This Is Not Fame

An unfiltered, unapologetic, hilarious, and sometimes obscene assemblage of tales from the down-and-dirty traveling comedy circuit Doug Stanhope has been drunkenly stumbling down the back roads and dark alleys of stand-up comedy for over a quarter of a century, roads laden with dank bars, prostitutes, cheap drugs, farm animals, evil dwarfs, public nudity, menacing third-world police, psychotic breaks, sex offenders, and some understandable suicides. You know, just for levity. While other comedians were seeking fame, Stanhope was seeking immediate gratification, dark spectacle, or sometimes just his pants. Not to say he hasn't rubbed elbows with fame. He's crashed its party, snorted its coke, and jumped into its pool naked, literally and often repeatedly -- all while artfully dodging fame himself. Doug spares no legally permissible detail, and his stories couldn't be told any other way. They're weird, uncomfortable, gross, disturbing, and fucking funny. This Is Not Fame is by no means a story of overcoming a life of excess, immorality, and reckless buffoonery. It's an outright celebration of it. For Stanhope, the party goes on.

An unfiltered, unapologetic, hilarious, and sometimes obscene assemblage of tales from the down-and-dirty traveling comedy circuit, with a foreword by Drew Pinsky, MD Doug Stanhope has been drunkenly stumbling down the back roads and dark alleys of stand-up comedy for over a quarter of a century, roads laden with dank bars, prostitutes, cheap drugs, farm animals, evil dwarfs, public nudity, menacing third-world police, psychotic breaks, sex offenders, and some understandable suicides. You know, just for levity. While other comedians were seeking fame, Stanhope was seeking immediate gratification, dark spectacle, or sometimes just his pants. Not to say he hasn't rubbed elbows with fame. He's crashed its party, snorted its coke, and jumped into its pool naked, literally and often repeatedly--all while artfully dodging fame himself. In This Is Not Fame, Doug spares no legally permissible detail, and his stories couldn't be told any other way. They're weird, uncomfortable, gross, disturbing, and fucking funny. By no means a story of overcoming a life of excess, immorality, and reckless buffoonery, this is an outright celebration of it. For Stanhope, the party goes on.

"Wholly riveting." --New York Times Book Review "Justine Bateman was famous before selfies replaced autographs, and bags of fan mail gave way to Twitter shitstorms. And here's the good news: she took notes along the way. Justine steps through the looking glass of her own celebrity, shatters it, and pieces together, beyond the shards and splinters, a reflection of her true self. The transformation is breathtaking. Revelatory and raucous, fascinating and frightening, Fame is a hell of a ride." --Michael J. Fox, actor, author of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future "In a new book, Fame: The Hijacking of Reality, the two-time Emmy nominee takes a raw look at the culture of celebrity, reflecting on her stardom at its dizzying peak--and the 'disconcerting' feeling as it began to fade." --People Magazine A Book Soup (Los Angeles, CA) best seller, October 15–21, 2018 "As the title Fame: The Hijacking of Reality more than implies, this is a book about the complicated aspects of all things fame." --Vanity Fair "Bateman digs into the out-of-control nature of being famous, its psychological aftermath and why we all can't get enough of it." --New York Post "The Family Ties alum has written the rawest, bleakest book on fame you're ever likely to read. Bateman's close-up of the celeb experience features vivid encounters with misogyny, painful meditations on aging in Hollywood, and no shortage of theses on social media's wrath." --Entertainment Weekly "Bateman addresses the reader directly, pouring out her thoughts in a rapid-fire, conversational style. (Hunter S. Thompson is saluted in the acknowledgments.)...But her jittery delivery suits the material--the manic sugar high of celebrity and its inevitable crash. Bateman takes the reader through her entire fame cycle, from TV megastar, whose first movie role was alongside Julia Roberts, to her quieter life today as a filmmaker. She is as relentless with herself as she is with others." --Washington Post "While Bateman's new book Fame: The Hijacking of Reality (out now) touches on the former teen starlet's experience in the public eye, it's not a memoir. Far from it, in fact--it's instead an intense meditation on the nature of fame, and a glimpse into the repercussions it has on both the individual experiencing it and the society that keeps the concept alive." --Entertainment Weekly "Bateman takes an unsentimental look at the nature of celebrity worship in her first book, Fame: The Hijacking of Reality." --LA Weekly Entertainment shows, magazines, websites, and other channels continuously report the latest sightings, heartbreaks, and triumphs of the famous to a seemingly insatiable public. Millions of people go to enormous lengths to achieve Fame. Fame is woven into our lives in ways that may have been unimaginable in years past. And yet, is Fame even real? Contrary to tangible realities, Fame is one of those "realities" that we, as a society, have made. Why is that and what is it about Fame that drives us to spend so much time, money, and focus to create the framework that maintains its health? Mining decades of experience, writer, director, producer, and actress Justine Bateman writes a visceral, intimate look at the experience of Fame. Combining the internal reality-shift of the famous, theories on the public's behavior at each stage of a famous person's career, and the experiences of other famous performers, Bateman takes the reader inside and outside the emotions of Fame. The book includes twenty-four color photographs to highlight her analysis.

