From Publishers Weekly
Not since Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons have two journalists (Breitbart feeds stories to Internet scandalmonger Matt Drudge and Ebner wrote for Spy) gathered more mean-spirited gossip about celebrities they condemn as sick and depraved. This diatribe is so unrelentingly negative that it loses all power to persuade. Breitbart and Ebner cover a variety of subjects they stand against, among them celebrities voicing their political views, a woman's right to choose, single motherhood and celebrities adopting children. In a chapter devoted to anonymous nannies discussing disrespectful kids of anonymous movie stars, the authors suggest mandatory Norplant and vasectomies for Hollywood parents. Hugh Hefner can't win for being wild or conservative; the authors blast the "fossilized relic embalmed in nostalgia and Viagra" for watching a bestiality video 30 years ago, and then condemn him for his intolerance of illegal drugs. Peculiarly, the authors adore gay porn director Paul Barresi, who paid off the "she-males of the night" that Eddie Murphy frequented so they'd change their stories. But when Murphy's lawyers didn't compensate Barresi, he turned all his records over to the authors. Barresi went on to warn Michael Jackson that his latest videographer was also a gay porn director. But when Jackson wouldn't pay for the information, Barresi leaked the story to the tabloids. Instead of calling Barresi a blackmailer, the authors announce that "he has a code of ethics emphasizing loyalty and respect." Most of the gossip isn't new (e.g., Greg Allman was an uninterested father; Whitney Houston, Nick Nolte and Robert Downey Jr. have had drug problems), and without any illuminating backstories, this is a sour and joyless read. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“Literary assassinations don’t come any more vitriolic than Hollywood Interrupted…fascinating stories and explosive revelations…” (Daily Record, 24 April 2004)
“… capitalises on our base interest in the more scandalous antics of the showbusiness elite…” (Birmingham Post, 17 April 2004)
“…makes for a riveting read.” (Hotdog, May 2004)
"...a wildly... entertaining jeremiad against the entertainment industry...against the perverts, flakes, egomaniacs, junkies, bullies and criminals..." (Rick McGinnis/Metro Toronto)
“…lifts the lid on some of Tinseltown’s weirdest and most notorious celebrities…” (Western Daily Press, 3 April 2004)
"...the industry has never been without a scandal, as this jaw-dropping book reveals..." (Hot Stars, 3 April 2004)
ANY ENTERTAINMENT hack worth his saltpeter understands that he is compromised - effectively neutered from word one . . . in toto, entertainment journalists are disgruntled; they are professionally castrated. And to top it off, these masochists are in turn, castigated and hated by the stars they've just fluffed up."
So write Andrew Breitbart and Mark Ebner in "Hollywood Interrupted." Hmmm . . . interesting point. As a lowly gossip columnist myself, I'd say the authors hit the nail on the head.
This book, which will land on the best-seller list next week, is an unabashedly right-wing, conservative one-note samba on celebrity culture. Is it the truth? Sure - from the authors' point of view, but with no balance. All stars are the devil here. I can't say I enjoyed this one; it's tone is often nasty and even petty - "the aging actress" . . . "the portly actor . . . " But as an antidote to much of what passes for entertainment coverage - or even this column - "Hollywood Interrupted" has appeal and certainly it has shock value. After a while, however, shocks lose impact. Chapter after chapter on those bad people in show biz! And it's not as if anybody's going to stop attending the movies, buying records or being fascinated with celebrity just because these writers are able to reveal clay feet under every heavenly Hollywood body. (The New York Post, Liz Smith, March 15th)
Not since Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons have two journalists (Breitbart feeds stories to Internet scandalmonger Matt Drudge and Ebner wrote for Spy) gathered more mean-spirited gossip about celebrities they condemn as sick and depraved. (Publishers Weekly, February 2, 2004)
CELEBRITIES are skewered like shish kabobs in Andrew Breitbart and Mark Ebner's upcoming book, Hollywood Interrupted (Wiley). The veteran journalists air embarrassing anecdotes about everyone from egomaniacal producer Robert Evans to Tinseltown train wreck Courtney Love to fallen power agent Michael Ovitz. The authors disclose a previously unheard 1993 wiretap of Evans chatting with Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss in which Evans seems to be ordering up a 17-year-old girl he calls "the little one." A chapter titled "Heroine: Love Means Never to Have to Say You're Courtney" was so damning in its details of Love's many meltdowns that her agents at Vigliano & Associates demanded that it be cut from the book (it wasn't). The tome also recounts how, after being terrorized by Ovitz's spoiled b rat childre n, the power agent's nanny quit and was subsequently blacklisted from working in Hollywood households. (The New York Post, Page Six, February 5, 2004)
Celebrity excess is being skewered in a pointed new book about the alleged bad behavior of some of Tinseltown's bigger names.
