What do you think?
Rate this book
Popcorn
Bruce shoots movies. Wayne and Scout shoot to kill. In a single night they find out the hard way what's real and what's not, who's the hero and who's the villain. The USA watches slack-jawed as Bruce and Wayne together resolve some serious questions. Does Bruce use erection cream? Does art imitate life or does life simply imitate bad art? And most of all, does sugar-pie really love his honeybun?
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
85 people are currently reading
1,413 people want to read
About the author
Ben Elton
61books1,396followersBen Elton was born on 3 May 1959, in Catford, South London. The youngest of four, he went to Godalming Grammar school, joined amateur dramatic societies and wrote his first play at 15. He wanted to be a stagehand at the local theatre, but instead did A-Level Theatre Studies and studied drama at Manchester University in 1977.
His career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. His ground breaking work as a TV stand-up comedian set the (high) standard of what was to follow. He has received accolades for his hit TV sit-coms, The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line.
More recently he has had successes with three hit West End musicals, including the global phenomenon We Will Rock You. He has written three plays for the London stage, including the multi-award-winning Popcorn. Ben's international bestselling novels include Stark, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society. He won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award for the novel Popcorn.
Elton lives in Perth with his Aussie wife Sophie and three children.
His career as both performer and writer encompasses some of the most memorable and incisive comedy of the past twenty years. His ground breaking work as a TV stand-up comedian set the (high) standard of what was to follow. He has received accolades for his hit TV sit-coms, The Young Ones, Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line.
More recently he has had successes with three hit West End musicals, including the global phenomenon We Will Rock You. He has written three plays for the London stage, including the multi-award-winning Popcorn. Ben's international bestselling novels include Stark, Inconceivable, Dead Famous and High Society. He won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award for the novel Popcorn.
Elton lives in Perth with his Aussie wife Sophie and three children.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 296 reviews
September 6, 2024
Another innovative satire by Elton� looking at modern culture, especially multimedia and if / or how it impacts on the very people it demonises? Mass murderers confront an Oscar winning director who creates popular films about murdering sprees. What starts off as a cliché ridden story evolves into something far more. A very good read! Worthy 8 out of 12, Four Star read just for the thought provoking issues it raises.
2010 and 2018 read
2010 and 2018 read
September 19, 2022
I love Ben Elton books and I nearly gave up on this one as the first 50 or so pages I didn't have a clue what was going on but I'm glad I carried on as loved it in the end.
Slightly silly and ridiculous but that's exactly what life is getting like now.
A very true to life book of life in the 21st century.
Five stars.
Slightly silly and ridiculous but that's exactly what life is getting like now.
A very true to life book of life in the 21st century.
Five stars.
February 2, 2012
This is your textbook example of a 3 star book. Right between all the good and all the bad books. The story was gripping, the moral dilemmas were interesting, the build-up was well carried out. It worked as a satire on media, violence disguised as art and entertainment and basically our society that doesn't want to take responsibility for anything. There is a whole industry dedicated to finding the culprit for just about anything that goes wrong in your life, and check this - it's never you!
So all the above were the good bits. The premise was good. The characters... well, not so much. For example we had teenage American white trash speaking like British comics. Sometimes they would speak with a complete disregard of grammar rules and showing an IQ of bonobo chimpanzees, but when Elton thought of something funny they would all of a sudden produce eloquent complex sentences like:
"Well, I guess a plan to avoid being executed for murder, Bruce. I can't think of an agenda more immediate than that for people in the position me and Scout find ourselves in". That is sarcasm! Two American teengers with half a brain between both of them would not be sarcastic.
At some point Ben Elton must have realised he let it go too far and that two teenagers who drop out from school when they were 13 could not possibly be able communicate like that so he made a desperate effort to explain it through his narrator. Well, apparently it is because they watch a lot of television. They watched television all the time and that made them smart. Good news, if watching television makes you so smart we have a generation of geniuses entering the labour market right now.
My other complaint about this 'viciously funny satire' is, well, that it wasn't. Funny, that is. That might be me, though. There are other things that other people find hilarious and I don't. Like Little Britian, for example.
