Product Description

It seems we can't get enough of celebrities today. Our TV screens, magazines and newspapers are filled as never before with famous singers, actors, models, even footballers and chefs. And, in the age of "Big Brother" and "Pop Idol", it's easier than ever to become a star. Anyone, it appears, can get their 15 minutes if they want it badly enough. But what is fame really like when you achieve it? Does it fulfill its promise? Journalist David Gritten has spent years meeting the globally famous, including the Beatles, Madonna, Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. Here he gives us a revealing, sometimes shocking insight into the glittering, fascinating and often downright bizarre world of modern celebrity, from Elton John's tantrums and Geri Halliwell's reinvention to Melanie Griffith's rehab website and the stalker who wants to become President. Gritten asks: is it possible for the famous to retain a sense of normality when those around them cater to their every whim? How do they cope when their private life is relentlessly scrutinized by the press? What is it like to confront the dark side of fan worship - obsession, harassment, even death threats? And why do so many celebrities fall victim to the excesses of fame while a small minority seem to flourish in the limelight? Gritten's conclusion is that being famous is a far more troubling, complex, even dangerous phenomenon than it first appears to be, that you cannot court celebrity purely on your own terms and playing the fame game always comes at a price. And yet, despite the flipside of fame, why do so many stars still seem addicted to it?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #915447 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

About the Author
David Gritten is a writer, critic and broadcaster who specialises in the arts and entertainment. He is a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times, the Daily Telegraph and Radio Times. He lives in north London.

Customer Reviews

Fifteen Minutes
David Gritten is no stranger to the fame game. A well-known author and journalist in his own right, he has spent recent years interviewing many of the world's most glittering stars of stage, screen and concert hall with his unique blend of sympathetic enquiry.
Drawing from this wealth of experience, he uses his new book as a launch pad for a wide-ranging and insightful expose into the cult of celebrity and all that comes with it. It is all too easy to assume that a world of limousines, hotel suites, and glamorous parties is one of unmitigated pleasure. Through interviews with many of those who live such lives, Gritten eloquently demonstrates that often all is not as it seems and the loss of individuality, anonymity and freedom can be a bitter price to pay.
In today's world of reality TV, gossip magazines and people who are famous only for being famous, there can be no better time to sit down and read this highly enjoyable and indispensable book.