Silver Screen Fiend

Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film

By: Patton Oswalt

Narrated by: Patton Oswalt

The instant New York Times bestseller from author, comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, a “heartfelt and hilarious” (USA TODAY) memoir about coming of age as a performer during the late 1990s while obsessively watching classic films at a legendary theater in Los Angeles. “[Oswalt has] a set of synapses like a pinball machine and a prose style to match” (The New York Times).

Between 1995 and 1999, Patton Oswalt lived with an unshakable addiction. It wasn’t drugs, alcohol, or sex: it was film. After moving to Los Angeles, Oswalt became a huge film buff (or as he calls it, a sprocket fiend), absorbing classics, cult hits, and new releases at the famous New Beverly Cinema. Silver screen celluloid became Patton’s life schoolbook, informing his notion of acting, writing, comedy, and relationships.

Set in the nascent days of LA’s alternative comedy scene, Silver Screen Fiend chronicles Oswalt’s journey from fledgling stand-up comedian to self-assured sitcom actor, with the colorful New Beverly collective and a cast of now-notable young comedians supporting him all along the way. “Clever and readable...Oswalt’s encyclopedic knowledge and frothing enthusiasm for films (from sleek noir classics, to gory B movies, to cliché-riddled independents, to big empty blockbusters) is relentlessly present, whirring in the background like a projector” (The Boston Globe). More than a memoir, this is “a love song to the silver screen” (Paste Magazine).

devoured this. long drive, spent well.

Well done, Mr. Oswalt, sir. Thank you.

If you care, at all... Listen to this.

Entertaining

While not as inspired as his earlier zombie, spaceship, wasteland, this second autobiographical book is worth listening to. Knowledge of classic and cult films is optional, but it is a plus.

Good book but much more in depth than his standup if you're looking for a simple read.

If you are an absolute movie fiend, especially focusing on older films you will love this book. I am a film fan but I still did not recognize the vast majority of movies he was referring to. Overall the book is very insightful and interesting but just can at times be hard to follow

Birth of the Comedy

If you could sum up Silver Screen Fiend in three words, what would they be?

Addictive, Funny, Poignant

What other book might you compare Silver Screen Fiend to and why?

This may be Oswalt's version of Born Standing Up by Steve Martin.

I love Patton Oswald But...

I bought this because I love Patton Oswald. The description made it pretty clear what the book was about and I knew that I wasn't super interested in that, but was interested in his life and his struggles and any bits that talked about being a struggling comic. The book is ok, but it was heavy on the silver screen and Patton wasn't quite enough to save it from that. I took some enjoyment out of learning more about a person I really liked but I really can't recommend this to anybody who isn't a huge Patton fan or somebody who can relate to obsessive compulsive behavior or is a huge silver screen fan.

It did have a huge redeeming factor though in that it was narrated by one of my favorite voices, Mr. Patton Oswald.