Those Dull, Overrated Hollywood Memoirs

Much of my publishing life was consumed by the memoirs of movie starsâ??or by attempts to get them to write a memoir. These days I wonder why. With rare exceptions, it was usually not a happy or rewarding experience. Being a movie star is a demanding and well-paid job, of course, but it does not necessarily mean that the person himself (or herself) is particularly interesting, or has any deep insight or gift for self-analysis. Book publishers are always asking, â??Will he [or she] tell the truth?â? as if that were a simple question, but when it comes to people who have spent their whole working lives creating images of themselves that can be sold to the public, often one which their private lives would contradict, the idea that they will suddenly put â??the truthâ? about their lives, whatever it may be, onto paper, is unlikely.