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Holy Headshot!: A Celebration of America's Undiscovered Talent
Holy Headshot! is an amazing collection of the funniest, strangest, most captivating performers' headshots and resumes you have ever seen. The book throws open the door to the casting director's office and gives an entertaining peek into the amazing -- and sometimes bizarre -- world of show business. Authors Patrick Borelli and Douglas Gorenstein pored over 50,000 headshots to put together this remarkable gallery, which showcases everyone from aspiring amateurs who are striving to live out their Hollywood dreams to seasoned professionals that you might recognize from the big screen. A celebration of our national obsession with getting famous, Holy Headshot! offers up plenty of "What were they thinking!?" hilarity, but just as often you'll find yourself rooting for the characters that populate its pages.
- GenresHumorNonfiction
240 pages, Paperback
First published October 21, 2008
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 13, 2020
I am Bias I give it Five stars, why, well I'm on page 42 and 43, this book did nothing to help my career though, they could have done so much more with promoting this book. I have been busy ever since this book came out, again not because of this book but because of my perseverance. officialrwmartin.com I also have written a book - https://www.amazon.com/Life-Inside-My... There was supposed to be a second book, but it never happened, sadly, but a few people from the book have done a couple of things. The entertainment business is cutthroat and the only person I ever found out there to help me was the late Richard Hatch, he was trying to help me get my TV concept on the air.
June 1, 2021
This is my second reading. When I first stumbled on this a few years ago, I laughed out loud at (not with) the sad desperation leaping out from poorly edited resumes and unintentionally comedic headshots. Now, reading more closely I still do think this is an excellent collection to use as cautionary examples on how not to write a resume and how to find value in second opinions and spell checking. Further I find the older the would-be actor (especially "retired") are coming with a take-me-as-I-am approach and are just looking to share some niche talents. The very youngest/earliest in their career with no experience and a surfeit of pleading I want to see launched out of their nest and wing to something, if only as a stand-in a local supermarket commercial. The ones with long lists of extras experience and community theatre roles combined with a frantic laundry list from conversational Spanish to juggling seem rather sad as they lay out how their careers are not really panning out...
June 8, 2015
To quote Bill Murray's immortal line from Tootsie: "I think we're getting into a weird area here."
"Tootsie" is one of the great comedies of all time, because it builds timeless comedy on the serious drama of trying to make a living chasing a dream--a dream which might entail sidetracks into jobs like waiting on tables or, in Dustin Hoffman's case, playing a tomato. After flipping through the headshots of the dreamers in "Holy Headshot," I finally understand the desperation that drove Dustin Hoffman to do anything it took to get a job, even dressing up like a woman and out-auditioning his own girlfriend for the part of a lifetime.
So the comedy here, I realized as I read page after page of the heartfelt desires of these dreamers, is also based on serious drama, and my laughter turned from scornful ("laughing at") to respectful ("laughing with"). I might have rated "Holy Headshot" five stars if I had felt more certain which approach the authors were taking in presenting these headshots; holding these people up for public ridicule would be neither fair or funny.
There is a world of show-business knowledge here. First, I noticed that the talent here fit into one of three basic categories:
1). Novices (of any age) who believe or have been told they can make it in their dream career, if they just chase the dream one more day with every talent and skill they have. Roxie Thomas on p. 90 or Ushasi Kitchen on p 180, for example, just need a chance to break in.
2). Veterans of bit parts in television and movies who have seen everything, and have the imdb.com credits to prove it; they are comfortable with the tremendous range of skills they learned the hard way, and are looking to put food on the table and money in the retirement account with the next gig, no matter how large, small, or insulting it might be. Leona Cyphers on p. 56 will parley her career in several small soap opera roles into her next job, which might use one of her special skills such as quilt making and driving a stick shift.
3). The otherworldly, who seem to have just come from or be headed to another planet, because its hard to imagine they would fit comfortably anywhere on this one. See Yenz Von Tilborg on p. 54 or Clement Dyer on p. 34, and read their resumes carefully, and you'll understand.
Second, as an outsider with no show business knowledge, I was fascinated (as I am when trying to decypher "Variety's" insider language) by the inside details these resumes reveal:
1. No skill is too obscure or unrelated to the business to list - air hockey is a skill (Mike Marino, p. 206)? "I can grow a beard quickly...." is in Jack Finlay's resume (p. 92)--complete with the ellipses, perhaps illustrating the (short) passage of time needed for his hirsute side to emerge.
2. Some skills are more valuable than others. Almost everybody lists having a drivers license, but if you can drive a stick shift, highlight it. Even better, if you own vintage vehicles or unusual props (i.e. guns), list them or offer a detailed list with photographs. If you have a passport and are willing to travel, put it down.
3. Many more men than women list their clothing sizes, in minute detail--waist, inseam, collar, suit, hat, shoe. I guess this is to allow potential employers to judge physical characteristics--and find someone who will fit into their costume wardrobe. But if you have your own wardrobe, list it; being able to bring your own wardrobe might be a difference maker.
4. Nearly everyone here has done a stint in improv comedy, but there are no specialists at this stage in the game. Commercials, industrial parts in training films, bit parts or extra roles in b (and c?) movies of every genre (horror, comedy, raunch, western, and kung fu for starters) are on almost every resume, so its clear that if you want a chance for that Tootsie role, you'll have to play lots of tomatoes along the way.
