Hollywood Jock: 365 Days, Four Screenplays, Three TV Pitches, Two Kids, and One Wife Who's Ready to Pull the Plug – A Brutally Honest True Story of the Film Business

by Rob Ryder

Rob Ryder made that pledge to his wife, and he was determined to stick to it. As technical consultant on blockbuster sports films, he had seen up close how the film business works and what kind of chaos can, and usually does, ensue. And now he was ready to take it on! Hollywood Jock is the suspenseful, dramatic, outrageous, and honest true story of the year when Rob Ryder, screenwriter, laid it all on the line -- and kicked, scratched, wheeled, dealed, and fought like hell to hit the Tinseltown big time. It is a chronicle of schmoozing producers, shopping screenplays, corralling sports legends, and dodging irate actors -- a fascinating perspective on the highs, the very lows, and the behind-the-scenes madness that makes the world of Hollywood so endlessly compelling . . . and infamously brutal.

304 pages, Paperback

First published June 27, 2006

Reviews

[Mediaman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rambling nonsense from a failed screenwriter who thinks he's way cooler than he actually is. The bloated sports movie memoir is filled with half-stories that you won't care about unless you're the most fanatic filmgoer and think minor athletes are fascinating. The writing style jumps and skips all over the place to where the author admittedly gets himself lost on a tangent over and over. He also tosses in totally unnecessary things, such as his negative opinions about Republicans.

There are a few insights into what it's like to coordinate those fake teams to play in scripted movies but the attempts at namedropping are eye-rolling and Rob Ryder has the feel of a loser who always ends up on the bench. The title doesn't really refer to an entertainment athlete but to what Rob Ryder had to wear in California in order to have the balls to sell this amateur book.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skipped over a lot of the athletics stuff & found the rest interesting.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly informative as far as the life of a screenwriter goes. It also introduces you to a lot of the obstacles faced working in the industry as well as tips. It is also part memoir so inbeteeen their is more gossip told as run in' nothing too damaging. A nice quick brisk read more enlightening then I thought It would be, but not as deep as it aims for either.

[Rick]

Fun! I wonder whatever happened with that project he was working on...