Film critic Leonard Maltin has written several books about his love of cinema. His latest book is an autobiography about his life as a movie maven who worked for Entertainment Tonight for many years. He tells of his upbringing in New Jersey and eventually moving to California to dedicate himself to covering the world of film. Besides Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, Maltin has been the best known movie critic for decades. I enjoyed his stories about teaching film classes at USC, the nation's premiere film school. Being in Los Angeles, he could screen films in class and get the stars or directors to show up to talk to students about their work. I think it would have been fascinating to attend his classes. Jerry Lewis also taught film at USC and two of his students were Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. In the book, Maltin mentioned the incredible experience of interviewing Lucas at Skywalker Ranch. Maltin talks about his adventures in podcasting, working for Turner Classic Movies, and attending film festivals around the world. My main issue with the book is that there was too much focus on classic films and their stars. Maltin talked a lot about films of the 1940s and before. I would have appreciated more discussion of contemporary films and stars. The book wrapped up with a chapter where Maltin revealed his health challenges since being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease a few years ago. Overall I enjoyed this tale of a man's dedication to what he loves...the world of Hollywood, film and celebrities.
No comments:
Post a Comment