A debut collection of hilarious essays and endearing missteps on the road to becoming fame-ish—now in paperback! It’s not easy being kind of famous. Fortune. Younger men. Exclusive invites. Being mistaken for different actresses who are slightly prettier and more famous than you. It’s all part of the gig, and Mary Lynn Rajskub is a pro. Hilarious and self-deprecating, FAME-ISH is Mary Lynn Rajskub’s debut collection of riotously funny essays. Smart, satirical, and relatable, this book gives new meaning to the word icon as Mary Lynn navigates the entertainment world against the backdrop of her own quirky idiosyncrasies. She describes what it’s like to make out with Tom Cruise, be a waitress at Denny’s, and find your life’s purpose in 300 indecipherable, not-easy-steps—all in a day’s work. Mary Lynn is honest about her experiences with bisexuality, her college years as a slug, and the bright lights of stardom, ultimately giving the people what they want: an endearing, hilarious look at what it’s like to almost make a name for yourself in Hollywood.

Lindsay, a former child star who suffered a nervous breakdown after developing the ability to hear what anyone says about her, comes to see this as an asset when, after her father's death, she learns that she is not alone.

It seems that just about everyone wants to be famous these days. Even if an individual has no talent there are countless television programs that will satisfy the apparent need to have their five minutes of fame. There are many others who do have talent and go on to have ten, twenty and even a few hours worth of fame. And of course there are the very few who have what it takes to make fame and celebrity last a lifetime and beyond. But what preparation do people have for what is going to happen to their life when fame comes knocking? My experience is that they have none. This book is not meant to be a serious attempt to prepare or instruct anyone on how to handle fame. Instead, it looks at how some people cope with it better than others. After all fame is not an exact science. The point is that some people handle being a celebrity with ease and others crumble at the first sign of it. There are myriads of magazines and publications highlighting the lives of individual celebrities. The general public cannot get enough gossip about their favourite idols. But there are few books published about fame itself and the effects it can have on the unprepared wannabe. Dealing With Fame covers life before, during and after fame as well as looking at specific challenges and how they can be handled to avoid the downward spiral that leads many celebrities to drink, drugs and depression.

What if by chance you met a famous person? And he wanted you...I showed up to the movie set bright and early Monday for a one-day sub position on a blockbuster sequel. It was crucial to prove myself as a makeup artist to break into the Hollywood scene.While waiting on the obnoxious actor assigned to me to finish a phone call, it suddenly happened. I saw him standing in the doorway-Evan Hutchinson. Never mind I'd already fallen into his lap when someone knocked into me earlier. We'd gotten past that little embarrassment. But why did the movie's famous British heartthrob request me for touch-ups? Either way, I did them, of course. Who wouldn't jump at the chance to touch his face-but with a makeup brush? What I didn't expect was for him to talk to me-to borderline flirt with me.Once I was home and talking on the phone with my long-distance boyfriend about nothing important, the call came. Evan Hutchinson requested me to finish the movie as his personal makeup artist. After nearly dropping the phone from shock, I'd accepted.It's now Wednesday night, and the other actors have left. For some reason, Evan asked me to stay. We were alone in his apartment, seated on his couch. Somehow, we ended up discussing what it's like to do a movie kiss with someone you aren't romantically involved with.Before finally leaving for home, I lowered my car window to say good night. Then the craziest thing happened-Evan offered to show me what a kiss is like. And he suggested I let him know if I'd ever like him to practice with me.Now I don't know what to do because I can't stop thinking about Evan Hutchinson kissing me...*** This is a contemporary romance/new adult stand-alone novel. No cliffhanger. It contains moderate steam and sensitive subject matter. Recommended for 18+.