There was one scene in the book that did make me chuckle, though. It was when Elton's narrator was taking the piss out of mornings shows on tv. God, how I hate those. Just because it is 8 am and our brains haven't fully woken up yet doesn't mean you should treat us like imbeciles. So other than this scene, Elton was mildly amusing at best. But he did try very hard. Too hard.
So all the above were the good bits. The premise was good. The characters... well, not so much. For example we had teenage American white trash speaking like British comics. Sometimes they would speak with a complete disregard of grammar rules and showing an IQ of bonobo chimpanzees, but when Elton thought of something funny they would all of a sudden produce eloquent complex sentences like:
"Well, I guess a plan to avoid being executed for murder, Bruce. I can't think of an agenda more immediate than that for people in the position me and Scout find ourselves in". That is sarcasm! Two American teengers with half a brain between both of them would not be sarcastic.
At some point Ben Elton must have realised he let it go too far and that two teenagers who drop out from school when they were 13 could not possibly be able communicate like that so he made a desperate effort to explain it through his narrator. Well, apparently it is because they watch a lot of television. They watched television all the time and that made them smart. Good news, if watching television makes you so smart we have a generation of geniuses entering the labour market right now.
My other complaint about this 'viciously funny satire' is, well, that it wasn't. Funny, that is. That might be me, though. There are other things that other people find hilarious and I don't. Like Little Britian, for example.
There was one scene in the book that did make me chuckle, though. It was when Elton's narrator was taking the piss out of mornings shows on tv. God, how I hate those. Just because it is 8 am and our brains haven't fully woken up yet doesn't mean you should treat us like imbeciles. So other than this scene, Elton was mildly amusing at best. But he did try very hard. Too hard.
February 15, 2025
_________________
"I go to the movies for one thing only: to see things blown up and people blown away. It's like therapy, but with popcorn." --Unknown
Bruce has an ego the size of the sun and as fragile as an antique blown-glass Xmas ornament. He is genius. He is sure of it. He is a Hollywood movie director ala Quentin Tarantino and Sam Peckinpah, and like those two glitter town icons, Bruce is famous for making movies filled with mayhem and murder and carnage. In fact, he slaughtered 47 characters in horrific ways in his last movie alone.
Bruce is a genius, a mastermind of modern art. He says so himself. In fact, he is up for an Academy Award for Best Director. Now, Bruce admits that his movies are mental "popcorn" in the same way Romeo and Juliet or Beethoven's Fifth are. He also considers his films to be extremely witty: for instance, when an old lady in his movie is shot through her colostomy bag, her line is "Oh, shit!" HA!
"Better a witty fool, than a foolish wit." - Feste (Twelfth Night, Act 1, Scene 5)
Unfortunately, even though he wins the Oscar, which makes him feel justified in his glorious self-image, there is a mob of furious protesters outside the ceremony that is harshing his mellow. Those protesters claim that Bruce's movie's graphic violence is encouraging copycat killings of real-life people. Those idiots. Can't they see that he is a genius? His movies are art. His movies depict a new reality. There is nothing Bruce cares about more than being thought of as a genius.
"He that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him and makes me poor indeed." - Iago (Othello, Act 3, Scene 3)
Also unfortunately, there is couple out there who are big fans of his movies. Their names are Scout and Wayne. Scout and Wayne are husband and wife serial killers who are marauding across the states committing random acts of mass murder. [The book was written before mass murder was cool.] Scout and Wayne are big fans of Bruce’s movies and decide to pay him a visit.
"This even-handed justice commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice to our own lips." - Macbeth (Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7)
🌟🌟🌟🌟Stars. I have wanted to read this book for several years, and I am happy that I finally got around to it. It is a waggish satire on Hollywood, on fame, on gun cults, on the connection between violence in the U.S. and the gun industry, on American news programs, and on American politicians.
Note: One line from Popcorn that I will surely think of every time I see a politician or police chief give a television news conference after some tragedy is the following-- Chief Cornell had immediately decided to take charge of the operation himself. He had no choice. He desperately needed the air time. Here is line about TV cable news shows that I will also remember: ‘In that case,� said the studio anchors, ‘let’s turn now to our panel of criminal psychologists and show-business experts.�
"I go to the movies for one thing only: to see things blown up and people blown away. It's like therapy, but with popcorn." --Unknown
Bruce has an ego the size of the sun and as fragile as an antique blown-glass Xmas ornament. He is genius. He is sure of it. He is a Hollywood movie director ala Quentin Tarantino and Sam Peckinpah, and like those two glitter town icons, Bruce is famous for making movies filled with mayhem and murder and carnage. In fact, he slaughtered 47 characters in horrific ways in his last movie alone.
