Confessions of a Movie Addict (Paperback)

by Betty Jo Tucker (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Film Stars! Dancing! Popcorn!

At last, a life story with everything but the movie stuff edited out.

CONFESSIONS OF A MOVIE ADDICT chronicles a love affair with film from the 1930s through the beginning of the new millennium. In addition to revealing personal movie-related experiences, film critic Betty Jo Tucker describes encounters with such veteran actors as Mickey Rooney and Charlton Heston, as well as with current stars like Angelina Jolie, Billy Crudup, Guy Pearce, and Brendan Fraser. This amusing memoir also contains the following ADDED ATTRACTIONS: a Movie Addiction Checklist; a compendium of books and Web sites for movie fans; selected interviews; photos; and reviews (as posted on KOAA Online) of more than 70 films released during 2000 and 2001 A.D.

Warren Epstein, film critic for The Gazette in Colorado Springs, writes, “I hate Betty Jo Tucker. As a fellow Colorado film critic, I’ve loathed her for years. Sure, you can call it professional jealousy. But see it from my perspective. We all go to a film festival. Most of us get an article or two out of it. Betty Jo gets an adventure. She ends up being served dinner by the filmmakers, for heaven’s sake! Well, now I have to put up with her new book, Confessions of a Movie Addict, and, believe me, it’s about as Betty Jo as it can be. She takes us behind the scenes of the entertainment industry, sharing her favorite celebrity interviews and revealing her personal connections and passions for the movies. As if we care. (OK, the mishap at her first porn film had me laughing. But just a little.) You’ll probably read this book and fall in love with Betty Jo. Fine! See if I care.”

Liz Larrabee, author of Random Pieces: Vignettes from the Thirties and Liz Larrabee’s Book, says, “Betty Jo’s passion for movies, the insights she brings to her reviews and interviews, and her marvelous talent for taking you right along with her into the theater make Confessions of a Movie Addict a must-read—even for non-addicts.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Reel Early Years

My problem began with Frankenstein. I remember being a frightened six-year-old hiding under the seat at Clyne’s Theater in Pueblo, Colorado, hoping for protection from that scary monster on the big screen. Despite my terror, I couldn’t stop peeking. Both horrified and amazed, I became hooked on movies then and there. This addiction continued throughout my childhood and adult life. I even fell in love with my husband because he resembled a certain handsome actor, and we named both our children after movie stars. As I enter my seventies, I’m still a practicing movieholic. Luckily, because I write film reviews now, I see more movies than ever.

During grade school, my cousins and I spent most of our weekends at the Clyne and the Avalon, two movie houses located across the street from each other in a working class neighborhood called Bessemer. Both theaters always scheduled a double feature plus “added attractions” which included one cartoon, a serial, film previews, and a newsreel. Wide-eyed, we enjoyed every offering while gorging ourselves on popcorn, Milk Duds, and ice cream bars. Sometimes we went from one “picture show,”which is what we called the theatres then, directly to the other. We were insatiable when it came to movies and goodies.

When we were a bit older, we hopped on a streetcar for a bumpy ride to one of the downtown cinemas. We loved the Chief because of its lavish red and gold interior-but preferred the Main’s more buttery popcorn. The Colorado usually offered a double feature which was hard to resist. And sometimes we stopped off at the Mesa Junction to take in another flick at the Uptown, famous for its “bank night” giveaways.

Reacting to my obsession with film, my mother actually tried to land me a part in a movie. After hearing about MGM’s search for a young girl to star in National Velvet, she sent the studio a picture of me on a horse.

Unfortunately, that role went to Elizabeth Taylor, who sells perfume now. I recall she appeared earlier in Lassie Come Home, a film I didn’t get to see all the way through. Because Ruella, my sensitive little sister, made too much noise sobbing over the collie’s misfortunes, we had to take her home in the middle of the movie. I forgave her—-a few years later.

It’s not surprising my first work experience came about as a result of movie mania. Here’s a glimpse into the mind of that naïve 14-year-old as she pondered employment possibilities:

I’ve just gotta earn some money this summer. Those movie magazines cost an arm and a leg, but I can’t live without them. Photoplay is running a story about Rita Hayworth this month, and I think Modern Screen has an interview with Glenn Ford. I’m not sure what’s in the others, but I know it’ll be great stuff. Guess I better get a job. Grandma wants me to try babysitting or housework. But why should I ruin my last summer before high school doing things I hate? What else do I know how to do? Cooking is definitely out. I better stay away from the kitchen after that last goof. I still think Mother should’ve explained what she really meant when she asked me to check the baked potatoes by putting a fork in them. Wow, did she let out a yell when she opened the oven and found a fork in all eight spuds!

Too bad there’s no movie studio in Pueblo. I’m not old enough to be an usher down at the Uptown Cinema. I’ll just have to think of something else. What about teaching tap dancing to the neighborhood kids? Tapping is great fun and I’ve taken lessons ever since I could walk. Hmm, how much should I charge? I’m not very good at math, but I need about $5 a month for my magazines. If I can talk even three parents into letting me give their kids one lesson a week, I’ll ask for one dollar a lesson. That will be enough for a few movies as well as all the magazines I can read. What a neat plan!

