How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood
by William J. Mann
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Description
Despite all the gossip, the larger-than-life personality and influence of this very human woman has never been captured. Biographer Mann uses untapped sources and conversations to show how she ignited the sexual revolution with her on- and off-screen passions, helped kick down the studio system by taking control of her own career, and practically invented the big business of celebrity star-making. And he tells the full truth without losing Taylor's magic, daring, or wit. But it is the show more private Elizabeth that will surprise--a woman of heart and loyalty, who defends underdogs, a savvy professional whose anger at the studio's treatment of her led to a lifelong battle against that very system. Here is Elizabeth Taylor as she was meant to be, leading her epic life on her own terms, playing the game of supreme stardom at which she remains, to this day, unmatched.--From publisher description.Was Elizabeth Taylor the greatest product of the Hollywood star machine or its greatest victim? Mann's smart, engaging, clear-eyed case study . . . locates the real person somewhere between her private life and her public image show lessTags
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Member Reviews
This isn't a classic biography, full of weighty matters, but it's also not an adoring or trashy biography, though a bit gossipy. Starting with the viewpoint that Taylor invented how to be a personality for the world--and did it better than anyone is doing it now, certainly including Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan--it's a biography with a viewpoint and offers some insight into its lead character. For those of us who remember the 60's, its a fun read. And you can understand why she is still enough of a fascinating character to spend some time reading about her.
http://tinyurl.com/474hbab
I actually agree with this author's thesis: that the studio system, the actress's own proclivities, and the public created the star we know as Elizabeth Taylor. I just found it difficult to wade through the gossip to get there.
Normally I would never pick up a book like this because of all its dish, but my book club foisted it on me. (Don't kill me, TS!) I wasn't all that interested in it for the same reason I'm not all that interested in Us Weekly. Actually I loathe Us Weekly, and thankfully this book is not loathsome. Just somewhat boring.
One of my biggest problems was the repetition. On nearly every page, he pushes the importance of understanding that Taylor grew up in the star-making system, and consequently show more knew no other way to live. First: I don't need to hear this ad nauseum, I got it the first couple times. Second: it's a little hard to believe that we were in awe of a woman who didn't know how to cook her own breakfast. I should appreciate this for what reason? I understand that movie stars = royalty in this country, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with how we treat them.
I also understand that he missed certain large aspects of Taylor's life. He tells us up front that he's going to do this. But when he tells us off-the-cuff that Burton re-married and that Taylor and Burton starred in something together long after their divorce, it just makes our antennae stand on end. If he's going to give us the play-by-play of their marriage, for what reason does he withhold more juicy gossip? I, for one, am not dying to know, but I can imagine others feeling exasperated. show less
I actually agree with this author's thesis: that the studio system, the actress's own proclivities, and the public created the star we know as Elizabeth Taylor. I just found it difficult to wade through the gossip to get there.
Normally I would never pick up a book like this because of all its dish, but my book club foisted it on me. (Don't kill me, TS!) I wasn't all that interested in it for the same reason I'm not all that interested in Us Weekly. Actually I loathe Us Weekly, and thankfully this book is not loathsome. Just somewhat boring.
One of my biggest problems was the repetition. On nearly every page, he pushes the importance of understanding that Taylor grew up in the star-making system, and consequently show more knew no other way to live. First: I don't need to hear this ad nauseum, I got it the first couple times. Second: it's a little hard to believe that we were in awe of a woman who didn't know how to cook her own breakfast. I should appreciate this for what reason? I understand that movie stars = royalty in this country, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with how we treat them.
I also understand that he missed certain large aspects of Taylor's life. He tells us up front that he's going to do this. But when he tells us off-the-cuff that Burton re-married and that Taylor and Burton starred in something together long after their divorce, it just makes our antennae stand on end. If he's going to give us the play-by-play of their marriage, for what reason does he withhold more juicy gossip? I, for one, am not dying to know, but I can imagine others feeling exasperated. show less
Ratings
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Published Reviews
ThingScore 63
Mann may be telling himself that he’s engaged in critically important cultural commentary, but this tonally jumbled book doesn’t ultimately play that way. It plays like a rapt fan’s scrupulous reconstruction of a life so tumultuous and packed with glamour that it doesn’t need a moral. The melodrama suffices.
added by Shortride
Elizabeth Taylor books abound, and while Mann's eminently yummy entry is pretty much everything you'd want in a Hollywood biography, it's not a whole lot more, either. What does make "How to Be a Movie Star" distinctive is its focus on the changing nature of personal fame as embodied by a woman whose life has consisted of one superlative after another.
added by Shortride
Author Information
22+ Works 2,938 Members
William J. Mann is an American novelist, biographer, and Hollywood historian best known for his studies of Hollywood and the American film industry, especially his 2006 biography of Katharine Hepburn, Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn. Kate was named one of the 100 Notable Books of 2006 by the New York Times. Mann was born in Connecticut and show more received his Master's degree at Wesleyan University. His first novel, The Men From the Boys, was published by Dutton in 1997. His other biographies include How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood, and 2014's New York Times bestseller: Hello Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- How to Be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood
- Original publication date
- 2006
- People/Characters
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Important places
- California, USA; Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles, California, USA; Rome, Italy
- Epigraph
- "I don't pretend to be an ordinary housewife."
Elizabeth Taylor - Dedication
- For Timothy Huber
- Original language
- English
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 791.4302 — Arts & recreation Recreation, sports, and performing arts Movies, TV, Video Motion pictures, radio, television, podcasting Motion pictures Standard subdivisions
- LCC
- PN2287 .T18 .M36 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General) Drama Dramatic representation. The theater Special regions or countries
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 166
- Popularity
- 196,596
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.62)
- Languages
- English, Finnish
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 12
- ASINs
- 4
