Starstruck: My Unlikely Road to Hollywood

by Leonard Maltin Narrated by Leonard Maltin

Overview

Hollywood historian and film reviewer Leonard Maltin invites listeners to pull up a chair as he tells stories, many of them hilarious, from fifty-plus years of interacting with legendary movie stars, writers, directors, producers, and cartoonists. Maltin grew up in the first decade of television, immersing himself in TV programs and the 1930s and '40s movies hitting the small screen. His fan letters to admired performers led to unexpected correspondences, then to interviews and the publication of his own fan magazine. Maltin's career as a freelance writer and New York Times bestselling author, as well as his thirty-year run on Entertainment Tonight, gave him access to Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Sean Connery, Shirley Temple, and Jimmy Stewart, among hundreds of other Golden Age stars, his interviews cutting through the Hollywood veneer and revealing the human behind each legend. Starstruck also offers a fascinating glimpse inside the Disney empire, and Maltin's tenure teaching USC's popular film course reveals insights into moviemaking along with access to past, current, and future stars of film, such as George Lucas, Kevin Feige, Quentin Tarantino, and Guillermo del Toro.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"The latest from film critic and historian Maltin (Leonard Maltin’s 151 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen) is an often delightful if uneven collection of work from the past five decades. The bulk of the text consists of interviews with Hollywood performers and filmmakers conducted between 1967 and 2010. The subjects range from celebrated star Joan Blondell to the obscure but prolific Leslie H. Martinson, a film script supervisor turned film and TV director who worked on 'every Warner Bros. show imaginable.' The author is a generous, well-informed interviewer, whose introductory text helps the reader understand why lesser-known figures like Martinson merit attention. In the earliest selections, the still teenaged Maltin takes some time to find his footing as an interviewer, but any initial amateurism on his part is offset by his contagious enthusiasm. The book also includes several essays, most memorably about the use of popular songs in Casablanca, the late-career return of silent stars like Buster Keaton and Lillian Gish in television roles, and early Hollywood remakes. Other essays, though, will be too granular for any but the Maltin completist. Nonetheless, this enjoyable anthology will be a welcome addition to the bookshelves of classic film fans.” —Publishers Weekly

 


"I have read it, as in every word, as in reading nothing else till it was finished, as in being sorry when it was finished, because I could as much have enjoyed 400 more pages of Hooked On Hollywood's delve into sagas of past film all new to me, indeed unknown to anyone before Maltin dug his customary deep to find lost lore regarding movies we all love." —John McElwee, Greenbriar Picture Shows

 


“The go-to choice for both film geeks and casual couch potatoes.” —The New York Times Book Review

 


​“Distinctive, authoritative and personal. Its prose is so spare, rarely betraying biases or eccentricities, but the book lives so long precisely because ever page has Maltin’s unmistakable presence.” —NPR

"Film critic and historian Maltin offers a warmhearted, rambling memoir of his long romance with movies, which began when he was a child. Replete with anecdotes, the good-natured, rarely critical narrative features appreciative recollections of James Stewart, Buster Keaton, Robert Mitchum, Elizabeth Taylor, Jerry Lewis, Roy Rogers, Jackie Cooper, and Shirley Temple, among many more. A genial, entertaining memoir." —Kirkus Reviews

"His memoir is a delightful collection of relatively short and breezy chapters indulging some of his favorite stars (Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Jerry Lewis, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Gloria Stuart, Harlan Ellison) and subjects (such as jazz). This is strictly G-rated and great fun."  —Library Journal

"Leonard Maltin has earned his stellar reputation as a film historian, movie critic, author, and yes, even celebrity. His memoir invites all movie lovers to reminisce right along with him." —David Ferguson, Red Carpet Crash

"I’ve read a lot of books during the pandemic but Leonard Maltin’s memoir was one of my most anticipated books of 2021. ...But anyway, the book certainly lived up to my expectations–so much that I finished the ARC in less than a day. That speaks to how quick of a pace that this book has. Honestly, Maltin shares so many stories that a simple review cannot even do this book justice." —Danielle Solzman, Solzy at the Movies

Library Journal

★ 08/01/2021

Leonard Maltin, the doyen of contemporary film fanatics, would have you believe that his remarkable 60-year career as a movie critic, author, television personality, and university academic is the result of fortuitous timing and chance. Not so. While serendipitous luck and being in the proverbial right place at the right time were certainly helpful, it was Maltin's unfettered energy, enthusiasm, and passion for film, as well as a lot of chutzpah, that compelled him as a teenager in New York City in the 1960s to seek out and interview Buster Keaton, Rube Goldberg, Hans Conried, and Celeste Holm; begin writing for film fanzines at 13; and take over the publication of Film Fan Monthly at 15. His memoir is a delightful collection of relatively short and breezy chapters indulging some of his favorite stars (Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Jerry Lewis, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Gloria Stuart, Harlan Ellison) and subjects (such as jazz). Woven throughout are anecdotal recollections from Maltin's 30-year stint on Entertainment Tonight; his publishing the best-selling Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide; and his more than 20-year tenure teaching film history at the University of Southern California. VERDICT Looking for TMZ trash talk on the stars? Look elsewhere. This is strictly G-rated and great fun.—Barry X. Miller, Austin P.L., TX

FEBRUARY 2022 - AudioFile

This effervescent romp reveals how a geeky New York City teenager with classic show business interests developed into the well-respected critic and raconteur who wrote and narrates this audiobook. As he recounts his early years, it is clear that Maltin’s financially comfortable family helped his access and initial connections. Not surprisingly, his voice now sounds older than it did on the syndicated TV program “Entertainment Tonight,” but it’s powerful and pleasing nonetheless. He still has that special talent that is needed to directly involve listeners. His classic interviews with Hollywood’s Golden Age stars, such as Jimmy Stewart and Barbara Stanwyck, are emphasized. Also covered is the evolution of technologies that led Maltin and other American film enthusiasts from VHS to streaming platforms and podcasting. W.A.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2021-07-28
The self-described “lucky film buff” recounts his career.

Film critic and historian Maltin offers a warmhearted, rambling memoir of his long romance with movies, which began when he was a child. He delivered TV Guide instead of a newspaper, “devoured [my] weekly edition of Variety,” watched TV constantly, went to as many Saturday matinées as he could, and collected 8mm silent films. When he was 15, he began to submit pieces to Film Fan Monthly, soon buying, writing for, and editing the magazine himself. In high school, he started the Motion Picture Club, joined the AV squad, and worked on the stage crew. “Even my doodling was movie related,” he adds. “I would draw classic movie studio logos or try to list all 75 of Bogart’s films.” When he was 17, a teacher put him in touch with a book editor, who assigned him to write a movie reference guide—a task that established his reputation for a career that, even then, seemed inevitable. In 1982, he was hired by Entertainment Tonight, where, for the next 30 years, he interviewed pretty much everyone—except, he regrets, Walt Disney. Not comfortable with asking prying questions, Maltin put celebrities at ease. Katharine Hepburn offered him “soup, sharp memories, and strong opinions, sparing no one, least of all herself.” Anthony Hopkins disclosed why he became an actor: “I just wanted to be rich and famous, that’s all I ever wanted. I had no grounding and I had no cultural background at all.” Replete with anecdotes, the good-natured, rarely critical narrative features appreciative recollections of James Stewart, Buster Keaton, Robert Mitchum, Elizabeth Taylor, Jerry Lewis, Roy Rogers, Jackie Cooper, and Shirley Temple, among many more. Maltin and his wife were on the “permanent guest list” at the Playboy Mansion in the 1990s: “Hef,” the author recalls, “was the most gracious and generous host I ever met.” It seems likely that Maltin was among the most gracious and generous of guests.

A genial, entertaining memoir.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172963858
Publisher:	Dreamscape Media
Publication date:	12/09/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	900,963

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