Customer Reviews

Wannabe: A Would-Be Player's Misadventures In Hollywood

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Mr. Weinberger's book should be a "must read" for anyone contemplating a career in the entertainment industry. As head of development for a major feature film production company, and having worked with some of the people detailed in this book, I can honestly say that WANNABE is painfully accurate. From the copy room, to the board-room, Hollywood is filled with people acting richer, more powerful, and bigger than they really are. It's a fun, informative read.

Wannabe is a truly remarkable portrayl of a world guarded with gold screens and littered with fallen bodies. Mr. Weinberger's laces this book with violent wit and insight that will enchant and amaze the most skeptic of readers.

As a Hollywood producer, I was amazed at the take-no-prisoners accuracy Mr. Weinberger's work. Wannabe is a behind-the-scenes look at the underside of the world's sleeziest business. It is story that has been told exceedingly well in this remarkable work.

Everett Weinberger must be commended on an excellent book. It is a quick read, but that by no means it is one without much merit. His odyssey through Hollywood reflects the craziest hopes of many readers. His honesty, humor, and pursuit of his dreams are to be admired. We certainly learn much about how Hollywood works. As I look back, I see Weinberger as a lone man holding a flashlight to the darkness behind the bright illusions that Hollywood projects. Even more, it is a diary of one man's ability to chase his dream and finally come to terms with where his life is headed. His ability to accept his destiny (not one he had imagined when he headed to LA) in life and embrace it just may be the most valuable lesson his book teaches.

Having held the position of an Executive Assistant at the former MCA/Universal Studios of several years ago, I can tell you that this book is not only dead-on accurate, it is also one of the most user friendly tomes about the true working stiffs of the entertainment industry out there. Forget the glamour, forget the 20 million dollar salaries, Mr. Wienberger tells the truth. And he does it hilariously. You don't have to be a member of Screen Actors Guild or subscribe to Daily Variety to enjoy this book. Anyone who has worked for an egomaniac with a death wish will absolutely relate.

Let's face it: it's a luxury, pure and simple, to be able to move across country to gamble on the chance to become a successful Hollywood producer, as Everett Weinberger did. Fortunately, he doesn't court our sympathy, as it's hard to feel sorry for someone with degrees from Columbia and Stanford, as well as Wall Street experience to fall back on--as he eventually does.

That said, his book is witty and well-written, and he gives a colorful and to my eye (as an expat native southern Californian) accurate of life, but not love, in Los Angeles. His attempts to learn office routine in ten seconds or less, as he brought his high hopes from one stressful, menial office temp job to another, are portrayed with genuine humor. There's a happy ending, too, but not the one Weinberger originally had in mind.

Those looking for a "how-to" guide to success in the movie industry should look elsewhere. "Wannabe" is worth reading on its own merits alone, as a picaresque journey through parking garages, phone systems, and eye-candy location.

If you are looking for Hollywood insight then "Hello, He Lied" by Lynda Obst is far better. "Wannabe" is a story about living in the trenches as someone just starting out in Hollywood. The stories are not hilarious or cutting edge in any way; rather they are the mundane ups and downs of possible opportunities. One of the major stories is an interview to be Alec Baldwin's assistant. Yes, the interview is the major part of the story. All the while the author (in my opinion) is looking at the book as the way to get back into Hollywood. (An early part of the book describes how the scene would look in camera angles and at the end there is a gleeful note that the book has been optioned as a screenplay.) Overall, the author does not understand the byzantine rules by which Hollywood operates and I didn't gain much insight from his book either.

This book was great. First off, it is a step by step account of what to expect when you try to get in the biz. Second, it has a lot of good advice that you can learn from- "...learn from others' mistakes." Third, it was a damn fun read.

As for the author, he let his dad and the fact that he didn't want it bad enough send him packing... which is good. Too many people think that Hollywood is for them and without any experience move out there and find out that unless you really, really, really want nothing more than to work in film, you will be miserable, and unless extremely lucky, fail in the same manner. This was him.

I am glad for him that he seems to be doing well and can definitely relate.

This is a very fun book to read. Mr. Weinberger may not know this, but some of those temp types aren't exclusive to Hollywood. You can find these in many executive offices throughout corporate America. I like his style of writing, too. It doesn't seem like a tell-all book to me. I took it merely as his experiences trying to break into the film industry. I would love to see it made into a movie.

I've just moved to Southern Cal, and like thousands of other ambitious 20 somethings had some serious thoughts of trying my hand at the seemingly well payed, glamour industry that permeates Everett Weinberger's account. "Wannabe," was exactly the realistic description I was looking for to help me on my way. Unless you are connected, and not many of us are, you are going to have to follow the same path Everett Weinberger pursued to get your foot in the door of the entertainment business. His example strikes me as instructive, cautionary, and real. Even if you are connected you will want to think hard about the personnal choices you will have to make, if you are to make it. Of particular importance to the "Wannabe," his anecdotes flesh out the cliches we have all heard but do not believe about the ego-maniacs and behind the scenes misery that lay, in ambush, behind the studio gate. Those of us with dreams and ambition, I think, suffer in a society which rewards celebrity above all, for without it we feel as though we have failed. Therefore we should take careful note that the happiest people in Everett's account are the career folks in maintance. Chances are you already have everything you need to be happy without the glamour and the glitz. Maybe, but if not, check your pride at the door and leave your ego at home because you won't be needing them where you are going. Don't be put off by the Book's packaging which bills it as a, "Hilarious," "Insider Account," which I think does a disservice to Mr. Weinberger. This is a drama, not a comedy, nor is it for those poor souls in search of a trollop of gossip. Mr. Weinberger has been where we want to go for the same reasons we want to go there. You can learn from him as I did.

I've been in L.A. for two years and this book rang true in many ways. Substitute "creative exec" for "screenwriter" or "actor" and you'd have some of the same experiences the author of this book has had. Nevermind the sad/pathetic people this guy had to work with and for -- what I really liked was that Weinberger told the truth about the lonely nature of life in L.A. DESPITE the fact that people here operate in a "touchy feely/everything's groovey"-mode most of the time. It's all a facade and practically everyone's a friend of convenience -- they're nice to you because they think you might be able to forward their careers somehow.

I know a few people who have worked for name producers and this book nailed on the head EXACTLY what that's like: it ain't glamorous -- it's a lot of tedious and childish BS.
(One of my friends worked for a big-name producer on the Paramount lot and got fired for bringing her the wrong flavored coffee!)

If you still want to be a player, you need to read this.
I'd also recommend you rent SWIMMING WITH SHARKS with Kevin Spacey as well. After that, if you have any sense of sanity you'll think twice before moving to L.A. and trying to "make it" (whatever that notion of success may be).