So, Anyway...

So, Anyway... by John Cleese  392 pp.

This memoir by Monty Python alum, John Cleese is mainly about his unexpected evolution into the world of acting. He does touch briefly upon his childhood, growing up in a fairly traditional, middle class, British home and his personal life. More time is spent on his education, attending public (what we call private) school and later Cambridge where he began his acting career. Of course, there is lots of humor in the writing both in his style and in the anecdotes about working with the Pythons (Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Cleese's ex-wife Connie Booth), David Frost, Marty Feldman, and others. He often describes real life situations which were later twisted into some of the zanier Python sketches. It is not unusual to be reading along as he tells about fairly ordinary experiences when a sudden turn of phrase leaves you laughing out loud. Fans of "Monty Python's Flying Circus", "Fawlty Towers", and "A Fish Called Wanda" will enjoy this one.

Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars and You Can Too! by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon

Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars and You Can Too! by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon, screenwriting and humor, 320 pages.
This was a nice mix of practical advice (format your screenplay correctly, make the changes to your screenplay that the people paying you ask for, make it between 105 and 120 pages unless you know James Cameron personally, etc.) and the humorous (Billy Crystal is a dick). The authors, who figure their screenplays for such movies as Night at the Museum, Night at the Museum 2:Battle at the Smithsonian, and Taxi, have earned everyone involved a billion dollars, or two billion dollars, or some large amount of money, seem to know what they are talking about and are willing to share the secrets of how you can make serious money. One of the secrets seems to be get a book deal and then fill the second half of the book with screenplays that you wrote, which will never be made into movies, and call them examples. The screenplays are funny, so that's time well spent for the reader too. The footnote where they refer to libraries as places filled with internet porn and the homeless was uncalled for, but the rest of the book is fun.
Recommended for anyone who enjoys off-beat, profane humor, people who already dislike Billy Crystal, aspiring screenwriters, and Nate.

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