We got our copy of When a Fan… yesterday; I was able to skim through it in fairly short order. What a thoroughly bizarre little tale. Wholly believable, mind you; I’ve known a few people in the Amy and Abbey style.
Naturally I’m very glad David and I didn’t get sucked into this particular quagmire. I confess to a case of the cold shivers at how easy it would have been, though. Something I think Renne misses in her account is the sheer amount of wholly legitimate variegated insanity surrounding anyone and everyone involved with the Lord of the Rings movies. I mean, by any measure you like, David is a third-tier celebrity at best, and the attention he got knocked both of us for a loop. If they had called a little earlier, and called at home rather than at work…
It doesn’t surprise me, in other words, that Astin and Makoare and all the other movie folks who got sucked in, got sucked in. There’s no time for folks like that to do due diligence on every crazy scheme out there and still have something vaguely resembling both a life and a fruitful relationship with one’s fans.
Renne’s book, though not written in anything resembling journalistic or historical style, is thoroughly-researched and well-documented. If you need a little freak show to raise your spirits, this is a good choice.
