Can I Go Now?

The Life of Sue Mengers, Hollywood's First Superagent

By: Brian Kellow

Narrated by: Suzanne Toren

Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

A lively and colorful biography of Hollywood's first superagent - one of the most outrageous showbiz characters of the 1960s and 1970s, whose clients included Barbra Streisand, Ryan O'Neal, Faye Dunaway, Michael Caine, and Candice Bergen.

Before Sue Mengers hit the scene in the mid-1960s, talent agents remained quietly in the background. But staying in the background was not possible for Mengers. Irrepressible and loaded with chutzpah, she became a driving force of Creative Management Associates (which later became ICM), handling the era's preeminent stars. A true original with a gift for making the biggest stars in Hollywood listen to hard truths about their careers and personal lives, Mengers became a force to be reckoned with. Her salesmanship never stopped. In 1979 she was on a plane that was commandeered by a hijacker who wanted Charlton Heston to deliver a message on television. Mengers was incensed, wondering why the hijacker wanted Heston when she could get him Barbra Streisand. Acclaimed biographer Brian Kellow spins an irresistible tale, exhaustively researched and filled with anecdotes about and interviews more than 200 show-business luminaries. A riveting biography of a powerful woman that charts show business as it evolved from New York City in the 1950s through Hollywood in the early 1980s, Can I Go Now? will mesmerize anyone who loves cinema's most fruitful period.

©2015 Brian Kellow (P)2015 Recorded Books

Antidotes aplenty in Hollywood tale

This book is a memorable journey through the glitter of Hollywood in the wild days of 1970's Hollywood. Most of the tales antidotal and border on gossip, but there are few that are not entertaining. The bigger stories are in the deal making that matched stars with directors to make these movies. The 70's was a time of the after director and actors willing to stretch themselves artistically. The result was memorable movies and there are passing references to the events that made these movies happen. Unfortunetly , they are few and far between. Instead we are given light, gossipy tales concerning the stars that circled the orbit of Hollywoods first superagent. These are entertaining but lacking the insight I had hoped to find.

Outstanding

Would you consider the audio edition of Can I Go Now? to be better than the print version?

Yes! I have read the original but the audiobook version is genuinely better.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Well there is only one character...so it is La Mengers.

Which character – as performed by Suzanne Toren – was your favorite?

She did an exceptional job, even getting the Yiddish schtick down, which was impressive.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh yes but not cry. There was too much hubris and ego to feel sorry for any of the people.

Any additional comments?

Couldn't stop listening!

Easy Listening

The book is about a Hollywood agent. Well told and researched for a book this long about someone with such a narrow and exclusive influence in a particular industry. I thought it would be about her growing up and overcoming challenges to assume a break-out role but it was mostly stories recounted by friends later on. Still an interesting book about an unusual woman.

A little long.

Her life was amazing. She was part of a "heady" time in Hollywood. I started to get a little worn out and wonder when it would end. I think it would have been far better if it had been an hour or two shorter.

Sue Mengers: The Life of a Miserable Person

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Nope: This book portrays a woman who lacked genuine friends, was coarse and aggressive, sweet only in order to get what she wanted (speaking in a baby voice, no less), and had no artistic imagination or appreciation. The book portrays Sue Mengers that way in the first hour and that's how she remains throughout her life. Her nickname was Mengele: that should give you a sense of how coarse and humorless she actually was. She wasn't at all political and didn't appreciate how momentous the times were in which she lived. She was fixed in a top-down vision of what Hollywood was all about, and kept foisting the same bland, supposedly A-list actors (Burt Reynolds??) into bland movies at a time when the whole world seemed to be opening up to a more creative approach. Most of the movies she was involved with were boring and forgettable; occasionally she lucked into a great movie when she happened to sign one of her clients onto a great picture, as she did with Faye Dunaway and Chinatown. But that was unusual for her.This book explains why agents are loathed and distrusted by actors, studio heads and other agents. It doesn't explain what made Sue Mengers a great agent, if indeed she was.

Has Can I Go Now? turned you off from other books in this genre?

The only reason I listened to this from beginning to end is that I love books in this genre: Peter Biskind's books; You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again; Bob Evans' memoir. I love the insider stories and learning more about how great movies are made. And Sue Mengers was legendary. She might have been awful but there must have been something special about her awfulness and I expected this book to reveal what it was. The result is that I have no idea why anyone would want to have anything to do with her. She had no interest in finding new talent, only in bagging the A list actors, and didn't seem to appreciate great innovative film making when it was going on around her. The book also doesn't capture Sue Mengers or any of the homes or other characters with physical details. One exception is a ghastly anecdote about her showing up to a meeting not wearing underwear and perching unattractively on her chair to reveal as much. That detail makes the book sound juicier than it actually is. But the anecdote does provide a vivid image and reveals how coarse, chutzpah-y and self-involved she was. If there had been other telling details like that, even if less juicy, the book would have been far more successful.

What about Suzanne Toren’s performance did you like?

The narration was clear but her accent was a bit plummy. No reader should have to rely only on herself, though, and the producers let her down by not informing her that Jacqueline Bissett is an English actress, not French! Unfortunately Suzanne Toren read all Bissett's lines with a French accent. Not only that, her French and English accents were peculiar. Audiobook producers should try to find other ways for readers to handle foreign accents if they can't pull them off -- somehow just suggest the accents rather than actually try to speak in them.Publishers and writers: make sure the producers of your audio books do their due diligence! This happens so frequently and spoils a read. People who like an audio book tell their friends who then go buy the "real" book -- so invest in quality productions! I had the feeling towards the end of the book, too, that Suzanne Toren felt very exasperated with the nasty Sue Mengers. Perhaps the writer did, too. But that might have been my own thoughts projected on the narrator!

Do you think Can I Go Now? needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, please don't.

Any additional comments?

I am still trying to figure out why I hung in there to the bitter end. Perhaps to see how bitter the end would actually be? I probably gave too many stars to the book but that's in part because I feel sorry for the writer. He probably didn't realize how unappealing his biography subject was until he had used up the publisher's advance and had to keep on chugging! Must say, he made Tuesday Weld sound truly fascinating and worth getting to know, so I will find out more about her, thanks to this book!

Terrific Bio and History of Hollywood

I worked in the entertainment business during her heyday. She was a legend and legendary. This book gives a side history of Hollywood as you learn about her life. It is insightful and well written.

Inspiration-wise, it doesn't get any better

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely. A true rags to riches story. This woman made her way to the top by making her wonderfully big mouth back up her equally wonderfully big brain.

What did you like best about this story?

It shows what can happen when you believe in yourself, and take huge risks. A woman who didn't let any doubts or fears stand in the way of her ambitions.