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The Last Action Heroes
The Last Action Heroes: The Triumphs, Flops, and Feuds of Hollywood's Kings of Carnage | Nick de Semlyen
2 posts | 2 read | 5 to read
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. Entertaining . . . This is a book that makes you ache for the days when the movie screen belonged not to men who dress in superhero capes but to those who lift weights.Washington Examiner A NEWSWEEK BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 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 combatStallone once threw a bowl of flowers at Schwarzeneggers head, and the body count in Schwarzeneggers Commando was increased so the film would have a bigger dick than Rambothe worlds 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 Schwarzeneggers carnage-packed journey from enmity to friendship against the backdrop of Reagans 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 Schwarzeneggers Last Action Hero in 1993, the glory days of these macho menand the vision of masculinity they celebratedwere 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.
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RamsFan1963
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39/100 Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Norris, Van Damme, Willis, Seagal, and Chan, all the giants of 80s action movies. I grew up with these movies, especially the ones by Stallone and Schwarzenegger. I never cared for Steven Seagal, his acting was horrible and his "martial arts" always seemed faked and staged. The nostalgia is strong, plus there's plenty of behind the scene gossip. 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐?

MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm Seagal is 100% a hack and a fraud. 😅 But I love most old action films and many of the stars. I‘ll have to check this one out, for sure. 2w
MemoirsForMe Loved all these action films too and lately have been happily binge-watching all the Charlie Chan movies. So true about Seagal.😁💤 What about Bruce Lee? 2w
RamsFan1963 @MemoirsForMe The book covered movies of the 80s and early 90s, after Bruce Lee's time. They do mention Lee when discussing Chuck Norris, who fought Lee in Enter The Dragon, and Jackie Chan, who got his start in the same film. 2w
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The_Book_Ninja You know what, everyone hates on Seagal now and rightly so, he‘s a bonafide douche…but if you grew up watching action flicks, his early films were bangers: lots of bad guys getting smacked up, awesome knife fights and the same no-nonsense heroics and street justice that makes Jack Reacher so popular. And you can‘t hate Above the Law because it‘s got the most beautiful and underrated actress in Hollywood in it: Pam Grier. 2w
RamsFan1963 @The_Book_Ninja I liked his first 3 movies, I even liked Under Siege, but after that they got repetitive and generic. I forgot he also directed On Deadly Ground, which was a bloated, preachy disaster. Seagal isn't painted in a good light in this book, his rampant egomania, his abuse of stuntmen and costars, and his distasteful attitude towards women. Not to mention he once said he was a greater martial artist than Bruce Lee. 2w
The_Book_Ninja @RamsFan1963 I agree with all of this👏🏼 2w
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The_Book_Ninja
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Colleen Hoover saved my life: As I took this book to the counter to pay, I knocked over a Hoover display, novels tumbled everywhere. As I bent to pick them up, a throwing knife whizzed past my head, thwacking into a shelf. Standing up I saw my nemesis, ex-KGB hit-man Ivan Ivanov, lining up 2nd blade. I grabbed a Hoover & dashed it at Ivanovs temple, he was stunned. “Neva judge a bork by da cuvvah” I told the demented villain as he came around.

Ruthiella Fantastic review! 😂 4mo
Jari-chan 🤣 4mo
The_Book_Ninja @Ruthiella it‘s all true! 4mo
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The_Book_Ninja @Jari-chan 🤪 4mo
Bookwomble Living the dream! 😁 I hope you had a fantastic festive season 😊 4mo
The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble Hey Wombie! I had a good Xmas, had all 3 of my kids ‘round and it was fun times. I hope you had a good one too and got lots of book prezzies 4mo
Bookwomble @The_Book_Ninja Excellent Xmas! Ours was good, too. We had our kids over with their partners and a pet cat, so that was cozy. I certainly did get lots of book pressies, as I bought them myself! 😆 4mo
The_Book_Ninja @Bookwomble sometimes you have to be your own Santa 4mo
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