This look at working on movie sets features plenty of worthy tips gleaned from the author’s personal experiences, making it...
A Hollywood veteran dispenses advice on how to find a job in the film industry.
Onken (Other Worlds, 2017), who worked on the crews of such movies as Planet of the Apes and Men in Black II, has created a manual filled with tips on how to enter his field. The book outlines “how to find work in the movie business” and “how to stay working.” The author’s tone throughout is one of positivity. He reassures hopefuls that “there are tons of people employed in the film business that showed up out of nowhere and flourished having started their careers with no strategy at all.” Onken explains that although the “business is not fair,” in his experience it’s the people who have “more determination than others” that make it in the movie industry (“It’s about mental and physical endurance. It’s about living in an extended family and playing well with others”). Among his memorable suggestions are to remember to network even if you’re shy, show up early and always solicit recommendations, and “pile up as much cash as you can” while busy in case the jobs suddenly dry up. But Onken feels that even those who go into the business “initially having no connections and not much of a plan” will find success as long as they’ve resolved to “live the dream while making friends and working hard.” Peppered in with the author’s useful advice are his colorful and entertaining personal stories, from meeting Arnold Schwarzenegger during a Gold’s Gym commercial to filming with Madonna on a “beautiful yacht” and serving as the lighting director of an Oscar nomination party at a Wolfgang Puck restaurant. During his many Hollywood adventures, Onken recalls remaining a cheerful presence on the set—once, after finally eating breakfast at 5 in the afternoon, he told a fellow crew member he was just “happy to be here with wonderful people like you.” The author turns out to be an endearing and encouraging narrator who seeks to help readers find their paths in the filmmaking world.
This look at working on movie sets features plenty of worthy tips gleaned from the author’s personal experiences, making it a valuable read for anyone hoping to thrive in Hollywood.Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-973319-40-5
Page Count: 154
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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