Saturday, April 24, 2010

Admit One: My life in film

Summary: Set in Croydon, South London, in the 1980s, Admit One details how self-deprecating writer Emmett James escaped from the pains of adolescence by going to the cinema. Through wry wit and observation, the writer reflects, obsesses, and rages about film and its correlation to our pasts. Life soon imitates art, and the narrator finds that his true calling is in transcendence from one side of the screen to the other. He decides to leave England for the only place where he can realize his dream of becoming an actor--Hollywood.
We follow the narrator on his numerous adventures: as he jumps from forgery to pornography to crashing the Academy Awards under the alias of a nominated writer. All the while, the films that inspired each tale contextualize this humorous collection of stories. The narrator ultimately provides a unique insight into the fascinating industry of film, eventually himself stumbling into the biggest box-office grossing film of all time. -Amazon.com synopsis

It's been a few weeks since I've actually finished this book, so bear with me. I had a review written up, but it just so happens that for some reason it didn't save. I wrote it on my phone. Turns out the phone wasn't as smart as it claims to be. Anyway, I digress.

I found this book to be very interesting. Mr. James used different movies at the beginning of each chapter, and then he'd go on and say how his life related to that movie. I haven't seen all of the movies that he listed, but it didn't really matter. I enjoyed the fact that we shared something in common. We both have degrees in advertising and have no intentions of working in the field. :) We both have also dabbled in photo manipulation, although I can't say that I've had anything published. I found the chapter on his life as an actor in Titanic very fun. I can only imagine what it was like to hope that you weren't being called in each day so that you could continue to enjoy the atmosphere. I really wish I could say that I remember him in the movie, but unfortunately I don't. (Unlike all of my friends, I wasn't in love with the movie, and seeing it once was enough. This is obviously no reflection on Mr. James!) I never realized how much attention to detail went into the making of the movie. It's quite amazing to think that all of that detail went into the scenery to make it authentic!

I really did enjoy reading this book, and recommend it to movie buffs everywhere!

A special thanks to Lisa Roe, the Online Publicist, for allowing me to review this book!
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