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3.09 AVERAGE
3.09 AVERAGE
Had this one signed in 2006, and finally got around to reading it. Liked the information, but was less sympathetic to some of the frustration obvious during discussions of the project and his role and trying to make it bigger in a film that was clearly about an ensemble that came across as vaguely whiny.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
As a die-hard fan of The Lord of the Rings, I loved this book and the insights Sean Astin provided into the filming process of the movies and his role of Samwise Gamgee. As an aspiring actress, I also enjoyed his honesty about the difficult world of Hollywood and the choices one has to make to be successful. At times some might have found some of Sean's stories and anecdotes whiny, but I for one found the book to be very honest, so I wasn't annoyed by it. I found him a very eloquent writer and had trouble putting the book down. Some of the stories he shared about his LotR cast members were very funny, even if I already knew some from interviews and behind-the-scenes commentary on the Lord of the Rings DVDs. All in all I would recommend this book not only to fans of the trilogy, but to anyone hoping to get a deeper perspective of what it really means to work in the often unstable, unpredictable world of Hollywood movies.
This focused quite a bit on the business side of being an actor and I really would have enjoyed more personal, inside stories in regards to the making of these movies based off of such classic tales. I will say, Sean seems very much just like the rest of us; enthusiastic and yet insecure in some of the talents he possesses.
In all honesty I picked this book up several years ago expecting to read the behind the scenes activities that went on during the filming of LOTR. I was taken aback when there wasn't too much involving the LOTR but the career of Sean. I'd grown up watching his movies so it was interesting to hear some of the details of his career. This is not a bad book and shows how Sean has grown over the years. The cover is misleading for LOTR fans.
I have some mixed feelings about this book. For the most part I enjoyed it and I don't regret reading it. However, there were some parts that dragged on and some that didn't seem necessary. It's clear from reading the book that Astin thinks highly of himself, and while you can interpret that as a good or a bad thing, he admits that it was detrimental to his emotional state while filming The Lord of the Rings. I think of him differently after reading this, but not in an entirely bad way, just an honest way. Which, perhaps, is the bravest thing a celebrity can be.
His writing style flows well which makes this a quick and easy read. Before reading I'd heard the book was 75% about his experiences filming The Lord of the Rings, and I'd say that's highly accurate. A large portion of the beginning of the book is really just about his "other" experiences as a young person in Hollywood. I definitely would only recommend this to a die hard LotR/Astin/Sam Gamgee fan.
His writing style flows well which makes this a quick and easy read. Before reading I'd heard the book was 75% about his experiences filming The Lord of the Rings, and I'd say that's highly accurate. A large portion of the beginning of the book is really just about his "other" experiences as a young person in Hollywood. I definitely would only recommend this to a die hard LotR/Astin/Sam Gamgee fan.
medium-paced
Such a great memoir with a strong voice.
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Sean Aston on his life before, but mostly during the filming of The Lord of the Rings. Also includes a lot of the relations between the actors, their adventures and friendships.
This is basically Sean Astin's autobiography. The first 1/3 talks about his movie career prior to the LOTR movies, focusing mostly on ENCINO MAN forward. The last 2/3 is about the filming of LOTR and the aftermath of their release.
Astin primarily focuses on his emotional and philosphical challenges over the course of the book. He name-drops a lot of actors he worked with, drops and anecdote or two, and then over-analyzes their relationship.
Most of the book is Astin navel-gazing, actually. It gets hard to read him talking over and over again about how he wishes he could be closer to this person or that person, how he had his feelings hurt by this person, how there was a misunderstanding between them, etc. etc.
There ARE some interesting tidbits, particularly about his father, John Astin, and some funny moments with several of the actors during the LOTR, but I just kept wanting Sean to lighten up and ENJOY what he was doing. He's SO serious that he comes across as a whiney killjoy at times. Strangely, his autobiography was not self-serving AT ALL. In fact, several of the actors finally do wind up telling him basically to "lighten up," and I couldn't agree more.
A diverting read, but not a book I'll ever revisit.
Astin primarily focuses on his emotional and philosphical challenges over the course of the book. He name-drops a lot of actors he worked with, drops and anecdote or two, and then over-analyzes their relationship.
Most of the book is Astin navel-gazing, actually. It gets hard to read him talking over and over again about how he wishes he could be closer to this person or that person, how he had his feelings hurt by this person, how there was a misunderstanding between them, etc. etc.
There ARE some interesting tidbits, particularly about his father, John Astin, and some funny moments with several of the actors during the LOTR, but I just kept wanting Sean to lighten up and ENJOY what he was doing. He's SO serious that he comes across as a whiney killjoy at times. Strangely, his autobiography was not self-serving AT ALL. In fact, several of the actors finally do wind up telling him basically to "lighten up," and I couldn't agree more.
A diverting read, but not a book I'll ever revisit.