Hollywood Interrupted is the work of writers *Mark Ebner* and *Andrew Breitbart.* While writing the book, the authors parted ways with their literary agent, *David Vigliano,* over a less-than-glowing chapter they penned on another of his clients, *Courtney Love.*
Some examples: *Barbra Streisand*'s ex, *Elliott Gould,* is criticized as an absent parent.
*Cher* gets praised as "a wonderful mother."
*Suzanne Hansen,* a nanny who worked for power agent *Michael Ovitz,* claims Ovitz and his wife, *Judy,* spent so little time together that they communicated via notes sent through the office mail of Ovitz's Creative Artists Agency, where Judy also worked.
The authors recommend mandatory sterilizations for aspiring celebrities. (Daily News, Rush & Molloy, February 5, 2004)
"The perfect Oscar-Night side dish...Andrew Breitbart and Mark Ebner's Hollywood, Interrupted is a terrific book, both snappy and snappish.... The next best thing to a Los Angeles friend with a nose for juicy gossip. (The Wall Street Journal
"A Hollywood horror-fest. Celebrities are skewered like shish kabobs in Andrew Breitbart and Mark Ebner's... Hollywood, Interrupted." (Page Six, New York Post)
"Entertainment journalism has become a stampede of a-list a**-kissing. The authors of this bracingly impudent expose, however, have declined to pucker up." (Penthouse, February 2004)
"In this juicy Hollywood exposé, a pair of investigative journalists talks to the hired help, including former butlers and nannies, to peer inside the bad behavior of stars like John Travolta, Liz Hurley and Winona Ryder. Shockingly delicious!" (Star magazine, March 1, 2004)
The entertainment industry ...takes a beating in [this] scathing collection of revelations about ... scores of luminous entertainment media personalities. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
"This is a fun book!" (Jon Stewart, The Daily Show)
Review
“Literary assassinations don’t come any more vitriolic than Hollywood Interrupted…fascinating stories and explosive revelations…” (Daily Record, 24 April 2004)
“… capitalises on our base interest in the more scandalous antics of the showbusiness elite…” (Birmingham Post, 17 April 2004)
“…makes for a riveting read.” (Hotdog, May 2004)
“…lifts the lid on some of Tinseltown’s weirdest and most notorious celebrities…” (Western Daily Press, 3 April 2004)
"...the industry has never been without a scandal, as this jaw-dropping book reveals..." (Hot Stars, 3 April 2004)
"has appeal and certainly it has shock value" (The New York Post, Liz Smith, March 15th, 2004)
"terrific book, both snappy and snappish...." (The Wall Street Journal)
"The next best thing to a Los Angeles friend with a nose for juicy gossip." (The Wall Street Journal)
"A Hollywood horror-fest. Celebrities are skewered like shish kabobs in Andrew Breitbart and Mark Ebner's.... Hollywood, Interrupted "Entertainment journalism...[is] a stampede of A-list a**-kissing...this bracingly impudent expose...declined to pucker up."(Penthouse, February 2004)
"Shockingly delicious!" (Star magazine)
The entertainment industry ...takes a beating in [this] scathing collection of revelations about ... scores of luminous entertainment med ia personalities. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
"This is a fun book!" (Jon Stewart, The Daily Show)
"...a wildly... entertaining jeremiad against the entertainment industry...against the perverts, flakes, egomaniacs, junkies, bullies and criminals..." (Rick McGinnis/Metro Toronto)
The Wall Street Journal
"terrific book, both snappy and snappish...."
