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An element of drama has always attended Rupert Everett, even before he swept to fame with his performances in such films as Another Country and My Best Friend's Wedding. He was in Moscow during the fall of communism; in Berlin the night the Wall came down; and at home in downtown Manhattan on September 11th. By the age of seventeen he was friends with Andy Warhol and Bianca Jagger, and since then he has been up close and personal with some of the most famous women in the world: Julia Roberts, Madonna, Sharon Stone, Donatella Versace. From the eccentricities of the British upper classes to the madness of Hollywood, from the Russian steppes to an Easter egg hunt in Elizabeth Taylor's garden, Everett reveals himself as a consummate storyteller and a charming guide to life in the fast lane.--From publisher description.… (more)
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I've always love Rupert Everett, seen him as one of the more intelligent stars of stage and screen, and a hottie to boot (despite sexual orientation, which as you will learn from this book as not always been thus!) and this is a well written very enjoyable and open autobiogaphy. Everett admits his own narcisism from the start and makes no apologies for it which is refreshing to say the least. He also admits to being a pathalogical liar so the reader is always left wondering how much of the tales of schmoozing with Donatella is true. One suspects though, quite a lot of it.
But this is more than just a who's who, it's a well written account of his getting to grips with middle age (shockingly he is 48!), his feelings towards his family, his various philosophies on life, one man's love of his black labrador and his various advntures in France, Russia, Ethiopia and South America. Well worth a read, and some lovely pictures to boot.
I feel this guy should be irritating but puts himself down a lot so that helps. Smashing
Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins describes in detail, hanging out with his famous gal pals – from Madonna to Sharon Stone. So far, so celebrity memoir, you would think. Whatever you think of Rupert’s acting abilities (and he is endearingly self-deprecating on that topic), this man can surely write.
On his privileged upbringing:
‘After ten years of prep and public school you were part of the gang; and if you weren’t, you were a freak or a fairy. Luckily for me I was both.’
On the movie business:
‘The movie business is a strange affair, demanding total dedication from its lovers, although it gives none in return.
Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins manages to be both witty and sad, sweet and endearing as well as achingly funny. It doesn’t sound like his younger, self-absorbed self would have been much fun to hang around with but all that changed when his beloved Mo, a black Labrador, came into his life. As he so rightly states, once you have another being to care for, it turns you into a better, less selfish person.
Although it’s fascinating to read about his early Hollywood career, hanging out with legends of another era, like Orson Welles, I just loved, that in that crazy mixed up world in La La Land, a black Labrador (a signifier of a British rural upbringing – if ever there was one), got to fly on Concorde and hang out in A Listers pools.
He writes intelligently, and it seems a shame he’s wasted his brain and his talent on getting wasted so much. It’s laudable he became interested in charity work when exposed to it in later life but it didn’t sound like it made him reassess his own lifestyle much (at least, that’s the impression left by the book) although he might have slowed down a bit as time has passed…although most of his friends from his younger days had clearly died or “left town”.
There are lots of gossipy tales about actors he’s worked with which are entertainingly told...but from his adult life, not quite so much personal detail. He doesn’t appear to be one for introspection, or letting the reader inside his head too often. One thing many of his tales do underline is just how thick the line between the in crowd and everyone else is...you’re either in with them, and acceptable, whatever you do, or you’re not.
The book is an entertaining read, split into easily digested chapters...but especially when writing about his adult life, lacking personal detail and focusing much more on what other people were like.
I just came away with the impression he spent much of his life with little humility; although he is often self deprecating in the book, he doesn’t seem to suffer fools gladly and I wouldn’t like him too much (or he me, to be fair). He’s since written another volume of memoir which seems to be on the same lines. While this was entertainingly written, and parts are funny, being unable to empathise with any of the characters meant the bits some would find moving didn't move me at all. I think it will be a while before can read more about that world he’s spent his life in. My wife enjoyed this more than me; some of the unpleasant people he describes as great friends just really grated on me.
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