Desperately Seeking Something

Starred review from February 26, 2024
After 40 years spent “on the less-glamorous side of the camera telling other people’s stories,” director Seidelman (Desperately Seeking Susan) takes a lively jaunt through her own. After a childhood spent in a Philadelphia suburb in the 1960s, Seidelman discovered a love for movies in college and later attended NYU’s graduate film school, finding inspiration in the 1970s feminist movement and the city’s buzzing, subversive punk subculture. Three years out of film school, she began work on Smithereens (1982), a movie that reflected her fascination with female characters who sought to “break out of the boxes they were stuck in,” and became the first low-budget independent American film to compete for the Palme d’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival; her sophomore hit, Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), starred Madonna and catapulted her to mainstream success; she later directed the first four episodes of Sex and the City in 1997, among other projects. Interwoven with fascinating behind-the-scenes detail, Seidelman vividly traces the evolution of her artistic vision, combining the strong, feisty heroines of classic screwball comedies with the playful, postmodern spirit of New Wave film. It’s an enthralling look at a trailblazing filmmaker’s perseverance and vision. Agent: Susan Golomb, Writers House.

April 1, 2024
A memoir from the veteran director of Smithereens, Desperately Seeking Susan, and other films. In her first book, Seidelman offers a revealing peek into her four-decade career in Hollywood. The author immediately displays an appealing vulnerability: "In one of my bored and narcissistic check-ins I found the following question posted under my Wikipedia page: Whatever happened to Susan Seidelman?" Detailing her experience during the pandemic, she writes about how she began wondering about her effect on the world. She displays sharp humor and wit throughout tales of her life in the film industry, chronicling intriguing encounters with a variety of celebrities and how she joined a long history of women breaking barriers in the industry. In a series of short chapters named after songs and artists--e.g., "Walk on the Wild Side (Lou Reed)," "Californication (Red Hot Chili Peppers)," "Dazed and Confused (Led Zeppelin)"--Seidelman describes her experiences moving from Philadelphia to New York City and her interactions with a gaggle of oddball characters as she sought a graduate degree in film from NYU. With the punk drama Smithereens, she became the first American independent filmmaker to compete at the Cannes Film Festival, and she has plenty to say about the challenges involved in serving as an advocate for groups of underrepresented people. Seidelman's films have always reflected her hopes for a more just society and a world that allows women to tell their stories; her book also demonstrates those themes. "These days, I no longer wear my feminism casually, as a woman's right to control her own body is being challenged across the country. But thankfully, abuse of power and bad behavior are no longer considered 'business as usual.'" The author delivers an unguarded portrait of her life, telling it her way. An interesting read for anyone curious about the film industry.

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Starred review from April 1, 2024

Movie director Seidelman's memoir, with a title referencing her smash-hit 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan, is a breezy read about her life from childhood through the present day. Most of the narrative takes place in New York City in the 1970s and 1980s. That's when Seidelman attended film school and started making feature films, at a time when few women were directing movies. Her films focused on unconventional women expressing themselves and their autonomy, a theme that carried through 1982's punk flick Smithereens (the first U.S. indie film to compete at Cannes) and the Seidelman-directed pilot of Sex and the City. The chapters are short, and each is titled after a song that thematically fits the content of the chapter. Many black-and-white photos of movie sets, events from Seidelman's career, and her family are interspersed throughout the book. Her stories are compelling and offer a glimpse into a little-known independent-film world. There are also vivid descriptions of the New York City artist culture in the late 20th century. VERDICT A quick and easy read about the life and career of a trailblazing filmmaker. Will appeal to many audiences, including those unfamiliar with Seidelman's career. Fans of Jay and Mark Duplass's Like Brothers, Tim Murphy's Christodora, or Alice Bag's Violence Girl will especially enjoy.--Heather Sheahan

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2024
Seidelman, who directed the 1980s cult hit Desperately Seeking Susan and the pilot for Sex and the City, recounts her pursuit of a directing career at a time when few women were given opportunities behind the camera. Growing up in the 1950s and 1960s in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Seidelman had both a wild streak that led to her go-go dancing on public access television and a creative streak that prompted her to go to film school in New York after college. Seidelman opted to go the independent route, drumming up financing for her first film, Smithereens, which garnered her an invite to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. For her next project, she cast up-and-coming singer Madonna in one of the lead roles, with no idea of how Madonna's popularity would ignite during filming. For the next several decades, Seidelman made her mark by helming films and television shows that turned the spotlight on outsiders, more often than not women, looking to find their place in the world. An engaging and entertaining tour of a pioneering female director's career.

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