ALWAYS CRASHING IN THE SAME CAR

For anyone interested in the movie biz this is a great read. An insiders point of view, part autobiography, part interesting lowdown on some of the lesser known characters in the Hollywood pantheon. Stylishly written and well researched. Sorry to reach the last page.

It's a wonderful memoir, but not strictly a memoir, about how the author, son of a high-powered agent dad and screenwriter mom, navigated 1970s and 80s Hollywood, growing up in so-called privilege, but keenly aware of the pain of creative people, witnessing his parents split-up, his mother's descent into alcohol and anger.He uses biographical portraits of a few writers, actors, directors, both male and female, mostly from the 60s-80s, who flew high, then crashed, and how he views their personal lives paralleling his own.He had his own dreams of success, never quite getting there, falling into addiction, failing marriage, self-hatred. But it's not a storied cliche of those ills. There is insight, sensitivity and philosophy in how he interprets the crushing demands that Hollywood, Los Angeles and the TV/Film/Music industry drops on the souls of often fragile, insecure and wandering artists.This is not a "look-at-me, look who I know, look where I've been, look what I achieved" story of Hollywood.There is hardly any ego, arrogance or bolstering self-worth in the writer, which makes his explorations of other large, fame hungry, recognized and famed egos so heartbreaking and penetrating.I also found in his book an echo of my own struggle in feeling that I never measured up, achieved, or self-actualized in my work or ambitions.

For anyone who loves movies, who grew up under their spell, this book is a must-read. The same could be said for anyone who aspires to write movies, or novels. Spector has done both, and grew up deep in the carnival swirl of Hollywood royalty, his father being a founding member of industry titan CAA. But even for an insider, Hollywood's seductive allure is a double-edged sword, and that is what Specktor focuses on here. What is success? How does one know when it's attained, and what does one do with it? And, ultimately, isn't the pursuit of it - the risk and the thrill - far better than the ultimate career tabulation? Using chapters that are centered around a series of famously derailed careers, Specktor reflects upon these issues, while also grappling with his own oft-thwarted desires, ambitions, and demons. Overall, ALWAYS CRASHING IN THE SAME CAR - which, it should be noted, is rife with delicious writing, incisive analysis, and enviable turns of phrase - is the kind of book that makes one think, deeply, about what truly matters, and about what is still to be done to find fulfillment at the end of the road.

Always Crashing is a fairly interesting book.At it's base is the authors life story which is not riveting .On top of this he grafts anecdotal chapters about various people ,most of whom have strong connections to Los Angeles or to the film industry. He starts out with F.Scott Fitzgerald of whom , collectively, we've heard enough .He moves on to Eleanor and Frank Perry and that grabbed me! I hadn't thought about them in decades and remembered when they were considered a big deal. That was along time ago, from DAVID AND LISA to MOMMY DEAREST.The best chapters profile Thomas McGuane and Warren Zevon.I knew the out lines of McGuane's story.I've actually seen RANCHO DELUXE and 92 IN THE SHADE.What I didn't realize was how wild he was in his wildman phase.I'd read Zevon's ex wifes book on him - it's good - but learned a bit from Spektor's chapter on him.He comes off poorly.Spektor has a chapter on Hal Ashby and Michael Cimino that reignited in my mind the question , what happened to Hal Ashby?Ashby was one of the most interesting film directors of the 70s.Then in the 80s he seems to have fallen into a creative rabbit hole from which he never emerged. That was a mystery to me.Spektor is fascinated by someone named Carol Eastman, which mystified me.Eastman's main claim to fame is she wrote the screenplay to FIVE EASY PIECES.Well that's an achievement but not all that large an achievement.Other than that, there doesn't seem to be much to say about Eastman and Spektor doesn't seem to know all that much about her. The worst chapter in the book is the one on Renata Adler which doesn't seem to belong in this book.Adler has no connection to LA and her connection to film is limited to her stint, years ago, as a film critic. The reader could easily forgive Adler's inclusion in the book if Spektor had anything interesting to say about Adler .He doesn't .You get the feeling that Spektor threw this in because he wanted to tell everyone he was a friend of Adler's.Spektor can tell a good anecdote and deliver the occasional perceptive point but he doesn't come across as a person who is very deep.He's read countless novels and seen a great many movies and that's good.Yet you get the feeling that his knowledge is narrow.We are all to some degree a product of our environment and our milieu.I have the feeling that with Spektor ,that cliche is especially true.Spektor's father was an agent.His mother a wannabe screenwriter and I get the impression that he's never experienced much of the world outside the parameters of LA -New York show biz culture and lives in a world where everyone thinks pretty much the same way. He periodically assures us of his virtue .That is he's anti racist and anti male privilege .In talking about Zevon , he suggests that he might be a good candidate for cancellation. He also deals with the question of the distinction between art and the artist in a way that is not really on point.Spektor trots out the old and ridiculous notion of the artist as god who should be allowed carte blanche because he's an artist.He , of course , rejects that and says that's very 20 th century.It is a stupid concept but it's one that I think very few people have ever taken seriously.More to the point, is the idea that bad person can produce good art and you don't toss the art out because of the artists moral failings.This is not a complex concept.

This is a riveting, first-rate memoir about living and dreaming in Los Angeles. It's great for movie-lovers, and for anyone who appreciates searing sentences and penetrating insights about families and fame - and what it's like to live with passion, and with sadness and regret. Specktor has a poet's eye and a magician's way with words. A spectacular book.