Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a classic Hollywood fanatic. I can name you every Best Picture Oscar Winner on command. I’ve written screenplays and seen the industry firsthand, but if I had my choice, I’d go live through the Hollywood Golden Age. I've published numerous non-fiction film history books and have a whole lot more classic-film-inspired novels coming. And I do it all simply for the single reason that writing a book is the closest thing to time travel that I can find. Immersing myself in this world with actors that have lived, and even a few that I’ve made up, is pure heaven that transports me back to the days of the silver screen. 


I wrote

He's No Angel

By Ryan Uytdewilligen,

Book cover of He's No Angel

What is my book about?

In this new humorous take on Hollywood, Charlie Fritz is a talent agent hanging onto his career by a thread.…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Funny Girl

Ryan Uytdewilligen Why did I love this book?

No, not the 1968 musical starring Barbara Streisand. It’s about a woman trying to be a comedian in the 1960s. No, it’s not The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel either. It’s a great light-hearted and immensely sweet look at London on the verge of its swinging days as a beauty queen trying to emulate Lucile Ball and break into the business of comedy superstardom. Hornby obviously did a lot of research in trying to emulate the films, television, and even humor of the time. His details color the world, but it’s his penchant for true-to-life, emotional characters that stuck with me. You can’t help but cheer on Sophie Straw as she goes for her comedy star dream. It’s a pure joy to read!

By Nick Hornby,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Funny Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER SOON TO BE A TV SERIES STARRING GEMMA ARTERTON AND RUPERT EVERETT

'Simply unputdownable' Guardian

'Hilarious' Daily Telegraph

'Highly entertaining' Sunday Times
_________________

Make them laugh, and they're yours forever . . .

Barbara Parker is Miss Blackpool of 1964, but she doesn't want to be a beauty queen. She wants to make people laugh.

So she leaves her hometown behind, takes herself to London, and overnight she becomes the lead in a new BBC comedy, Sophie Straw: charming, gorgeous, destined to win the nation's hearts.

Funny Girl is the story of a smash-hit TV show and…


Book cover of Memoirs and Misinformation

Ryan Uytdewilligen Why did I love this book?

Anything to do with Jim Carrey, I’m in. In fact, when teachers would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I’d reply “Be Jim Carrey.” As a longtime fan, I was excited to learn that he would finally be charting his life in an autobiography. As it turns out, the book was mostly wild fiction. What’s so engaging about this book is how he blends real-life occurrences like his body of film work and relationship with Renee Zellweger with completely off-the-wall fantasy like mentor Rodney Dangerfield returning as a Rhino, Kelsey Grammar leading a cult, and Carrey struggling with his career as his entire essence goes virtual. It’s extremely experimental, but the inclusion of celebrities will leave you grinning.     

By Jim Carrey, Dana Vachon,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Memoirs and Misinformation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • "None of this is real and all of it is true." —Jim Carrey

Meet Jim Carrey. Sure, he's an insanely successful and beloved movie star drowning in wealth and privilege—but he's also lonely. Maybe past his prime. Maybe even ... getting fat? He's tried diets, gurus, and cuddling with his military-grade Israeli guard dogs, but nothing seems to lift the cloud of emptiness and ennui. Even the sage advice of his best friend, actor and dinosaur skull collector Nicolas Cage, isn't enough to pull Carrey out of his slump.

But then Jim meets Georgie: ruthless…


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Book cover of Girl of Light

Girl of Light By Elana Gomel,

A girl of Light in a world of darkness.

In Svetlana's country, it’s a felony to break a mirror. Mirrors are conduits of the Voice, the deity worshiped by all who follow Light. The Voice protects humans of MotherLand from the dangers that beset them on all sides: an invading…

Book cover of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Ryan Uytdewilligen Why did I love this book?

I was obsessed with the 2019 movie, and now even more so with the book. Sure, it helps that my other obsession is late-1960s Hollywood, but Tarantino just colors the world so beautifully with his own inventions like Rick Dalton and his TV show Bounty Law and blends them seamlessly with Hollywood staples like Roman Polanski and Steve McQueen. Harkening back to the days of paperback novelized versions of popular films, Tarantino captures his own movie but adds extra scenes, more conversation between real yet obscure Hollywood movers and shakers, and evidently has a blast while doing it. His glee for the era is infectious, so you can’t help but have fun. Anyone wishing to spend time in 1969, read this book now! 

