Actor Rupert Everett’s The American No is titled after a term coined to describe the tendency of US film and TV executives to lovebomb your pitches when you’re in the room with them, then ruthlessly ghost you the moment you step outside. Tired of being on the receiving end of such soul-sapping treatment, Everett has made an executive decision of his own: to reclaim some of his ideas that never got greenlit by turning them into a book.
Making up this eclectic and entertaining collection are eight short stories, each prefaced by an endearingly honest explanation of how and why it failed to make the cut. They range from a proposed TV pilot based on Proust’s In Search Of Lost Time to a brilliantly inventive film on the last day of Oscar Wilde which – were it not for that damned American No – would surely have lit up the silver screen.
Best of all is a deftly written and deliciously catty tale about the inner workings of a Hollywood agency. Charting a young man’s journey from failed actor to head honcho, it’s a fascinating look at the bureaucratic backbone that holds up the glittering facade of Tinseltown, and deserving of a yes in any language.
The American No, Rupert Everett (Abacus)
Price: £20/£24.99 audiobook. Info: here
words RACHEL REES