| | Wired: The Short Life & Fast Times Of John Belushi |  | Author: Bob Woodward
Publisher: Pocket
Category: Book
Buy Used: $6.34
New (4) Used (15) from $6.34
Avg. Customer Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 229446
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 7 x 4.5 x 1.4
ISBN: 067164548X
EAN: 9780671645489
ASIN: 067164548X
Publication Date: September 1, 1989
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Used paperback in acceptable condition. May shows either signs of heavy use or wear. May have clipped corner on cover or wavy cover. A good reading copy.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
 Good product for the price paid September 6, 2008
Great book...wanted to read it for a while. Nice price and good quality from the seller.
Such a tragic waste July 18, 2008
Friends and colleagues of the late John Belushi were universally critical of this biography upon its initial release. Their efforts to denigrate Bob Woodward's account of the sudden rise, popular success and early death of Belushi was unsparing in detailing his addiction to drugs and alcohol and far too accurate for their tastes.
Belushi perfected his comedic skills with the Second City troupe and went on to acclaim as one of the original cast members on "Saturday Night Live." A low budget film about a college fraternity proved to be his comedic masterpiece. I recall a professor opining that hordes of unqualified high school seniors all wanted to attend college or university solely on the strength of having seen "Animal House."
Belushi made several more films, but none ever equalled the success of "Animal House." A few were multimillion dollar flops. The actor developed an insatiable appetite for drugs. He died after being injected with a lethal overdose in a Hollywood hotel by another junkie.
This is a thoroughly depressing account of the rapid downward spiral of an addict. To paraphrase Dean Vernon Wormer of Faber College, "Fat, drugged and stupid is no way to go through life son."
This is not a sentimental biography. This is Hollywood at its worst.
Fast & Short Run July 9, 2008
This autobiography of Belushi seemed to focus a lot on his drug use, but it did delve into other aspects of his overall life, personality, and relationships. The politics and inner-workings of the film business are latently and appropriately repeated on a regular basis throughout "Wired." This biography on Belushi seems a bit sullen. The flow of the writing can be difficult to follow for some. (Just my opinion.)
Some additional points noted by Woodward described the seemingly common anxiety and trepidation that inflicts directors and producers when they are about to release a movie, no matter how "big" these movie moguls are. They anonymously attend the screening of their films to test audiences for the first time: focusing on the crowd, watching viewers, listening to responses to the punch lines, and gauging the mood of the audience.
Landis and a colleague anonymously went to the test showing of "Animal House" when it was first shown to a public audience in Denver. Denver was chosen because it was in the "heartland of middle America" and was not New York or Los Angeles. The two sat in the audience, pensive. After the initial seconds of the movie caused an uproar of hysterical laughter with Belushi and the shoes, they knew they had a hit: Bluto was born. Interesting about the making of this movie, were the details of scenes of "Animal House" that were cut out. In addition to details of "animal house," a lot of the book is dedicated to the making of "The Blues Brothers" film and Saturday Night Live (SNL).
Even Steven Spielberg had the common feeling of uncertainty when working on post-production of a film when it was ready to be released. Speilberg felt so uneasy about the film "1941" he directed, that he left Hollywood and went to Hawaii when it was released. At a budget of $26 million, "1941" was one of the most expensive comedies made. The critics trashed the movie, and Belushi even thought it would ruin his career.
When "Blues Brothers" was reviewed the critics bashed it and referred to the movie as "1942," in reference to the previous abysmal bomb, "1941." The LA Times called it a "$30 million dollar wreck, minus laughs." The Blues Brothers movie was below average and frankly, was and is still very over-rated. Just my opinon.
There are several instances of dialogue between people in this book. These are hard to replicate, and are based on reconstructions of people's memories. Recollections get fuzzy over time. Dialogues can be altered and edited, understandabley, for brevity and to make the flow of a book more smooth. Nontetheless, these are hard to replicate, and these dialogues can cause skepticism among readers.
There was occasional mention of the frequent press attention Belushi recieved from mainstream media outlets, primarily magazines.
Details of "Saturday Night Live" (SNL) were also provided. After 4 years and 87 shows Belushi resigned from SNL, because simultaneiously working on the "Blues Brothers" movie SNL was too difficult and time consuming, leading Belushi to burnout.
Some of the fun bits, were Akroyd and Belushi driving across the country and playing jokes on the CB radio, while reading Jack Kerouac's "On the Road." Another trivia, is that Belushi purchased and lived in a house on the Vineyard formerly owned by Robert McNamera and later had an indirect offer from Richard Nixon when he put the house on the market.
Bob Woodward did his homework. In the back of the book Woodward includes an index of the people and the job titles of the people he interviewed. Included in the research were appointments books, diaries, calendars, receipts, tapes, scripts, and personal business documents. A lengthy list of those interviewed, including Executive Producers in the movie business, Belushi's friends, police detectives, the Wheaton high school football coach, and the drug suppliers to Belushi.
Having read other works and bios by Woodward, the take on Belushi in "Wired" was a bit glum and solemn for me.
 dont waste your money! June 18, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
there is a reason why Judy and the Belushi family have shunned this author and this book. this is not a true reflection of what John is and as a lifelong fan of John (and James) I will not read this and I suggest you stay away. Read judys books about John those are the true reflection
 What Could've Been.... February 15, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
1,000 friends and family members were at the funeral. So many were such a big part of his life. They loved him and would do anything for him, but they didn't do enough. None could or would save him from himself.
"Wired: The Short Life & Fast Times of John Belushi" by Bob Woodward takes a good look at the events of his life that led him to sudden fame and his fast spiral downward of fast living and drugs that led to his death much too early for this brilliant and much loved comic genius.
You may learn more then you want to know about some pretty big names in the entertainment industry, that either unwittingly helped Belushi or partied hardy with him on his road to self-destruction. I admire them for stepping up and telling their stories to Author Woodward(even the drug dealers themselves have some interesting accounts), and although some actually lectured John on the evils of what he was doing to himself, and at one point a self-professed anti-drug enforcer was hired to help out,I was dismayed by the lack of courage on any of these giants, and those closest to him, to take drastic measures to save his life. Many times the interviewees say, he was headed for death. Woodward does an excellent job of supplying the details of his life and times,his fast rising career, the attitudes of his friends, the movie studio execs, his family and even his Doctors. No one could say NO to him.
It is clear that alot of time,hundreds of interviews, and extensive research has gone into this book, making it a must read for fans. John's bigger then life personality, his constant demand and need for artistic freedom and control are a very big part of this story. My problem came in about the first third of the book. To be honest I found this part a bit tedious and repetitive. Adoring fans, need not be reminded of nearly every line he spoke or wrote for the Saturday Night Live sketches. Long ago, we already made his famous phrases our own("Cheezbugga, Cheezbugga".... "But Nooooooo...." ), and we could probably still recall in great detail, all the great moments he gave us. I did however find the look behind the scenes of this great show, and the movie ranglings most interesting. Each film he did or had a script for is talked about in detail, along with his state of being during that time.As the book goes on though, and especially towards the end where we are with him every one of his last hours on earth, we get a very good look into the craziness his life spiraled.
By the end I was saddened once again by the loss of one of my favorites, and thought about all the laughs the world has missed out on. I also felt angered by the lack of help he received from all those close to him, and thought there were some matters that were just sluffed off by the particiapnats and not detailed enough by the Author, for example the police investigation.The book also has numerous pix..my favorite..John in his Samauri warrior costume.
An interesting read, one that may stir fans to say:
"'Bluto'....you have been truly missed" .....Laurie
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