Bruce is a genius, a mastermind of modern art. He says so himself. In fact, he is up for an Academy Award for Best Director. Now, Bruce admits that his movies are mental "popcorn" in the same way Romeo and Juliet or Beethoven's Fifth are. He also considers his films to be extremely witty: for instance, when an old lady in his movie is shot through her colostomy bag, her line is "Oh, shit!" HA!
"Better a witty fool, than a foolish wit." - Feste (Twelfth Night, Act 1, Scene 5)
Unfortunately, even though he wins the Oscar, which makes him feel justified in his glorious self-image, there is a mob of furious protesters outside the ceremony that is harshing his mellow. Those protesters claim that Bruce's movie's graphic violence is encouraging copycat killings of real-life people. Those idiots. Can't they see that he is a genius? His movies are art. His movies depict a new reality. There is nothing Bruce cares about more than being thought of as a genius.
"He that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him and makes me poor indeed." - Iago (Othello, Act 3, Scene 3)
Also unfortunately, there is couple out there who are big fans of his movies. Their names are Scout and Wayne. Scout and Wayne are husband and wife serial killers who are marauding across the states committing random acts of mass murder. [The book was written before mass murder was cool.] Scout and Wayne are big fans of Bruce’s movies and decide to pay him a visit.
"This even-handed justice commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice to our own lips." - Macbeth (Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7)
🌟🌟🌟🌟Stars. I have wanted to read this book for several years, and I am happy that I finally got around to it. It is a waggish satire on Hollywood, on fame, on gun cults, on the connection between violence in the U.S. and the gun industry, on American news programs, and on American politicians.
Note: One line from Popcorn that I will surely think of every time I see a politician or police chief give a television news conference after some tragedy is the following-- Chief Cornell had immediately decided to take charge of the operation himself. He had no choice. He desperately needed the air time. Here is line about TV cable news shows that I will also remember: ‘In that case,� said the studio anchors, ‘let’s turn now to our panel of criminal psychologists and show-business experts.�
October 21, 2023
Come on, man! It doesn't get any better than this. The king of Hollywood, two mass murderers, a dying Playboy centrefold, a rinsed-out old hag of an ex-wife, a spoilt, sexy little weeping teen, blood, guns.. We've got it all!Damn right. Violence as a form of entertainment. And meaningful art. According to Bruce Delamitri anyway. A hotshot director of brutal movies who is about to get a taste of his own medicine. Cold-blooded murderers. In his own house. How ya like it now, Brucey? Still digging the irony? Guess not. I did though. Bruce has a delicious temper, I'm pretty sure these two natural born killers would get a thumbs-up from Oliver Stone and the humor bounces back and forth between satirical and sarcasm, black and deadpan. It made me think of Pulp Fiction as well. I had a good, good time with this one.
December 5, 2022
Elton has quite a following in the UK but is pretty much unknown in the US. Primarily a novelist, here he's taken a 300+ page novel and condensed it into a two-hour play - and it's still somewhat one-note and bloated - a Tarantino-esque film director gets a taste of his own medicine when two psycho killers show up at his house on the same night he wins an Oscar. Still, the set-up is clever and there are a modicum of funny lines.
February 15, 2024
Όχι η καλύτερη στιγμή του Ben Elton (αλλά μάλλον όχι και η χειρότερη). Σε ένα παρχωχημένης (αλλά περιέργως πάντα επίκαιρης) θεματολογίας ανάγνωσμα, ο συγγραφέας μας φέρνει αντιμέτωπους με τη βία και τη διαμάχη ως προς το τι τη δημιουργεί και ποιος είναι ο υπεύθυνος.
