and rich kids who themselves are just pursuing fame without any of the compensating talent of the genuine stars. In particular, it's the story of convicted murderer Darnell Riley, who attached himself to Paris Hilton and others, became central to the release of various notorious sex tapes, kidnapped and abused infamous Girls Gone Wild creator Joe Francis, dealt in drugs and extortion and may have been responsible for any number of home invasions. He's a fascinating, though repellent, character and Ebner mines his story for every bit it's worth. But the reader may wonder at the end just what that worth was. The "celebrities" are generally too minor for even the ugliest dirt about them to really capture our attention and, beyond reminding us of what a vile milieu the glitterati operate in, there isn't a whole lot for us to take away from the book. Mr. Ebner writes with real gusto and often delicious savagery. But after reading about his subjects you're likely to need a whole bottle of Purell.