Hollywood (Netflix) (1 Viewer)

[EricSchulz]

Is anyone else watching this? "Inspired" by some real life events in Hollywood's Golden Age, it gets the trademark Ryan Murphy sex/soap opera/stylized adult drama treatment. Loved the first two episodes, and it's GREAT to see Holland Taylor and Patti Lupone in this!

 

[TJPC]

We are almost finished the series and really enjoying it. It is very explicit however. Don’t watch or recommend it to parents or anyone who is under 30! Also not the series for a homophobe.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Will be diving in soon.

 

[Matt Hough]

I've watched four of the seven episodes and have enjoyed it quite a bit. Some of the younger actors show their inexperience and aren't great, but the more experienced pros are simply fantastic.

 

[EricSchulz]

I’ve always been a fan of movies from that era. I was born in 1961, but my dad was a huge movie lover. He nurtured my love of the classic Universal horror movies and later film noir and Hitchcock. But this is giving me even more reason to delve into some of this era’s films that I’m not familiar with. Can’t wait to finish this!

 

[EricSchulz]

I HIGHLY recommend this documentary (I think it's on Showtime but I've got so many free trials right now I can't keep them straight!). It's about Scotty Bowers, the real-life inspiration for the character of Jack Castello (Dylan McDermott) who owned the "gas station to the stars" in Hollywood. Fascinating stuff!

 

[Matt Hough]

I HIGHLY recommend this documentary (I think it's on Showtime but I've got so many free trials right now I can't keep them straight!). It's about Scotty Bowers, the real-life inspiration for the character of Jack Castello (Dylan McDermott) who owned the "gas station to the stars" in Hollywood. Fascinating stuff! View attachment 72748

I think his book, on which the documentary was based, is even more revealing. Quite an eye-opener.

 

[HolliWould]

I haven't seen it and I don't think I will, I'm pretty much done with Ryan Murphy and his exploitation series, some of them are really cringeworthy.

 

[EricSchulz]

I think his book, on which the documentary was based, is even more revealing. Quite an eye-opener.

When I posted this on Facebook, a friend said the same thing. The Chicago Public Library has it as a digital borrow so I can start reading it tonight!

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

I started watching the series, which of course focuses on the closeted gay Hollywood of the 50s as if that was all that was going on. And a black gay screenwriter? I mean, let's get real. I'm a bit over Murphy's approach to everything, but the old cars are cool.

 

[Matt Hough]

I started watching the series, which of course focuses on the closeted gay Hollywood of the 50s as if that was all that was going on. And a black gay screenwriter? I mean, let's get real. I'm a bit over Murphy's approach to everything, but the old cars are cool.

It's a fairy tale, pure and simple. I enjoyed the personal stories of people finding paths they didn't think were open to them (though I wish some of the acting was better particularly among the younger players), but one goes into the series knowing this was not real life then.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

I guess the title "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" was already taken. But certainly not the theme. Murphy must have wondered, if Tarantino can kill Hitler and thwart Charlie Manson, than I can make blacks, gays, and women come out on top and win over Hollywood and America back in 1948.

The first clue for me we were watching a fairy tale, were the supposedly real locations such as cheap actor apartments, drug stores, and gas stations were all perfectly clean and pristine and phony looking - like sets. But if you can get by all the "I want to suck your cocks" from the first three episodes, this approach grows on you, and the sleaziness fades. And by the end (no spoilers other than theme), you are welcoming the fantasy with open arms, or eyes. I really enjoyed it. Revisionist history can be very fun during a pandemic.

Also, don't miss the old pros who steal the series. Patti Lupone and Dylan McDermott are very good, but Holland Taylor is fantastic. The younger actors are all pretty and never quite as good as the ones David Lynch somehow found for Twin Peaks, but they are... if you'll excuse the expression for this series, serviceable. Rob Reiner overacts his ass off playing the studio head, but so what, it somehow works as the cartoon we often think of those original moguls.

Hooray for Hollywood, indeed. It may be just what the daily onslaught of pandemic news needed as a vaccine for the brain.

 

[EricSchulz]

@Hollywoodaholic I COMPLETELY agree about Holland Taylor! I loved her in this! I really like Patti Lupone, but I think it was more her character that I enjoyed more than it being her. It gave me a new appreciation for movie making during that time and the whole "studio system".