The instant New York Times bestseller from author, comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, a âheartfelt and hilariousâ (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. â[Oswalt has] a set of synapses like a pinball machine and a prose style to matchâ (The New York Times).
Between 1995 and 1999, Patton Oswalt lived with an unshakable addiction. It wasnât 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 Pattonâs life schoolbook, informing his notion of acting, writing, comedy, and relationships.
Set in the nascent days of LAâs alternative comedy scene, Silver Screen Fiend chronicles Oswaltâs 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. âClever and readable...Oswaltâs encyclopedic knowledge and frothing enthusiasm for films (from sleek noir classics, to gory B movies, to clichĂŠ-riddled independents, to big empty blockbusters) is relentlessly present, whirring in the background like a projectorâ (The Boston Globe). More than a memoir, this is âa love song to the silver screenâ (Paste Magazine).