Introduction

In my Young Adult Prompts Gone Wild (YAPGW) review, I had mentioned that I would be looking forward to more books in the series. Aaron Barry has delivered yet again with this book, Hollywood Prompts Gone Wild (HPGW) which holds a mirror to the movie making industry.

(Since it shares a similar concept to YAPWG and as good, I will plagiarise my review and re-use a lot of the content here.)

What is Good

I love Hollywood movies (as does the rest of the World). But we can all admit that most of these movies are trash when it comes to original stories, and are usually, more focused on the production values and other aspects of movie making. I guess it is due to the immense money poured into the movies that makes the studios wary of going beyond the old and familiar.

So we are at a place where most of the audience can predict how a story will progress, regardless of whether it is a spaghetti western, a movie in the Star Wars universe or the Marvel Comic Universe, or a summer blockbuster etc. There are plenty of tropes that are quite self-evident and many more that are not. The industry and the people associated with it have as well become caricatures of themselves.

The author, Aaron Barry, has done his research quite well. He has identified not only the standard patterns, but he has also put down specific examples from the famous works. In addition, he also pokes fun at famous scenes from movies like The Matrix, celebrity actors, the underlying sleaziness of the industry, technology etc.

How To Use

If you are new to the Prompts Gone Wild series, each book looks at a genre and makes fun of the tropes prevalent in that genre and suggests inventive twists on the same. The book starts with the author suggesting a couple of different ways to use the book. One is a party game where the participants pick a page at random and come up with a situation based on the anti-trope in it. The other is to read it on its own, like a magazine without regard for structure. I can see both approaches working well since each of the prompts is so well-written and thought out. 

What Could Be Better

I cannot think of anything that can be changed to make this book better. It hits all the right spots in terms of humour, length and pacing.

Concluding Thoughts

HPGW is thoroughly enjoyable. I had a blast reading it and as before, will be looking forward to more books from this author.