Review
“Fearless. Vicious. Hilarious. Andrew Breitbart and Mark Ebner prove conclusively that radical family values + infinite financial resources + cultural idol worship = moral chaos.
Celebrity is the modern American version of aristocracy. Hollywood, Interrupted shows that our celebrities are every bit as mad, corrupt, and unaccountable as their Medieval European counterparts (albeit with better teeth). And like the old aristocracy, they really are one big, incestuous family.
What you don’t understand—what you could not possibly understand—is that not only are these people nuts: They’re nuts who all know each other. Hollywood is the most dysfunctional family in the history of the world and Hollywood, Interrupted reads like a transcript of their therapy session. It’s cheeky, sophisticated, and authoritative.”
—Jonathan Last, Weekly Standard
“Hollywood hypocrites are going to simmer with fury at the painful barbs, backed up by plenty of facts, that these two sleuthing authors toss at some of the i ndustry’s most beloved stars and wags. If you love Larry King and Oprah, you’d better get ready to defend their honor, because this book deftly melts the shine off their armor.”
—Jill Stewart, “Capitol Punishment” syndicated columnist, radio and television political commentator
“‘The rich are not like you and me,’ F. Scott Fitzgerald said. Hollywood, Interrupted demonstrates that the rich and famous are not like anybody—at least anybody you’d want to be, or even shake hands with. In the deliriously scandalous tradition of Hollywood Babylon, Breitbart and Ebner’s juicy dispatch from the spiritual capital of the Porn Belt reveals Tinseltown to be a glorified cathouse populated by collagened sociopaths. These also happen to be the people who drive American popular culture. Be afraid, be very afraid.”
Rod Dreher, Dallas Morning News
“In Hollywood, Interrupted Breitbart and Ebner dig deeply into the very heart of our greatest export—pop culture—as produced by Hollywood, the movie industry and the people who affect and infect America. You cannot take a more fascinating or terrifying trip. There are tales of the fabulously famous here you would never know if not for their work. Hollywood, Interrupted is a book you have to put down frequently in order to catch your breath. Absolutely riveting.”
Lucianne Goldberg, Publisher, Lucianne.com
News Forum and Talk Radio Network host
“This book blew me away. It’s more than I wanted to know, but I couldn’t stop reading it.”
—Orson Bean, actor
“Reading Hollywood, Interrupted is like sitting on a stakeout and having a telescopic view into the darkest reaches of the corruption and perversity of today’s celebrity culture.
From the very first page to the last, Breitbart and Ebner’s probing reporting spells out in graphic detail how Hollywood lives by a set of norms the rest of America finds appropriately appalling—and endlessly fascinating. The authors have the unusual courage to take on Scientology. They provide revelations about Michael Jackson’s sickness that go beyond even today’s headlines. They rip the phony veneer off the political correctness of Rosie O’Donnell and Barbra Streisand.
They give readers a behind-the-scenes understanding of how snooping private eyes and ruthless information brokers feed scoops to the tabloids. And, in one riveting chapter, they document how a young woman in the AOL backroom unmasked the bizarre fetishes of some of Tinseltown’s top names. Hollywood, Interrupted is no ‘E’ channel fluff.
It’s disturbing stuff. But it’s all too real and it’s utterly riveting.”
—Richard Gooding, investigative reporter
Hot Stars, 3 April 2004
"...the industry has never been without a scandal, as this jaw-dropping book reveals..."
The New York Post, Liz Smith, March 15th, 2004
"has appeal and certainly it has shock value"
The Wall Street Journal
"terrific book, both snappy and snappish...."
The Wall Street Journal
"The next best thing to a Los Angeles friend with a nose for juicy gossip."
Star magazine
"Shockingly delicious!"
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The entertainment industry ...takes a beating in [this] scathing collection of revelations about ... scores of luminous entertainment med ia personalities.