Ένας σκηνοθέτης που κερδίζει το όσκαρ με μια ταινία όπου η βία είναι αχαλίνωτη, στη συνέχεια της βραδιάς της απονομής και ενώ είναι έτοιμος να πηδήξει ένα μανούλι στάρλετ που έχει ποζάρει στο πλέιμπόι (συγγνώμη για το σεξισμό, αλλά είμαστε στα 90ies) έρχεται σε επαφή με τη νέμεσή του, ένα ζευγάρι που ζει από τη βία όπως οι ήρωές του. Όμως οι συνθήκες δεν είναι ακριβώς ιδανικές. Ή μήπως είναι; Κρατείται όμηρος από τα δύο white trash τυπάκια που σκοτώνουν κόσμο χωρίς λόγο και στο τέλος καλείται μπροστά σε κάμερες να υπερασπιστεί τον εαυτό του, τις επιλογές του και την τέχνη.
Μέχρι να φτάσουμε όμως εκεί, έχει χυθεί αρκετό αίμα�
Σχεδόν αμήχανο και όχι απόλυτα σίγουρο ως προς αυτό που θέλει να πει, το βιβλίο είναι στη γκρίζα ζώνη μεταξύ ενδιαφέροντος αναγνώσματος και εγχειρίδιου διδακτικισμού με το δάχτυλο προτεταμένο, ενώ στο background μετεωρίζεται (αφήνοντας αρκετές πορδίτσες) το αμείλικτο ερώτημα «η ζωή μιμείται την τέχνη ή το αντίστροφο», με ένα φινάλε που δεν θα ικανοποιήσει ΚΑΝΕΝΑΝ.
Σατιρίζει τα μέσα ενημέρωσης; Ναι, το έκανε και ο Νόρμαν Σπίνραντ πολύ πιο αποτελεσματικά, βαθύτερα και� εκρηκτικά στις «Ειδήσεις των 11» και το «Bug Jack Baron». Η υπόθεση ήταν καλή; Ήταν, αλλά δε σε έριχνε τανάσκελα. Τουλάχιστον μετά τη δεκαετία του �90� Ήταν οι χαρακτήρες πιστευτοί; ΟΧΙ! Πολλές φορές, πιάνεται ένοχος ο Έλτον να κάνει υπερβάσεις, ιδιως όταν βάζει δυο σκουπίδια να μιλάνε πολύ πιο συγκροτημένα απ� όσο θα περίμενες από δυο αγράμματα τσογλάνια που σκοτώνουν κόσμο «επειδή» και μετά φακαμιώνται κιόλας ανάμεσα στα πτώματα. Είναι επαρκής η σιχαμάρα από τις πρωινές εκπομπές, όπως την αποδίδει ο Μπεν; Ναι, εδώ 10/10. Ήταν σενάριο για ταινία του Ταραντίνο; Όχι, γιατί εκτός από το λουτρό αίματος, έβγαζε και κάποιο νόόημα (αυτό το περνάω στα θετικά). Αξίζει να διαβαστεί; Αν ζείτε ακόμα στα 90ies, ναι.
Ένας σκηνοθέτης που κερδίζει το όσκαρ με μια ταινία όπου η βία είναι αχαλίνωτη, στη συνέχεια της βραδιάς της απονομής και ενώ είναι έτοιμος να πηδήξει ένα μανούλι στάρλετ που έχει ποζάρει στο πλέιμπόι (συγγνώμη για το σεξισμό, αλλά είμαστε στα 90ies) έρχεται σε επαφή με τη νέμεσή του, ένα ζευγάρι που ζει από τη βία όπως οι ήρωές του. Όμως οι συνθήκες δεν είναι ακριβώς ιδανικές. Ή μήπως είναι; Κρατείται όμηρος από τα δύο white trash τυπάκια που σκοτώνουν κόσμο χωρίς λόγο και στο τέλος καλείται μπροστά σε κάμερες να υπερασπιστεί τον εαυτό του, τις επιλογές του και την τέχνη.
Μέχρι να φτάσουμε όμως εκεί, έχει χυθεί αρκετό αίμα�
Σχεδόν αμήχανο και όχι απόλυτα σίγουρο ως προς αυτό που θέλει να πει, το βιβλίο είναι στη γκρίζα ζώνη μεταξύ ενδιαφέροντος αναγνώσματος και εγχειρίδιου διδακτικισμού με το δάχτυλο προτεταμένο, ενώ στο background μετεωρίζεται (αφήνοντας αρκετές πορδίτσες) το αμείλικτο ερώτημα «η ζωή μιμείται την τέχνη ή το αντίστροφο», με ένα φινάλε που δεν θα ικανοποιήσει ΚΑΝΕΝΑΝ.
