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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
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English
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SILVER SCREEN FIEND

Patton Oswalt

Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film

From New York Times-bestselling author and multifaceted comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, a memoir of coming of age as a performer while obsessively watching classic films at the legendary New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles in the mid-90's.
Between 1995 and 1999, Patton Oswalt lived with an unshakeable addiction. It wasn’t drugs, alcohol, or sex. It was film. After moving to L.A., Oswalt became a huge film buff, absorbing classics and new releases at least three nights a week at the New Beverly Cinema. Silver screen celluloid became Patton’s life schoolbook, informing his notions of acting, writing, comedy, and relationships. Set in the nascent days of the alternative comedy scene, Oswalt’s memoir chronicles his journey from fledgling stand-up comedian to self-assured sitcom actor, with the colorful New Beverly collective supporting him all along the way.

Ideally timed for awards season, when everyone’s mind is on Hollywood, Silver Screen Fiend follows up on the terrific reception of Oswalt’s New York Times bestselling debut, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland. Already a beloved fixture on the comedy stage, on television, and in film—not to mention his 1.1 million Twitter followers—Oswalt announces, with this second book, that he’s also here to stay on the page.

Patton Oswalt has released four TV specials and four critically acclaimed comedy albums, including the Grammy-nominated My Weakness Is Strong. He put together the Comedians of Comedy tour and television series. Oswalt has also appeared on many television shows and in more than twenty films, including Young Adult, Big Fan, and Ratatouille. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
Available products
Book

Published 2015-01-01 by Scribner

Book

Published 2015-01-01 by Scribner

Comments

Equal parts memoir, film guide, coming-of-age story, confessional, comedy, and intimate journey, Silver Screen Fiend is a revelation. Oswalt writes like a dream. His stumbling into adulthood—and out of his movie mania—is brilliant, funny, and absolutely compelling. No popcorn required.

Who knew Patton Oswalt—one of the sharpest and funniest comics around—is also a pre-eminent classic film nerd? Silver Screen Fiend is not just an insightful memoir of coming up in the ‘90s alternative comedy scene; it's an engaging chronicle of a pure addiction to movies. Hilarious and incisive, it’ll leave you with a bolstered Netflix queue and a strong desire to munch on Red Vines in the dark, preferably with the author himself.

I loved this book. It feels like a great one sided conversation from your funniest friend. It made me feel less alone in the precious hours I read it. But now it's gone and I have nothing.

Patton Oswalt is one of the most brilliant comedy minds of a generation. This book confirms it.