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    Who Stole the Funny?: A Novel of Hollywood
    Unavailable
    Who Stole the Funny?: A Novel of Hollywood
    Unavailable
    Who Stole the Funny?: A Novel of Hollywood
    Ebook476 pages13 hours

    Who Stole the Funny?: A Novel of Hollywood

    By Robby Benson

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    A Hollywood insider draws from his four decades of experience to create a scathingly brilliant and caustically comedic bird's-eye view behind the scenes of comedy television.

    A wickedly delicious roman-a-clef about the making of a sitcom called My Urban Buddies, this satirical romp of a novel portrays life on the other side of the television lens, hilariously sending up self-serious Hollywood stereotypes across the board.

    Programmed-for-success director J. T. Baker has to bring an up-and-coming sitcom to fruition after its initial director shoots himself in the head with a nail gun. Comically annotated with helpful and enlightening Hollywood glossary terms ("Creative-type director: One who has no hope of working in this town again"; "Eccentric: Affecting a style of dress, coiffure, speech, mannerisms, etc., carefully calculated to give the impression of creative credibility"), Benson creates an exaggerated world of crazy writers; backstabbing executives, agents, and producers; foul-mouthed everyone-elses; and hardcore cynics—and the ridiculous inner monologues behind them.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061756092
    Unavailable
    Who Stole the Funny?: A Novel of Hollywood

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    Reviews for Who Stole the Funny?

    4/5

    15 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This is an exaggerated tale of what the behind the scenes people go through to get america's favorite television show on air. The only thing I think is exaggerated is that all these things happened on one set. I'm sure at least one of the things that he describes happens on every show. When I first started reading this, I didn't think I was going to like it. He started out explaining everything, but once it got into the story I really enjoyed it. I would recommend this book to anyone who is in production or would like a glimpse at how a television show comes together.
    • 4/5
      Yes, THAT Robby Benson, the one that was a child sitcom star and, turns out, went on to directing and producing sitcoms, including Ellen and Friends. According to the blurbs, Benson has taken that experience and turned it into a satiric look at Hollywood in general and the process of creating sitcoms in particular.Ostensibly, the story is about 7 days in the life of J.T. Baker, a principaled director trying desperately to produce an episode of a wildly popular sitcom (suspiciously similar to Frends) in spite of the malicious interference of a cast of zany characters, to include sex- and ratings-crazed network executives, corrupt network lawyers, greedy agents, incompetent producers, over-indulged actors, and a host of other wacky characters. Oh, and everyone pretty much speaks Yiddish. Have I omitted any entertainment stereotypes? I assure you, Benson hasn't!In other words, don't mistake this for some sort of "insiders" perspective into the world of Hollywood. While Benson does inject some realism in the form of process insight and industry lingo (indeed, there's a running gag in which Benson provides sarcastic footnoted definitions for the more obscure terms), this is pure, broad farce. The characters are one-dimensional stereotypes, the plot is preposterous, and there's nothing subtle about the gags (goofy nailgun accidents, a bar mitzvah featuring a hip hop superstar rapping the Torah - you get the idea). All that's missing is a laugh track, but not to worry - you'll almost certainly supply that yourself.In summary, there's nothing here that hasn't been done before ... over and over and over again. Still, this is readable, engaging, and undeniably funny, so you (probably) won't begrudge the time you spend reading it. My advice: save it for those times when you're in the mood for light entertainment or really need a laugh, however cheap.
    • 4/5
      I saw the author in the teen romance movie "Jeremy" in 1973, and he's since branched out into writing, composing and directing. He really knows Hollywood and skewers it in this novel. After a sitcom director's accidental death by nail gun, outsider J.T. Baker is brought in to run the show. If real producers, writers, and stars are as crazy, evil and just plain dumb as these characters... yikes! Fun to read. It's probably no coincidence that J.T.'s son is named Jeremy.