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The Last Action Heroes - Nick de Semlyen - 2023
The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage
By: Nick de Semlyen
Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 06-06-23
Categories: Arts & Entertainment, Film & TV, Entertainment & Celebrities, Popular Culture
Language: English
Publisher: Random House Audio
Format: mp3 64/48 stereo
The behind-the-scenes story of the action heroes who ruled 1980s and ’90s Hollywood and the beloved films that made them stars, including Die Hard, First Blood, The Terminator, and more.
“This book takes you so close to the action that you can smell the sweat, cigar smoke, and bad cologne that brought these movies to life.”—Paul Scheer
The Last Action Heroes opens in May 1990 in Cannes, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone waltzing together, cheered on by a crowd of famous faces. After years of bitter combat—Stallone once threw a bowl of flowers at Schwarzenegger’s head, and the body count in Schwarzenegger’s Commando was increased so the film would “have a bigger dick than Rambo”—the world’s biggest action stars have at last made peace.
In this wildly entertaining account of the golden age of the action movie, Nick de Semlyen charts Stallone and Schwarzenegger’s carnage-packed journey from enmity to friendship against the backdrop of Reagan’s America and the Cold War. He also reveals fascinating untold stories of the colorful characters who ascended in their wake: high-kickers Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan, glowering tough guys Dolph Lundgren and Steven Seagal, and quipping troublemakers Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Willis. But as time rolled on, the era of the invincible action hero who used muscle, martial arts, or the perfect weapon to save the day began to fade. When Jurassic Park trounced Schwarzenegger’s Last Action Hero in 1993, the glory days of these macho men—and the vision of masculinity they celebrated—were officially over.
Drawing on candid interviews with the action stars themselves, plus their collaborators, friends, and foes, The Last Action Heroes is a no-holds-barred account of a period in Hollywood history when there were no limits to the heights of fame these men achieved, or to the mayhem they wrought, on-screen and off.
©2023 Nick de Semlyen (P)2023 Random House Audio
Critic Reviews
“This book takes you so close to the action that you can smell the sweat, cigar smoke, and bad cologne that brought these movies to life. Along the way, Nick de Semlyen reveals tales of stunts gone wrong, conversations between Stallone and Reagan, the origin of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s buns, and all of the stories from the sets that people were too afraid to tell—until now.”—Paul Scheer
“A testosterone-fueled ode to action movies of the 1980s and ’90s . . . Fans of Reagan-era blockbusters will eat up tales from the sets of Conan the Barbarian, Rocky IV, and Predator. Additionally, de Semlyen’s astute analysis takes this up a notch. . . . This packs a punch.”—Publishers Weekly
“This book can be enjoyed on several levels. Readers who want A-lister trivia—Stallone once worked in a zoo! Schwarzenegger’s father had been a Nazi! Bruce Willis was a former security guard! Quentin Tarantino’s first screen credit was a Dolph Lundgren fitness video!—will find plenty of satisfaction. Those looking for high-level film criticism mixed with social commentary are also in for a treat.”—Booklist
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