I’m proud to say three precocious toddlers made their Pueblo show business debuts at the end of that summer with a “shuffle step, shuffle step, shuffle step, ball change” routine-to the tune of “On the Good Ship Lollipop.” According to six smiling parents, the first dance recital of these Shirley Temple wannabes was a huge success. As for me, I was just happy to earn enough money for my precious movie magazines.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Hats Off Books (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1587360853
• ISBN-13: 978-1587360855
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,081,674 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Insiders Tale Told with Grace, Candor, and Humor, January 16, 2002

By	Cesar A. Gonzalez-T. - See all my reviews

As a recently retired college professor who can go to more movies now, I was delighted by this substantive insiders tale told with such happy and light-hearted grace, candor, and humor. The sophisticate and the novice, young and old, will find Betty Jo Tucker's "show-don't-tell" approach solid, informative, and entertaining. She charmed the socks off me! Betty Jo takes us into her fascination with this dimensional art form, with her life story deftly stitched into the background. "Because confession is good for the soul," she tells us, "I admit enjoying films mostly for their escapist entertainment qualities. But I also love to be enchanted by cinematic artistry, enlightened by a great story, and inspired by memorable performances." We grow together with this unpretentions, knowledgeable professional hooked on movies as she moves from going it alone, to being mentored by the best, including the famous "UK Critic" Ian Waldron-Mangani--who, she tells us, could have been her grandson. I found "Confessions" to be a great three-in-one deal: HerStory, terrific interviews, and crisp reviews. We meet some of the greatest names in film from the U.S.--directors David Lynch and M. Night Shyamalan, Oscar winners Anjelica Huston and Angelina Jolie, and the legendary Debbie Reynolds, along with top international figures, including British actor Sir Ian Mckellen, French actress Judith Godrech, Japanese filmmaker Masayuki Suo, and Oscar-winning Czech director Jan Sverak. Stellar interviews include those with Annette Bening, Willem Dafoe, Tony Shalhoub, and Aidan Quinn. Among her top reviews are "Chocolat," "Bridget Jone's Diary," "Mouline Rouge," "Planet of the Apes," "Legally Blond," and "Scary Movie." Along the way, she tells some delightful stories on herself: great gaffs--foot in the mouth, clear to the knee, as Josh Wise, one of my former students, once wrote. After enjoying "Confessions," you'll never read a review the way you used to!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AuthorZone.Com Book Review, July 17, 2003

By	AuthorZone.Com Book Review "illuminati-order" (Knoxville, TN United States) - See all my reviews

Reviewed by Jill Cozzi,

Recently I received a press release announcing a Malcolm McDowell retrospective at the Walter Reade Theatre. I forwarded it to a friend, along with a message:

"Gee, do you think I should go to this, walk up to
Malcolm McDowell and say, 'I saw A CLOCKWORK
ORANGE at my college auditorium and three weeks later
was deflowered by a guy who looked an awful lot like
you did then?'"

Now, of course I would never do such a thing, because such an occasion would reduce me to a babbling idiot. But then, I'm not Betty Jo Tucker.

If I WERE Betty Jo Tucker, however, it wouldn't even be an issue, for she would just walk up, make her confession without batting an eye, and two hours later walk away with notes from a truly killer interview. That's just the way she is.

Tucker is arguably the most unique presence among the many film critics on the Web today. In a world dominated by snarky teenagers and twenty-something self-anointed cineastes, Betty Jo Tucker is a gleeful, unabashed movie-lover; not a film buff, but someone who loves the experience of filmgoing. At seventy-plus, she retains the same joy in moving pictures projected on a screen as she did that first time she walked into the "picture show" to see FRANKENSTEIN -- in its first run. A critic who came into the business late in life after raising two children, one divorce, one remarriage (to the same husband), and a distinguished academic career, she is an anomaly among Web critics in that she does NOT subscribe to the Alice Roosevelt credo of "If you can't say something nice, come sit by me."

In her new book CONFESSIONS OF A MOVIE ADDICT (Hats Off Books), Tucker shares her infectious joy in the moviegoing experience with the rest of us. It is truly "a life story with everything but the movies edited out." Written in a breezy tone, CONFESSIONS is truly a snark-free zone. Tucker, who has set herself up as the premier lobbyist for the Return of the Movie Musical has even managed to find the good in such crap-fests as the Britney Spears vehicle CROSSROADS. She doesn't love everything put on film, but you've got to love a critic who's eligible for Social Security but can still laugh her way through the likes of the surrealistically sophomoric CABIN BOY and who reacts to the ghastly THE PRINCESS DIARIES by remembering to call her granddaughters and tell them how terrific they are just as they are.

Where CONFESSIONS OF A MOVIE ADDICT falls short is in Tucker's underestimation of our interest in the journey of a woman through academia, homemaking, and into film criticism at an age when most of us have long since given up our dreams. This may be "a life story with everything but the movies edited out", but many of us would love to see what's left on the cutting-room floor.

4.0 out of 5 stars An Insider's Tale of Hollywood, December 8, 2006

By	Denise A. Cassino "Senior Editor, Long Story ... (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Arts/Entertainment

An Insider's Tale
Book Review by Denise Cassino

Betty Jo Tucker is in love. She always has been. From early childhood, Betty Jo has been smitten with the silver screen. Her love started as an infatuation and grew into a mature study of film and renown as a world-class movie critic.

In her book, Confessions of a Movie Addict, Betty Jo takes us through those early childhood memories of movies, covering her eyes at the scary part, acting out the roles of her favorite stars. Then she landed herself some real jobs as a film critic which gave her a pass into all of the biggest movie events from premieres to the Academy Award Presentations.

This book takes us through many of the hilarious adventures of a movie critic, from embarrassing moments to dining with the stars. Betty Jo shares with her reader many of her best and most clever interviews, sometimes with animated characters! Betty Jo also includes a plethora of reviews on dozens of movies giving the reader a critical, but fun summation of everything from box office hits to cult sleepers. This is a real insider's tale of seeking, meeting and interviewing many of the hottest movie stars ever to flash across a marquee.

If you want to know what it's like to dish and dine with the Hollywood crowd, this book will do the trick. A great gift for any movie lover, Confessions will make you green with envy at Betty Jo's inside access to the stars.