Book Description
Hollywood, Interrupted is a sometimes frightening, occasionally sad, and frequently hysterical odyssey into the darkest realms of showbiz pathology, the endless stream of meltdowns and flameouts, and the inexplicable behavior on the part of show business personalities.
Charting celebrities from rehab to retox, to jails, cults, institutions, near-death experiences and the Democratic Party, Hollywood, Interrupted takes readers on a surreal field trip into the amoral belly of the entertainment industry. Each chapter — covering topics including warped Hollywood child-rearing, bad medicine, hypocritical political maneuvering and the complicit media — delivers a meticulously researched, interview-infused, attitude heavy dispatch which analyzes and deconstructs the myths created by the celebrities themselves.
Celebrities somehow believe that it's their god-given right to inflict their pathology on the rest of us. Hollywood, Interrupted illustrates how these dysfunctional dilettantes are mad as hell... And we're not going to take it any more.
Download Description
These are some of the reasons why Hollywood's misbehaving stars do what they do, but over the past few years, their stories have become so outrageous that it's hard to tell what they're actually thinking-if they're thinking at all! In this entertainment industry exposé, Andrew Breitbart and Mark Ebner pull back the curtain to reveal the twisted culture of Hollywood and the preposterous penchants of today's high-profile celebrities. From John T, Tom Cruise, and Ann Heche to Eddie Murphy, Oliver Stone, and Courtney Love, Hollywood, Interrupted presents the mind-altered behavior of the most reality-challenged celebrities from all walks of life and every genre. Hollywood, Interrupted explores how the pathological behavior of celebrities has destroyed comedy, snuffed relationships, and demeaned family values. Each chapter delivers a meticulously researched, interview-infused, attitude-heavy dispatch-which analyzes and deconstructs the myths created by celebrities and their way-too-protective handlers. You'll enter a world where: Celebrities and Hollywood power players engage in "cyber," "off-line" sex and subterfuge with a young America Online customer service agent "Young Hollywood" swing clubs and "porno-tainment" become mainstream diversions Statutory rapist Roman Polanski can win a Best Director Oscar, but can't collect it because of the criminal conviction against him in the United States Some of the most famous stars send their children to an elite high school with a curriculum that includes extracurricular cross-dressing and a mandatory pseudo-therapeutic program called "Mysteries" Celebrity nannies get so stressed they've formed a Beverly Hills support group Mathew Perry, Robert Downwy Jr., and Ben Affleck, among others, vacation atarm's "five star" rehab resort centers Hollywood Madame Heidi Fleiss can emerge from prison a born-again celebrity, ready to cash in
From the Inside Flap
These are some of the reasons why Hollywood's misbehaving stars do what they do, but over the past few years, their stories have become so outrageous that it's hard to tell what they're actually thinking—if they're thinking at all!
In this entertainment industry exposé, Andrew Breitbart and Mark Ebner pull back the curtain to reveal the twisted culture of Hollywood and the preposterous penchants of today's high-profile celebrities. From John Travolta, Tom Cruise, and Ann Heche to Eddie Murphy, Oliver Stone, and Courtney Love, Hollywood, Interrupted presents the mind-altered behavior of the most reality-challenged celebrities from all walks of life and every genre.
Hollywood, Interrupted explores how the pathological behavior of celebrities has destroyed comedy, snuffed relationships, and demeaned family values. Each chapter delivers a meticulously researched, interview-infused, attitude-heavy dispatch—which analyzes and deconstructs the myths created by celebrities and their way-too-protective handlers.
You'll enter a world where: Celebrities and Hollywood power players engage in "cyber," "off-line" sex and subterfuge with a young America Online customer service agent "Young Hollywood" swing clubs and "porno-tainment" become mainstream diversions Statutory rapist Roman Polanski can win a Best Director Oscar, but can't collect it because of the criminal conviction against him in the United States Some of the most famous stars send their children to an elite high school with a curriculum that includes extracurricular cross-dressing and a mandatory pseudo-therapeutic program called "Mysteries" Celebrity nannies get so stressed they've formed a Beverly Hills support group Mathew Perry, Robert Downwy Jr., and Ben Affleck, among others, vacation at "five star" rehab resort centers Hollywood Madame Heidi Fleiss can emerge from prison a born-again celebrity, ready to cash in
Frequently hysterical and occasionally frightening, Hollywood, Interrupted digs deep to uncover how in Hollywood cults rule, Dr. Feelgood stands ready to fill your prescription, celebrity kids shoot speedballs, and your neighbor runs a brothel.
