Hollywood, Interrupted
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''Hollywood, Interrupted: Insanity Chic in Babylon - The Case Against Celebrity'' is a book and
website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and W ...
authored by
Andrew Breitbart Andrew James Breitbart (; February 1, 1969 – March 1, 2012) was an American conservative journalist, and political commentator who was the founder of ''Breitbart News'' and a co-founder of '' HuffPost''. After helping in the early stages of ' ...
, with co-author
Mark Ebner Mark Charles Ebner (born September 6, 1959) is an American journalist and a ''New York Times'' bestselling author who has covered celebrity and crime culture for ''Spy'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''Maxim'', ''Details'', ''Los Angeles Magazine'', ...
. The book was published in 2004 by
John Wiley & Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, i ...
. The writing focuses primarily on what Breitbart and Ebner sees as the disconnected, self-indulgent nature of Hollywood culture. The book was on the New York Times Best Seller list, and was also a ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
''
bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, co ...
. The title references the 1999 film ''
Girl, Interrupted ''Girl, Interrupted'' is a best-selling 1993 memoir by American author Susanna Kaysen, relating her experiences as a young woman in an American psychiatric hospital in the 1960s after being diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. Th ...
''.


Contents

''Hollywood, Interrupted'' takes a look at the culture of celebrity, discussing the mannerisms of celebrities such as
Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...
, Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr.,
Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...
and Angelina Jolie. The work discusses some of the more scandalous of these and other celebrities, as well as their effects on society. Ebner writes about a woman who was employed by AOL, used their database to acquire private information about Hollywood celebrities, and then utilized this illicit information to later create a career for herself in the entertainment industry. Trey Parker, one of the creators of '' South Park'', is interviewed in the work, and was quoted commenting on the vices of individuals in the entertainment industry, such as
prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
and drug addiction. Part of the book is devoted to Crossroads School, a private high school in
Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
whose students largely come from families involved in the entertainment industry, and various scandals associated with the teenagers who attend that school. The book also includes an analysis of the
Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious ...
and its effects on the culture in Hollywood, and has a chapter on
Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...
and
John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes '' Carrie'' ( ...
's relationship to Scientology.


Reception

''Hollywood Interrupted'' is a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'' bestseller. The book received a positive review in Britain's ''Telegraph'', in an article entitled: "How we fell in love with 'insanity chic'". '' CNET News'' characterized the work as "... a humorous nonfiction account on runaway depravity in the entertainment industry." An article in the ''Irish Independent'' was less positive. The article stated that though the book was witty and showed that the authors understood the material they were writing about, there was also a sense that they left out evidence in certain parts. A review in ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' stated that the work was: "... a terrific book, both snappy and snappish", however the reviewer went on to note that the work went into exhaustive detail to get across the point that: "People in Hollywood are nuts."


References


External links

;Official sites
www.hollywoodinterrupted.com


at
John Wiley & Sons John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American multinational publishing company founded in 1807 that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company produces books, journals, and encyclopedias, i ...
, publishing ;Media
Interview
with
Andrew Breitbart Andrew James Breitbart (; February 1, 1969 – March 1, 2012) was an American conservative journalist, and political commentator who was the founder of ''Breitbart News'' and a co-founder of '' HuffPost''. After helping in the early stages of ' ...
about the book, '' National Review'', January 14, 2005. {{Authority control 2004 non-fiction books Books critical of Scientology Popular culture books Collaborative non-fiction books