I started out my review perhaps a bit far afield by comparing this book to Tootsie because it builds timeless comedy on the serious drama, so I will conclude by equating it to the movie Young@Heart, because it builds poignant drama on lighthearted comedy. In "Young at heart", as you watch senior citizens learn to sing rock songs as therapy and entertainment, you laugh at the absurdity at first; then, "laughing at" turns to tears as you realize that a wall of noise like the Ramones "I wanna be sedated" may be more than a song, it might be an anthem of hope and dread for those whose only dream is one more day with loved ones, and without pain.
So for those of you featured in "Holy Headshot", and the thousands more considered and rejected (not again!), here's hoping your next job is your breakthrough--with or without a dress--and that "Holy Headset" helps you make it.
"Tootsie" is one of the great comedies of all time, because it builds timeless comedy on the serious drama of trying to make a living chasing a dream--a dream which might entail sidetracks into jobs like waiting on tables or, in Dustin Hoffman's case, playing a tomato. After flipping through the headshots of the dreamers in "Holy Headshot," I finally understand the desperation that drove Dustin Hoffman to do anything it took to get a job, even dressing up like a woman and out-auditioning his own girlfriend for the part of a lifetime.
So the comedy here, I realized as I read page after page of the heartfelt desires of these dreamers, is also based on serious drama, and my laughter turned from scornful ("laughing at") to respectful ("laughing with"). I might have rated "Holy Headshot" five stars if I had felt more certain which approach the authors were taking in presenting these headshots; holding these people up for public ridicule would be neither fair or funny.
There is a world of show-business knowledge here. First, I noticed that the talent here fit into one of three basic categories:
1). Novices (of any age) who believe or have been told they can make it in their dream career, if they just chase the dream one more day with every talent and skill they have. Roxie Thomas on p. 90 or Ushasi Kitchen on p 180, for example, just need a chance to break in.
2). Veterans of bit parts in television and movies who have seen everything, and have the imdb.com credits to prove it; they are comfortable with the tremendous range of skills they learned the hard way, and are looking to put food on the table and money in the retirement account with the next gig, no matter how large, small, or insulting it might be. Leona Cyphers on p. 56 will parley her career in several small soap opera roles into her next job, which might use one of her special skills such as quilt making and driving a stick shift.
3). The otherworldly, who seem to have just come from or be headed to another planet, because its hard to imagine they would fit comfortably anywhere on this one. See Yenz Von Tilborg on p. 54 or Clement Dyer on p. 34, and read their resumes carefully, and you'll understand.
Second, as an outsider with no show business knowledge, I was fascinated (as I am when trying to decypher "Variety's" insider language) by the inside details these resumes reveal:
1. No skill is too obscure or unrelated to the business to list - air hockey is a skill (Mike Marino, p. 206)? "I can grow a beard quickly...." is in Jack Finlay's resume (p. 92)--complete with the ellipses, perhaps illustrating the (short) passage of time needed for his hirsute side to emerge.
2. Some skills are more valuable than others. Almost everybody lists having a drivers license, but if you can drive a stick shift, highlight it. Even better, if you own vintage vehicles or unusual props (i.e. guns), list them or offer a detailed list with photographs. If you have a passport and are willing to travel, put it down.
3. Many more men than women list their clothing sizes, in minute detail--waist, inseam, collar, suit, hat, shoe. I guess this is to allow potential employers to judge physical characteristics--and find someone who will fit into their costume wardrobe. But if you have your own wardrobe, list it; being able to bring your own wardrobe might be a difference maker.
4. Nearly everyone here has done a stint in improv comedy, but there are no specialists at this stage in the game. Commercials, industrial parts in training films, bit parts or extra roles in b (and c?) movies of every genre (horror, comedy, raunch, western, and kung fu for starters) are on almost every resume, so its clear that if you want a chance for that Tootsie role, you'll have to play lots of tomatoes along the way.
I started out my review perhaps a bit far afield by comparing this book to Tootsie because it builds timeless comedy on the serious drama, so I will conclude by equating it to the movie Young@Heart, because it builds poignant drama on lighthearted comedy. In "Young at heart", as you watch senior citizens learn to sing rock songs as therapy and entertainment, you laugh at the absurdity at first; then, "laughing at" turns to tears as you realize that a wall of noise like the Ramones "I wanna be sedated" may be more than a song, it might be an anthem of hope and dread for those whose only dream is one more day with loved ones, and without pain.
So for those of you featured in "Holy Headshot", and the thousands more considered and rejected (not again!), here's hoping your next job is your breakthrough--with or without a dress--and that "Holy Headset" helps you make it.
June 12, 2010
So far, this page turner is pure laughter and amazement. One of my friends is one the authors and I therefore recommend everyone I know buying a copy. It was on the coffee table at my recent holiday party and i think everyone that looked at it was flipping out. Buy it, open, enjoy.
February 9, 2010
Great book for your coffee table (or other room where folks may need something to flip through). You may have seen Kitten Kay Sera (with Miss Kisses) on an episode of the Dog Whisperer, but chances are good you've never seen any of these other Hollywood hopefuls.
September 15, 2008
Since I'm a co-author of this book I can safely say that I've read it. And yes, I gave it 5 stars because it is that good.
Patrick
Patrick
October 24, 2008
Oh, just the IDEA of this book is fabulous. Then, the forward is by David Cross. Friggin AWESOME.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews