Product Description: For decades, there s been speculation that somebody, somewhere, would produce an updated version of Hollywood Babylon, perhaps even more notorious than the first two volumes compiled a half-century ago by avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger. For pop culture fanatics, his books became an underground legend.
Anger s original version had to be published in Paris, as it was too hot for America at the time. But beliefs about celebrities, sexuality, and morality have changed radically since then. New waves of narcissists, exhibitionists, and looney toons have invaded the entertainment industry. The gossip industry has transformed America into a nation of voyeurs. By today s standards, Anger s spin on Babylon looks downright demure.
With a respectful nod to those long-ago statements by Kenneth Anger, Blood Moon is proud to release another Hollywood Babylon, in this case more shocking and more scandalous than before. Within this first volume, we visit Babylon as well as Sodom and Gomorrah. And we don t deal just with Hollywood s Golden Age we zero in on some present-day brouhahas as well.
Buyer beware: The scandals exposed within this book are not for the faint-of-heart. You might not think of the old pinups in quite the same way after reading this edition. Those offended by male movie stars dropping trou for offscreen cameras should stick to Alice in Wonderland.
It s true: We re not shy about male nudity, or even female nudity. Today, nudity in films is commonplace.
In the past, the porno films made by major movie stars (including Joan Crawford and Sylvester Stallone) were enveloped in a sense of secrecy and, perhaps, shame. Today, what would previously have been defined as pornography regularly makes its way onto the screen.
Within this book, Blood Moon daringly applies the gossipy reportage of today to the tabloid scandals of yesterday think Confidential Magazine on amphetimines with access to the Internet. Breast measurements of Hollywood bombshells are being widely publicized. Even the mainstream press has gotten more graphic. Time Magazine has even published the length (in inches) of Hugh Grant s penis.
Scandal is not limited just to events within America. Within this edition of Hollywood Babylon, it goes global. As such, we visit the Vatican boudoir of a former pope and his male lovers. And we document Sir Winston Churchill s onetime sexual liaison with Britain s most handsome actor.
There's more. Revealed for the first time are stories about James Dean, the child molester; Bette Davis, offscreen murderess; Errol Flynn, the incestuous father; Ava Gardner, the part-time lesbian; and Marilyn Monroe s involvements with Jackie Kennedy and Elvis Presley.
We ll even tell you about what happened to Judy Garland s body before it was finally laid to rest.
Hollywood celebrity biographer Darwin Porter and former New York Times reporter Danforth Prince take you on a roller-coaster ride through the scandals of yesterday and today. An early reviewer referred to this book as A movieland massacre, followed by an autopsy with a scalpel whose cutting edge is coated with Lucretia Borgia s poison. It s about The Good, The Bad, and the Fabulous.
To those who love her, Hollywood was and is a gossipy, mendacious (Big Daddy's word), and whorish place that remains captivating despite the passage of time. In Hollywood Babylon, it s depicted at its sleaziest, most venal, and most deliciously unseemly.
Rock Hudson said it all In Hollywood, you can keep a mistress, or a boyfriend, maybe both. You can go gay, -bi, or pan-sexual. Just don't tell anybody, and don't get caught.
Strictly Amateur Night DON'T FALL FOR THE IDEA THAT THIS IS ANYTHING LIKE THE KENNETH ANGER BOOKS!! There's plenty of juicy gossip, but this is a very poorly put together book. The quality of the photographs is horrible -- it looks like they were copied at low resolution straight off the internet. It has the look and feel of a self-published deal. Even the paper feels cheap. I'm not saying it's not marginally worth having, but it's more the sort of thing you'd buy as a gift, and I don't think it's good enough quality to give as a gift.
Pathetic. Darwin Porter has got to be the Ed Woods of celeb info-tainment. Seriously. He deserves some kind of award for how bad this stuff is. As Kenneth Anger proved long ago, people won't mind too much if your salacious "history" has its facts off-kilter as long as the results are readable, and this isn't. Worst even than Silent Closet, and that is saying something. Avoid.
HOLLYWOOD BABYLON VOLUME #1 VERY DISAPPOINTING. NOT IN THE CLASS OF THE ORIGINAL TWO BOOKS BY KENNETH ANGER. QUALITY OF PHOTOS POOR, WOULD APPEAL TO THE GAY COMMUNITY AS THE FOCUS OF THE STORIES WERE ABOUT MEN'S APPENDAGES. WOULDN'T RECOMMEND IT TO ANYBODY AS IT IS ALMOST PORNO.
If You Can't Stand the Heat, Stay Out of the Hollywood Kitchen That's right. Remember how in THE WIZARD OF OZ Dorothy got to look behind the curtain to see what the wizard was really about? If you love Hollywood, and are truly interested in the real lives (and sexual identities)of the people that were created as living icons for all of us to dream about, you can't go wrong with any of these authors' books, specially this one. The book is enourmously entertaining. Does it speak the truth? I'd like some of the objectors on this page to tell me what "truth" is. We're talking here about the biggest factory of dreams on earth. It's ALL Show-Business. The star personalities & their wonderful films that you get to see are only one side of the coin. The authors have gone further than anyone else on print (honorable mention goes, of course, to Kenneth Anger who paved the way) to show you the other side of the silver screen & it's fascinating. Their research is not one-sided & when they mention tabloids, it is but one more informational piece of the story (after all, tabloids will go where others - specially the more mainstream media -fear to tread).The book IS titillating & i wouldn't have it any other way. All you need is an open mind, some sense of humour, to enjoy it. Do yourself a favor & seek out this publishers' other bios on Brando & Hepburn. Their book on Michael Jackson is un-put-downable. And they have the coolest Gay & Lesbian film guide too. Finally, you can rest assured i am a real customer. I just like to give credit where credit is due. Enjoy the show!
More info that you ever really needed Like the vast numbers of readers today, scandal regarding famous people in different walks of life seems interesting, however, this book contains too much information for one's mind to process. It's slapped together with side articles and photographs that could be better designed by the average scrapbooker. It is pure smut, bottle of the barrel gossip, with quotes of running conversations between various individuals that makes you wonder how they were obtained and if, in fact, they were obtained or just created for shock value. This book is a mockery of the original Hollywood Babylon and my suggestion would be not to waste your hard earned dollars on it. I read it and sold it immediately before my "investment" became a total loss.
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