Nick de Semlyen's Books

The Last Action Heroes

The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage

By: Nick de Semlyen

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The Last Action Heroes

The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage

By: Nick de Semlyen

The behind-the-scenes story of the action heroes who ruled 1980s and ’90s Hollywood and the beloved films that made them stars, including Die Hard, First Blood, The Terminator, and more. “Entertaining . . . This is a book that makes you ache for the days when the movie screen belonged not to men who dress in superhero capes but to those who lift weights.”—Washington Examiner A NEWSWEEK BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR The Last Action Heroes opens in May 1990 in Cannes, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone waltzing together, cheered on by a crowd of famous faces. After years of bitter combat—Stallone once threw a bowl of flowers at Schwarzenegger’s head, and the body count in Schwarzenegger’s Commando was increased so the film would “have a bigger dick than Rambo”—the world’s biggest action stars have at last made peace. In this wildly entertaining account of the golden age of the action movie, Nick de Semlyen charts Stallone and Schwarzenegger’s carnage-packed journey from enmity to friendship against the backdrop of Reagan’s America and the Cold War. He also reveals fascinating untold stories of the colorful characters who ascended in their wake: high-kickers Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan, glowering tough guys Dolph Lundgren and Steven Seagal, and quipping troublemakers Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Willis. But as time rolled on, the era of the invincible action hero who used muscle, martial arts, or the perfect weapon to save the day began to fade. When Jurassic Park trounced Schwarzenegger’s Last Action Hero in 1993, the glory days of these macho men—and the vision of masculinity they celebrated—were officially over. Drawing on candid interviews with the action stars themselves, plus their collaborators, friends, and foes, The Last Action Heroes is a no-holds-barred account of a period in Hollywood history when there were no limits to the heights of fame these men achieved, or to the mayhem they wrought, on-screen and off.

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Page Count

393

Publisher

Random House

Published Date

ISBN 10

0593238826

ISBN 13

9780593238820

The Last Action Heroes

The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage

By: Nick de Semlyen

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Last Action Heroes

The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage

By: Nick de Semlyen

Average ratings

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

393

Publisher

Random House

Published Date

ISBN 10

0593238826

ISBN 13

9780593238820

Wild and Crazy Guys

How the Comedy Mavericks of the '80s Changed Hollywood Forever

By: Nick de Semlyen

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Wild and Crazy Guys

How the Comedy Mavericks of the '80s Changed Hollywood Forever

By: Nick de Semlyen

The behind-the-scenes story of the iconic funnymen who ruled '80s Hollywood—Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Eddie Murphy—and the beloved films that made them stars, including Animal House, Caddyshack, and Ghostbusters NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NEW YORK “An enjoyable romp that vividly captures the manic ups and downs of the remarkable group of funny folk who gave us a golden age of small and big screen comedy, from SNL to Groundhog Day.”—Peter Biskind, author of Easy Riders, Raging Bulls Wild and Crazy Guys opens in 1978 with Chevy Chase and Bill Murray taking bad-tempered swings at each other backstage at Saturday Night Live, and closes 21 years later with the two doing a skit in the same venue, poking fun at each other, their illustrious careers, triumphs and prat falls. In between, Nick de Semlyen takes us on a trip through the tumultuous '80s, delving behind the scenes of movies such as National Lampoon's Vacation, Beverly Hills Cop, The Blues Brothers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and dozens more. Chronicling the off-screen, larger-than-life antics of Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, John Belushi, John Candy, and Rick Moranis, it's got drugs, sex, punch-ups, webbed toes, and Bill Murray being pushed into a swimming pool by Hunter S. Thompson while tied to a lawn chair. What's not to like? Based on candid interviews from many of the stars themselves, as well as those in their immediate orbit, including directors John Landis, Carl Reiner, and Amy Heckerling, Wild and Crazy Guys is a fantastic insider account of the friendships, feuds, triumphs, and disasters experienced by these beloved comedians. Hilarious and revealing, it is both a hidden history of the most fertile period ever for screen comedy and a celebration of some of the most popular films of all time. Praise for Wild and Crazy Guys “Eminently readable . . . Children of the 1980s, take note: this is a fond, engrossing look back at the making of movies that became cultural touchstones.”—Booklist (starred review) “Nick de Semlyen smartly charts the pinballing career paths of the stars of this new comic wave. . . . His punchy, nonstop narrative . . . tells a [story] where art and commerce smash hard against each other, sometimes causing destruction, but sometimes making sparks fly.”—The Sunday Times (UK)

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Page Count

378

Publisher

Crown

Published Date

ISBN 10

1984826654

ISBN 13

9781984826657

Wild and Crazy Guys

How the Comedy Mavericks of the '80s Changed Hollywood Forever

By: Nick de Semlyen

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Wild and Crazy Guys

How the Comedy Mavericks of the '80s Changed Hollywood Forever

By: Nick de Semlyen

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

378

Publisher

Crown

Published Date

ISBN 10

1984826662

ISBN 13

9781984826664

Book's by Nick de Semlyen

The Last Action Heroes

The Last Action Heroes

The Last Action Heroes

The Last Action Heroes

Wild and Crazy Guys

Wild and Crazy Guys

Wild and Crazy Guys

Wild and Crazy Guys

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