The Holden Age of Hollywood (Jake Helman Files Series)

Hollywood died on me as soon as I got here. Welles said that, not me, but damn if he didn’t nail it, you know? Sam Bateman came to Hollywood to settle a score, but amidst the sunny and 75, his plans went astray. Everything changed the day he drank in the intoxicating legend of Meyer Holden, the greatest screenwriter Hollywood has ever known, the one who pulled a Salinger and walked away. Holden now tacks pseudonyms onto his works and buries them in the bottomless sea of spec that is Hollywood’s development process. They’re out there for anyone to find—but at what cost? In his quest, Bateman severs all ties and sinks into a maddening world of bad writing and flawed screenplays. Paranoid and obsessive, the belligerent savant encounters an eccentric cast of characters—each with an agenda—in his search for the one writer in Hollywood who does not want to be found. Phil Brody’s The Holden Age of Hollywood is at once a detective novel, an unexpected love story, and a provocative exposé of a broken industry. With dark humor and incisive commentary, the novel immerses readers in a neo-noir quest to attain the Hollywood dream, integrity intact.

Booklist (May 2012)

"Brody's debut novel has an ambitious agenda. It's a coming-of-age novel, a mystery, a love story, and a stinging, knowing send-up of the movie biz."

Doug Jones, actor, Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth, and author, Mime Very Own Book

"As the sun came up today, I turned the last page of Phil Brody's The Holden Age of Hollywood. That's because I couldn't put it down. I can rarely make time for novels, but this one had me rifling through pages with constant anticipation."

Taryn Southern,actor-singer-comedian

"A startling, beautiful, and unique page turner. And a poignant, focused perspective of life in the Hollywood trenches."

masters at creating their own memorable voices with scant words."

"Brody's written a real fresh-feeling book on the whole Hollywood subject. . . . His style  reminds me a lot of Shane Black or David Mamet

John Knoerle, author of The American Spy Trilogy

"The Holden Age of Hollywood begins as a journey of personal discovery then mutates into a dark and obsessive pursuit of phantoms through the sulfurous netherworld of Hollywood. Fascinating."

Jeffrey Gordon, founder, Writers Boot Camp

"The Holden Age of Hollywood is a great view of the reality of screenwriting. Phil Brody's dark humor and commentary could fast become required reading for all aspiring in Hollywood."

Stan Corwin, former publisher/CEO of Pinnacle Books, author of Betty Page Confidential and Oxy-Morons I Have Known

"The Holden Age of Hollywood by Phil Brody delivers the premise and promise of its title. It is an original, rollicking, picaresque novel that would make J.D. Salinger proud."

www.AllThingsWriting.blogspot.com

"Out of five stars, I'd probably give six. . . . It's a great, fast-paced, witty, snarky read."

About the Author

Phil Brody is a former advertising account executive and copywriter. He is the writer and director of "A Blue Christmas," which won the grand prize in the Short Film Group's first annual script competition and was acknowledged in the Cleveland International Film Festival and WorldFest-Houston. He is a writer, producer, and director for documentaries on the Discovery Channel, the National Geographic Channel, and the Food Network. He lives in Los Angeles.

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