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Halfway To Hollywood: Diaries 1980 to 1988
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'Palin reminds me of Samuel Johnson: driven, intellectually formidable, and spurred on by self-reproach and the wholly irrational idea that he's not really getting on with it... Palin is a seriously good writer. These diaries are full of fine phrases and sharp little sketches of scenes' (Sam Leith DAILY MAIL )
'Halfway to Hollywood is at its best when it moves from Palin's professional life to personal revelation' (THE SUNDAY TIMES )
'There are some fabulous and very funny snippets about Alan Bennett and Maggie Smith... the behind-the-scenes antics of the Pythons and their wider circle make great reading' (THE OBSERVER )
'Reading Palin's words is like putting your slippers on, clutching a cup of cocoa and settling down for a late night chat with an old friend... for anyone who enjoys with work of a competent, erudite and amusing diarist.' (MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS )
'This is the Michael Palin with whom the public has fallen in love. A man whose ordinary likeability makes us feel we know him, and that he is incapable of nastiness or an outburst of bad temper.' (THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )
'it's clear why Cleese later nominated Palin as his luxury item on Desert Island Discs because... he makes such unfailingly good company... this is the agreeably written story of how a former Python laid the foundation stone by which he would reinvent himself as a public institution: the People's Palin.' (THE GUARDIAN )
'Halfway to Hollywood is at its best when it moves from Palin's professional life to personal revelation' (THE SUNDAY TIMES )
'There are some fabulous and very funny snippets about Alan Bennett and Maggie Smith... the behind-the-scenes antics of the Pythons and their wider circle make great reading' (THE OBSERVER )
'Reading Palin's words is like putting your slippers on, clutching a cup of cocoa and settling down for a late night chat with an old friend... for anyone who enjoys with work of a competent, erudite and amusing diarist.' (MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS )
'This is the Michael Palin with whom the public has fallen in love. A man whose ordinary likeability makes us feel we know him, and that he is incapable of nastiness or an outburst of bad temper.' (THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH )
'it's clear why Cleese later nominated Palin as his luxury item on Desert Island Discs because... he makes such unfailingly good company... this is the agreeably written story of how a former Python laid the foundation stone by which he would reinvent himself as a public institution: the People's Palin.' (THE GUARDIAN )
Product Description
The second volume of Michael Palin's diaries covers the 1980s, a decade in which the ties that bound the Pythons loosened as they forged their separate careers. After a live performance at the Hollywood Bowl, they made their last performance together in 1983 in the hugely successful Monty Python's Meaning of Life. Writing and acting in films and television then took over much of Michael's life, culminating in the smash hit A Fish Called Wanda, in which he played the hapless, stuttering Ken (for which he won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor), and the first of his seven celebrated television journeys for the BBC. He wrote much of the dialogue and acted in Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits and acted in his next film, Brazil. He co-produced, wrote and played the lead in The Missionary opposite Maggie Smith, who also appeared with him in A Private Function, written by Alan Bennett. For television he wrote East of Ipswich, inspired by his links with Suffolk. Such was his fame in the US, he was enticed into once again hosting the enormously popular show Saturday Night Live, in one edition of which his mother makes a highly successful surprise guest appearance. He filmed several journeys for television and became chairman of the pressure group, Transport 2000. His family remains a constant as his and Helen's children enter their teens.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Michael Palin is a man you just can't dislike (although you might think him a bit silly - see lumberjack song, parrot sketch etc). The same is true of his diary: what's not to like (apart from the fact that it's not silly at all)? He's a witty, warm, intelligent guy, and his diary is a very rapidly readable account of what it's like to be him and to move in the circles he does. There's lots about getting film scripts developed and getting films made, an astonishing amount of jet-setting (considering that when I watched his adventures abroad in various documentaries he seemed quite an innocent abroad), plenty about fellow Pythons and quite a bit about his mother and family. I haven't seen most of the films that Palin was working on when he wrote this diary, but that doesn't detract from it: I couldn't put it down and had read the whole fat book within a week.
It's not prurient, heart-breaking or laugh-a-minute. But, like so much of Michael Palin's work, it is sensitive, well-observed, down-to-earth and studded with pithy wit. It's just a pleasure to be in his company. No surprise that he seems the most popular Python within the group, and he gets on with all of them (with the possible exception of Graham Chapman, who may have been too zany for anyone on this planet to really connect with). Palin is self-effacing but not *too* nice - he bristles when he's being taken advantage of and stands up for himself, and it's nice to see him land the occasional punch. He also delivers what all good celeb diarists should - nice character portraits that show the human side of figures we know and love.
What did surprise me was just how much hobnobbing celebs do with each other - Palin is forever "bumping into" household names like Richard Branson and Rupert Murdoch - so the diary is rich in characters, not to mention the Pythons and others involved in his films, like Alan Bennett, Maggie Smith and Denholm Elliot. Another surprise was just how professional and affable John Cleese seemed to be, compared to my Fawlty presumption!
So, Palin for President! Cleese for Vice President!
It's not prurient, heart-breaking or laugh-a-minute. But, like so much of Michael Palin's work, it is sensitive, well-observed, down-to-earth and studded with pithy wit. It's just a pleasure to be in his company. No surprise that he seems the most popular Python within the group, and he gets on with all of them (with the possible exception of Graham Chapman, who may have been too zany for anyone on this planet to really connect with). Palin is self-effacing but not *too* nice - he bristles when he's being taken advantage of and stands up for himself, and it's nice to see him land the occasional punch. He also delivers what all good celeb diarists should - nice character portraits that show the human side of figures we know and love.