Both entertaining and engaging, Hollywood, Interrupted reveals the real Hollywood and mocks the movie mavens, sitcom screwballs, and musical misfits who view being on medication, under house arrest, in rehab, or on deathwatch as just part of the job.
From the Back Cover
"Rosemary's baby has grown up and is running Hollywood. One of America's greatest industries has become one of the most destructive. Entertainment titans like Walt Disney, Morrie Ryskind, and Frank Capra have been replaced by people whose idea of a good Christmas movie involves Santa having sex in the back seat of a car with a barmaid shouting '*** me Santa *** me!' People you wouldn't allow to meet your children are spending hours alone with your children. ravoltaHollywood, Interrupted describes the misogynist, pill-popping degenerates who now define American culture." —Ann Coulter, bestselling author "This is a great book to read and a dangerous book to write. Breitbart and Ebner can hide in my basement when the Powers that Be in Hollywood put out a contract on them." —Jonah Goldberg, National Review "Half Hollywood Babylon III, half Book of Virtues Breitbart and Ebner's juicy polemic does for Hollywood celebrities what Liar's Poker did for Wall Street Investment bankers. This basic critique rings true to me , and I live here (well, nearby, anyway). Their book will . . . rip the lid off the decadent culture of the showbiz rich. . . but who would have suspected that Barbara Streisand was actually a good mother?" —Mickey Kaus, Slate magazine columnist "Hollywood is worse than you ever imagined, and Hollywood, Interrupted pulls no punches. It would be depressing, if it weren't so hilarious." —Prof. Glenn Reynolds, InstaPundit.com, Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law, University of Tennessee "Hollywood, Interrupted is a raucous, though often sobering, reflection on today's celebrity industry, which can often seduce and repulse in equal measure. Breitbart and Ebner's book is a comprehensive, funny, and sharp examination of the people and institutions angling to shape the country's politics, culture, and morality. And few of these tinseltown pillars are spared the searing scrutiny, from Kabbalah devotees to the 'heterosexual Tom Cruise." The book reverberates with salesmen of every stripe: hustlers peddling sex, drugs, information, ideology, dreams, hokum, and even nonstick frying pans. And since Hollywood is controlled by some very warped and unprincipled souls, the buyer ought to beware." —William Bastone, Editor and co-founder, TheSmokingGun.com
About the Author
Andrew Breitbart has played the low-key online sidekick to Matt Drudge on the infamous Drudge Report for five years. From his newsroom-cum-home office in LA, Breitbart has shared site chores of keeping up with the demanding 24/7 news-cycle for an audience that now reaches well into the millions. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, National Review Online, and New York Post, among others. Breitbart also co-produced a documentary set to air on the History Channel in 2004. He has worked as a researcher and webmaster for Arianna Huffington and MAD TV, among others, and delivered pizzas to the stars in Brentwood. Breitbart lives in Los Angeles with his wife Susie and their two children.
Mark Ebner is an award-winning investigative journalist who has covered all aspects of celebrity culture for Spy, Rolling Stone, Details, Los Angeles magazine, Premiere, Salon, Spin, and New Times among others. He has repeatedly positioned himself in harm's way, conducting over 50 in-depth investigations into such subjects as Scientology, pit bull fighting in South Central Los Angeles, the Ku Klux Klan in Texas, celebrity stalkers, sports groupies, college suicides, and Hepatitus C in Hollywood. Ebner has produced for and/or appeared as a journalist-commentator on NBC, MSNBC, A&E, FX, E!, Entertainment television. He hosted the nationally syndicated radio program, Drastic Radio in 2000 and is Editor at Large for LA Innuendo magazine. Ebner lives in Venice, California, with his two dogs, Roxie and Poorboy.
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