By Quentin Tarantino,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE DELUXE HARDBACK EDITION FEATURING NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PHOTOS, BONUS MATERIAL & AN EXCLUSIVE BOUNTY LAW SCRIPT BY QUENTIN TARANTINO

Quentin Tarantino's long-awaited first work of fiction - at once hilarious, delicious, and brutal - is the always surprising, sometimes shocking new novel based on his Academy Award-winning film.

The sunlit studio back lots and the dark watering holes of Hollywood are the setting for this audacious, hilarious, disturbing novel about life in the movie colony, circa 1969.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood tells the story of washed-up actor Rick Dalton. Once Rick had his own television series, a famous western…


Book cover of The Comedy Writer

Ryan Uytdewilligen Why did I love this book?

Half of the brother duo behind Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary, Farrelly studied writing in the 1980s and penned a fairly forgotten novel called Outside Providence. He followed it with his second fiction work in the late-1990s, serving as a fictionalized account of himself broke, starving, and trying to break into Hollywood. I can listen to Peter talk all day on podcasts and interviews because he’s so natural and honest. Those traits translate here, with a story centering around a sympathetic protagonist trying to find his way. With real stories like how Farrelly wrote for Seinfeld and was introduced to Los Angeles by someone trying to leap from a building, any writer will instantly connect with this breezy human story about creativity in your twenties. 

By Peter Farrelly,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Comedy Writer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Confederacy of Dunces meets The Player in an offbeat, sidesplittingly hilarious novel about making it against all odds in 1990s' Hollywood, by the co-writer/director of Dumb and Dumber.

When Henry Halloran's girlfriend dumped him, his Boston-based life suddenly seemed pointless. He was thirty-two with a dead-end job, and nothing on the horizon. There was obviously only one place to go: Hollywood.

The Comedy Writer is the story of how Henry—armed with nothing more than a few ideas, a nothing-to-lose attitude, and the desire to be a screenwriter—joins myriad hopefuls in the City of Angels and achieves an L.A. kind…


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Book cover of Deadly Sommer

Deadly Sommer By Nicholas Harvey,

Readers who enjoy police procedurals with an offbeat main character and fascinating locations will love this thriller.

One missing girl. Two lives on the line. Four treacherous challenges.

Nora Sommer's first case for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service is one she'll never forget... if she survives. When the daughter…

Book cover of Somebody's Darling

Ryan Uytdewilligen Why did I love this book?

Did you remember when Jill Peel won an Oscar in 1950s Hollywood, and then destroyed her career by standing up to sexist producers? Then past her prime, she attempted a creative comeback by embarking on her directorial debut? Of course not! It’s all fiction, of course. But with McMurtry at the helm, you can’t help but mistake it for real life. One of my all-time favorite writers, the talented Texan manages to capture Hollywood, sexism, and complex people in an honest way. If you’re a fan of the everyday situational humor exuding in his works like Terms of Endearment and The Last Picture Show, you’ll thoroughly enjoy this still very relevant look at aging and gender in the motion picture industry. 

By Larry McMurtry,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Somebody's Darling as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Forty years ago, Larry McMurtry journeyed from the sprawling ranches of his early work to the provocative Sunset Strip, creating a Hollywood fable that is both immediate and relevant in today's dynamic cultural climate. One would never guess that Jill Peel is still on the verge of stardom. Jill won an Oscar shortly after her fresh-faced arrival in 1950s Hollywood, then for the next twenty years batted away every Tinseltown producer who tried to hire her and get her into bed. Now middle-aged, she's determined to create more movie magic by directing a cast of raunchy eccentrics, including Joe Percy,…


Explore my book 😀

He's No Angel

By Ryan Uytdewilligen,

Book cover of He's No Angel

What is my book about?

In this new humorous take on Hollywood, Charlie Fritz is a talent agent hanging onto his career by a thread. After embarrassing himself at a movie screening, he's in need of a comeback and a superstar client. Luckily, success comes his way in the form of his presumed-to-be dead father.

When Bernie Fritz mysteriously arrives, it's evident he doesn't remember anything about his prior life. All he has is a cryptic message from the afterlife to share with anyone who will listen. After Bernie's message goes viral and creates a social media sensation, Charlie seizes the opportunity to become his dad's agent. It's the perfect opportunity for them to finally connect and find a little meaning in their lives—even if for one of them, life is technically over.

Book cover of Funny Girl
Book cover of Memoirs and Misinformation
Book cover of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

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