What did surprise me was just how much hobnobbing celebs do with each other - Palin is forever "bumping into" household names like Richard Branson and Rupert Murdoch - so the diary is rich in characters, not to mention the Pythons and others involved in his films, like Alan Bennett, Maggie Smith and Denholm Elliot. Another surprise was just how professional and affable John Cleese seemed to be, compared to my Fawlty presumption!
So, Palin for President! Cleese for Vice President!
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
A wonderful insight to the British and American film industries, oh, and Michael Palin's life
8 Oct 2009
Format:Hardcover
Michael Palin is a writer, performer, producer, family man, and much more besides. His Halfway to Hollywood diaries reveal a tantalising insight into his life during the 1980's where he was writing screenplays (Time Bandits, The Missionary, The Meaning of Life, etc.), performing (Time Bandits, The Missionary, Brazil, A Private Function, The Dress, etc.), and producing (The Missionary). His diaries reveals his hopes, frustrations, friendships, business deals, and observations of life during the period. It also opens up the chaotic American and British film industries during the time in which video seen as a major threat to the cinemas.
Palin is a wonderful diarist, and this volume will keep fans of Michael Palin and/or Monty Python engrossed for a good while. And it serves as an excellent playlist to revist his films on DVD, something I look forward to doing ASAP.
Palin is a wonderful diarist, and this volume will keep fans of Michael Palin and/or Monty Python engrossed for a good while. And it serves as an excellent playlist to revist his films on DVD, something I look forward to doing ASAP.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I'd read and thoroughly enjoyed Michael Palin's first volume of diaries, but had only heard a couple of reviews of this, the follow-up, and neither were encouraging. Words such as boring and unenlightening were used, and I was a little worried. I needn't have been. This second volume is every bit as good, if not better than the original.
Palin is such a natural writer, his words trip off the page as though he were casually sitting next to you making pleasant conversation. His warmth, wit, love of his family and insecurities, all come to light in this fine book. He sheds light on a world most of us can only speculate about - the tantalising world of screenplays, movie deals, TV appearances etc., but makes most of it seem about as terrifying as a wander down to the local corner shop for a pint of milk. And this is no bad thing. He definitely name drops, but in such a casual pleasant way that you hardly notice it. For instance when he frequently refers to his friend "George", you have to keep reminding yourself that this is George Harrison from The Beatles! There is comedy and heartbreak along the way. Be prepared.
I think my favourite moment is when he takes his 80-year-old mother to New York on Concorde and she ends up co-presenting Saturday Night Live with him on national American TV.
This book is a wonderfully easy read, you will struggle to put it down as you just want to keep going, turning the page again and again to find out what happened next. And if nothing else this book has taught me two things - 1. I cannot wait for the next volume of diaries to be published, and 2. I would really love to have Michael Palin round for tea. Perhaps he could mention it in his diaries sometime?
Palin is such a natural writer, his words trip off the page as though he were casually sitting next to you making pleasant conversation. His warmth, wit, love of his family and insecurities, all come to light in this fine book. He sheds light on a world most of us can only speculate about - the tantalising world of screenplays, movie deals, TV appearances etc., but makes most of it seem about as terrifying as a wander down to the local corner shop for a pint of milk. And this is no bad thing. He definitely name drops, but in such a casual pleasant way that you hardly notice it. For instance when he frequently refers to his friend "George", you have to keep reminding yourself that this is George Harrison from The Beatles! There is comedy and heartbreak along the way. Be prepared.
I think my favourite moment is when he takes his 80-year-old mother to New York on Concorde and she ends up co-presenting Saturday Night Live with him on national American TV.
This book is a wonderfully easy read, you will struggle to put it down as you just want to keep going, turning the page again and again to find out what happened next. And if nothing else this book has taught me two things - 1. I cannot wait for the next volume of diaries to be published, and 2. I would really love to have Michael Palin round for tea. Perhaps he could mention it in his diaries sometime?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
And Now for Something Completely Different
When this diary starts in 1980 Palin is part of Monty Python about to start "The Meaning Of Life".When the diary finishes the Pythons have disbanded,he has made some very... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mb Davis
Have to read it first
Can't say. I didn't read the diaries so far (only three pages). The only thing I can say is that it won't be easy to start again.
Published 14 months ago by A. J. J. Goutier
Good read
Good read, exactly what you would expect from Palin- perfect book to dip in and out of.
Published 21 months ago by CJ
A soothing read, but...
I have been a fan of Michael Palin for almost 40 years, and I thoroughly enjoyed the first volume of his diaries, which records the rise of Monty Python. Read more
Published on 6 Mar 2010 by Friend of Dorothy
Palin book
After ordering this book weeks before Christmas and it still had not arrived, I was to let Amazon know by the 20th Dec if it did not arrive. Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2010 by Ms. Veronica Simpson
Another Palin Winner
Carrying on from where he left off in his 1969-1979 Diaries, the 1980-1988 book is readable, enlightening, humourous and a must for any Palin and Python fan.
Published on 30 Jan 2010 by Mike R. Heath
Brilliant account of the experiences of a star.
I really enjoyed reading the second volume of Michael Palin's diaries in which he charts the aftermath of the Python years as he moved from his success in television comedy to... Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2010 by DDH255
Nostalgia
This book is a must for anyone that remembers Britain in the 80s - and not only Python or Palin fans. Read more
Published on 23 Jan 2010 by Brian G
an entertaining and diverse read
I was a huge fan of the last set of diaries and this has not dissapointed. Palin's writing style is very easy. Read more
Published on 6 Jan 2010 by a casual reviewer
Halfway to Hollywood
Bought it for a relation for xmas and they cant put it down since receiving it and says its very interesting
Published on 28 Dec 2009 by su
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