Hollywood Rat Race
by Ed Wood
List Price:
Our Price: $3.98
You Save: $11.97 (75%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Ed WoodEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1999-01-05
ISBN: 156858119X
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Book Reviews of Hollywood Rat Race
Book Review: "I sit back in wonder and I ponder."
Summary: 1 Stars
Who better to write a guide to Hollywood than Ed Wood Jr., the worst filmmaker in history? Wood's films include the absurd anti-classics, "Plan 9 From Outer Space," "Glen or Glenda?," and "Bride of the Monster" among others. In "Hollywood Rat Race" Wood gives advice on such matters as what to pack for your trip to Hollywood (angora sweater of course), how to get an agent, whether you should have sex to get a part, and how to sleep in the park for free, before finally recommending that you just stay home instead. The book seems to be less about advice, however, than about bolstering Wood's own self-image as an acclaimed writer-director-producer. He name-drops at every available opportunity, exaggerates wildly, and frequently gets sidetracked, rambling on about angora sweaters and people's strange fetishes. It often becomes unclear in his tirades whether he is attacking others or himself. He is outraged by:
drama teachers ("Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach... Let each of them challenge me. I accept! I have made many films, yet I do not teach. I wonder why the schools and colleges hire these never-has-beens.")
actors who criticize Hollywood ("Who are these people who hate Hollywood? Perhaps a bunch of communists?")
sleazy producers ("More than a few of them will be undressed and into your dress or sweater and skirt, almost before you've got them off.")
cross-dressers ("Many of your favorite movie actors go in for this fantastic fetish. Horror of a lawsuit keeps me from naming names.")
bad filmmakers ("The only science (or fiction) about [this science fiction film] was the fact it came into being at all. And this so-called producer is still around Hollywood today taking backers' money for the same crap")
cheap novelists ("It doesn't take an overwhelming talent to write these books")
I would not recommend "Hollywood Rat Race" to anyone who plans to move to Hollywood, or anyone who doesn't plan to move to Hollywood, unless, like me, you're morbidly fascinated by Ed Wood. Wood was anything but modest about his lackluster accomplishments, but he was right about one thing: "Perhaps none of our films, so far, have been up for awards, but they are entertaining pictures." Just not entertaining in the way he meant them to be.
Arts & Photography Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Completely Random Recommended Books (Multi-Genre!)
Petty: Classic Pin-Up Art of George Petty Deluxe Editionby Reid Stewart Austin
Gramercy; Published: 1997-09-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $163.61
The Little Sisterby Raymond Chandler
Vintage; Published: 1988-08-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops:
Hollywood 1900-1950 in Vintage Postcards (CA) (Postcard History Series)by Thomas Dangcil
Arcadia Publishing; Published: 2002-09-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.75
Price in other shops:
We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan by the Japaneseby Elizabeth M. Norman
Atria; Published: 2000-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.34
Price in other shops:
Ginger, Loretta, and Irene who?by George Eells
Putnam; Published: 1976; Unknown Binding; Book
The Mammoth Book of Illustrated True Crime: A Photographic HistoryRobinson Publishing; Published: 2002-09-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.99
Price in other shops:
Somewhere in the Night: Film Noir & the American Cityby Nicholas Christopher
Free Press; Published: 1997-03; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
Hollywood Rat Raceby Ed Wood
Da Capo Press; Published: 1999-01-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
Three Plays: Private Lives, Blithe Spirit, Hay Feverby Noel Coward
Doubleday Books; Published: 1997-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $39.56
The Execution of Officer Becker: The Murder of a Gambler, The Trial of a Cop, and the Birth of Organized Crimeby Stanley Cohen
Da Capo Press; Published: 2006-10-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $1.97
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Ed Wood (Special Edition)Release date: 2004-10-19; DVD
Best price: $8.89
Price in other shops:
![Ed Wood Story: Plan 9 Companion [VHS] Image](/images/Ed-Wood-Story-Plan-9-Companion-VHS-6303443036-X.jpg){kind=small}
Ed Wood Story: Plan 9 Companion [VHS]Mpi Home Video; Release date: 1995-04-11; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $20.00
Plan 9 from Outer Space - In COLOR! Also Includes the Original Black-and-White Version which has been Beautifully Restored and Enhanced!Release date: 2008-07-01; DVD
Best price: $4.94
Price in other shops:
The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood Jr.Release date: 2002-05-14; DVD
Best price: $5.40
Price in other shops:
Killer In Dragby Ed Wood
Da Capo Press; Published: 1999-06-02; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.98
Price in other shops:
Orgy of the DeadRelease date: 2004-05-25; DVD
Best price: $7.51
Price in other shops:
Devil Girlsby Ed Wood
Gorse; Published: 1995-09-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.19
Price in other shops:
The Ed Wood Box (Glen or Glenda / Jail Bait / Bride of the Monster / Plan 9 from Outer Space / Night of the Ghouls / The Haunted World of Ed Wood)Release date: 2004-10-12; DVD
Best price: $18.08
Price in other shops:
Nightmare of Ecstasy: The Life and Art of Edward D. Wood, Jr.by Rudolph Grey
Feral House; Published: 1994-11-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $63.80
Death of a Transvestiteby Ed Wood Jr.
Da Capo Press; Published: 1999-04-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.97
Price in other shops: