Wolper, Carol

PERSONAL: Female.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Riverhead Books Publicity, Penguin Group, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014.

CAREER: Screenwriter and author.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

(With Lynda Obst) Dirty Dreams, NAL Books (New York, NY), 1990.

The Cigarette Girl, Riverhead Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Secret Celebrity, Riverhead Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Mr. Famous, Riverhead Books (New York, NY), 2004.

The Cigarette Girl was translated into ten languages.

SCREENPLAYS

Bad Boys, Columbia/Tristar, 1995.

SIDELIGHTS: Author and novelist Carol Wolper is a Hollywood screenwriting veteran who specializes in fast-paced action movies. She has served as screen-writer on pictures such as Bad Boys in a career spanning more than twelve years in Tinseltown.

In Dirty Dreams, Wolper and collaborator Lynda Obst write of a Hollywood "so full of dirty deals, sex, and drugs that it's amazing that any film worth watching gets made" there, observed Library Journal critic Lydia Burruel Johnson. When successful but lowlife movie producer Lance Burton asks Millennium Studios to give him complete control over his latest sex film, studio executive Nicole Lanford and her protege Carolyn Foster fight to keep the salacious movie from being made. In the process, they become the target of Burton, as well as others within the studio hierarchy. Bambi Stern and David Beach each compete for Nicole's job; studio president Kevin Holberstein struggles to conceal a secret that will force him to move against Nicole; and studio CEO Ted McGuinness just doesn't want to get involved. Publishers Weekly reviewer Sybil Steinberg called the book "silly but harmless" and "an amiable mediocrity."

Wolper's inside knowledge of the Hollywood moviemaking culture forms the backdrop for The Cigarette Girl. Elizabeth West, twenty-eight years old, is a successful LA screenwriter who (like Wolper) writes action flicks. She recognizes that, being in her late twenties, she has entered what she calls "the zone" the period of life between age twenty-eight and thirty-six, "the time when women have to stop fooling around, find some kind of reasonable man, settle down to have some babies," observed Carolyn See in Washington Post Book World. "It's what the world wants from women; it's what she thinks she wants."

In the fast-lane life of Hollywood, she doesn't meet the type of man who is suitable husband and father material, and despairs being forced to settle for a less-than-ideal mate. Elizabeth does, however, know of at least one man who meets her criteria: high-powered movie director Jake, her boss and mentor. He is more than twelve years her senior, charming, but also a playboy with no apparent interest in her. A maverick in every way, Jake "knows things about the unique, stressful, strange world they inhabit that she will never know," See noted. "She is the humble, alert, curious learner. What she is trying to learn is: How does one live in this extraordinarily mind-bending community, the world of making high-budget action films? Far more important, what is the correct way to approach life itself?" As the novel progresses, Wolper pushes aside the glitz to ruminate on this philosophical question while keeping Jake and Elizabeth teasingly close to one another. "This fast-paced debut novel abounds with snappy one-liners and insider chatter"from Hollywood, commented a reviewer in People. George Needham, writing in Booklist, called The Cigarette Girl "embarrassingly entertaining,"while a Publishers Weekly critic dubbed it a "slick and accomplished" novel.

In Hollywood, a "secret celebrity" is the ultimate insider; a celebrity's celebrity well-known among the cognoscenti but generally obscure outside of exclusive circles. In Secret Celebrity, Wolper explores this concept and what fame can do to people caught up in the Hollywood machinery. Christine Chase is a documentary filmmaker whose six-year marriage has collapsed. She knows her life has become a boring routine, but she seeks solace at the local newsstand, poring over tabloids and chatting with "Magazine Guy" William over their mutual love/hate relationship with Hollywood. To break out of her rut, Christine decides to track down and make a film about her idol, Richard Gault, "a reclusive musician/philosopher/actor/rebel who never sold out," observed a reviewer in Publishers Weekly. Briefly famous in the 1970s, Gault withdrew from the spotlight before success could corrupt him. Christine and William, along with cameraman Waz and assistant Jennifer, set out to find Gault. "Along the way, Christine finds time to feed her libido, muse endlessly on the LA scene, actually find Richard Gault—and the answer to her prayers," stated a Kirkus Reviews critic. Booklist reviewer Beth Warrell observed that the book will most appeal to readers who are "critical of Hollywood but still read … People magazine from cover to cover."

The title character of Mr. Famous is Victor Mason, an aging action star whose fame is slowly fading. Lucinda acts as his personal chef and nutritionist, but more often she becomes an amateur analyst and sounding board for the troubled man she nicknames Mr. Famous. When Victor finally realizes that his identity has become too dependent on being Victor Mason, Movie Star, he sets out to make a courageous and unconventional comeback, with Lucinda at his side. This "slick, blockbuster-style work of fiction" is a book that "seems more a love letter to Hollywood than a critique, played just safe enough so as not to offend anyone," observed Carmela Ciuraru in Los Angeles Times. Chicago Tribune reviewer Ian Millican called the book "simple but entertaining, and a quick read." Joanne Wilkinson, writing in Booklist, stated the novel is "Fun reading from a knowing screenwriter with an enviably light touch."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, August, 1999, George Needham, review of The Cigarette Girl, p. 2031; June 1, 2002, Beth Warrell, review of Secret Celebrity, p. 1689; May 1, 2004, Joanne Wilkinson, review of Mr. Famous, p. 1548.

Chicago Tribune, July 6, 2004, Ian Millican, review of Mr. Famous, p. 4.

Entertainment Weekly, September 10, 1999, review of The Cigarette Girl, p. 146.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2002, review of Secret Celebrity, p. 768; April 1, 2004, review of Mr. Famous, p. 299.

Library Journal, April 1, 1990, Lydia Burruel Johnson, review of Dirty Dreams, p. 138; August, 1999, Sheila M. Riley, review of The Cigarette Girl, p. 143; March 1, 2000, Karen Bohrer, review of The Cigarette Girl, p. 152.

Los Angeles Times, July 22, 2004, Carmela Ciuraru, review of Mr. Famous, p. E5.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, October 24, 1999, Rachel Resnick, review of The Cigarette Girl, p. 6.

People, November 22, 1999, review of The Cigarette Girl, p. 59.

Premiere, June, 1991, John Clark, review of Dirty Dreams, p. 110.

Publishers Weekly, March 30, 1990, Sybil Steinberg, review of Dirty Dreams, p. 54; July 19, 1999, review of The Cigarette Girl, p. 182; June 24, 2002, review of Secret Celebrity, p. 37.

Washington Post Book World, August 17, 1999, Carolyn See, review of The Cigarette Girl, p. C02.

Women's Wear Daily, July 1, 2002, Rose Apodaca Jones, "Secret Agent," review of Secret Celebrity, p. 16.