DESPERATELY SEEKING SOMETHING

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.