Starstruck: My Unlikely Road to Hollywood

SIGNED BY LEONARD MALTIN!
 
By Leonard Maltin
 
One of the world’s most recognizable and respected film critics and historians, with a 30-year run on Entertainment Tonight, millions of copies of his annual Movie Guide sold, appearances and mentions in hit shows like South Park and The Sopranos, and now a top podcast, Leonard Maltin has been a fixture on the screens and bookshelves of American households for the past nearly half century.
But despite being a familiar face to millions -- so famous that Will Smith spotted Maltin in a Malibu restaurant and introduced himself to him! -- very little of Leonard Maltin’s life story is known. How did a self-described “film nerd” from the New Jersey suburbs ascend to the heights of Hollywood?
On October 12, 2021, with the release of his Maltin’s memoir Starstruck: My Unlikely Road to Hollywood, we’re about to find out.
 
Beginning in the days of double features at the local cinema and the first decade of television, Maltin -- “an inveterate letter-writer before texting and the Internet” -- recounts in Starstruck how fan mail led to unexpected correspondences, then to interviews, published features, and the publication of his own magazine... and his first book deal at 17 years old.
“The contract probably wasn’t valid, since I was a minor,” he writes. “But no one ever brought that up. Little did I dream that this idea would take root, establish my reputation, and shape my life for the next 45 years.”
Offering an all-access-pass to “one lucky guy’s life experience” as Maltin carved a path from adolescent fandom to dream career, Starstruck is also a notable first-hand account of the evolution of the entertainment industry, from the birth of megaplex blockbusters like Star Wars and Titanic to the emergence of Netflix and the streaming generation. Full of stories, many of them tender and hilarious, of 50+ years interacting with legendary actors, writers, directors, producers, and cartoonists, the book contains no shortage of bold-faced names including George Clooney, Ava DuVernay, George Lucas, Elizabeth Taylor, Hugh Hefner, Peanuts creator Charles M. Schultz, and more.
 
A warm and intimate portrait of contemporary Hollywood history and a delightful read for any pop culture addict, Starstruck is a love letter to the magic of film and television and a testament to the singular contributions Maltin -- who recently celebrated his 70th birthday -- has made to American entertainment.