Σατιρίζει τα μέσα ενημέρωσης; Ναι, το έκανε και ο Νόρμαν Σπίνραντ πολύ πιο αποτελεσματικά, βαθύτερα και� εκρηκτικά στις «Ειδήσεις των 11» και το «Bug Jack Baron». Η υπόθεση ήταν καλή; Ήταν, αλλά δε σε έριχνε τανάσκελα. Τουλάχιστον μετά τη δεκαετία του �90� Ήταν οι χαρακτήρες πιστευτοί; ΟΧΙ! Πολλές φορές, πιάνεται ένοχος ο Έλτον να κάνει υπερβάσεις, ιδιως όταν βάζει δυο σκουπίδια να μιλάνε πολύ πιο συγκροτημένα απ� όσο θα περίμενες από δυο αγράμματα τσογλάνια που σκοτώνουν κόσμο «επειδή» και μετά φακαμιώνται κιόλας ανάμεσα στα πτώματα. Είναι επαρκής η σιχαμάρα από τις πρωινές εκπομπές, όπως την αποδίδει ο Μπεν; Ναι, εδώ 10/10. Ήταν σενάριο για ταινία του Ταραντίνο; Όχι, γιατί εκτός από το λουτρό αίματος, έβγαζε και κάποιο νόόημα (αυτό το περνάω στα θετικά). Αξίζει να διαβαστεί; Αν ζείτε ακόμα στα 90ies, ναι.
August 14, 2021
Maybe more like 2.5. This is a very 90's satire of the gangster/crime drama genre of films that was ubiquitous and popular at that time.
I was interested in this book because Elton was a writer for two of my favorite shows from the 1980s, The Young Ones, and Black Adder II-IV. He certainly knows how to structure a plot and write dialogue.
Unfortunately, the book jacket/promo blurbs led me to believe this was going to be WAY funnier than it actually was. There were a couple of mild chuckles, but mostly it was ironic, not laugh-out-loud funny.
It's very meta and there are lots of bits in screenplay format and the whole thing is slick and superficial. It could be turned into a film easily. If the characters were a bit more developed the story would have been funnier because then, as a reader I would have been involved as the situation became increasingly dangerous if I had any insight into these people. As it stands, there are no heroes or relatable characters in the book. Everyone is a spectacular tool.
The material that it satirizes, such as Natural Born Killers, was already pretty meta and had its own messages about glorifying violence and depicting killers as folk heroes in the media. Satire should be better than what it’s satirizing, and this is not; it's not even as good.
There were a couple of strong points about Popcorn. The final confrontation did have me very tense. I also appreciate that Popcorn takes a swipe at both liberal and conservative views and suggests that we take responsibility for our own actions and don't blame the media or any other circumstances for our mistakes and failures.
I was interested in this book because Elton was a writer for two of my favorite shows from the 1980s, The Young Ones, and Black Adder II-IV. He certainly knows how to structure a plot and write dialogue.
Unfortunately, the book jacket/promo blurbs led me to believe this was going to be WAY funnier than it actually was. There were a couple of mild chuckles, but mostly it was ironic, not laugh-out-loud funny.
It's very meta and there are lots of bits in screenplay format and the whole thing is slick and superficial. It could be turned into a film easily. If the characters were a bit more developed the story would have been funnier because then, as a reader I would have been involved as the situation became increasingly dangerous if I had any insight into these people. As it stands, there are no heroes or relatable characters in the book. Everyone is a spectacular tool.
The material that it satirizes, such as Natural Born Killers, was already pretty meta and had its own messages about glorifying violence and depicting killers as folk heroes in the media. Satire should be better than what it’s satirizing, and this is not; it's not even as good.
There were a couple of strong points about Popcorn. The final confrontation did have me very tense. I also appreciate that Popcorn takes a swipe at both liberal and conservative views and suggests that we take responsibility for our own actions and don't blame the media or any other circumstances for our mistakes and failures.
July 12, 2019
An absolutely fantastic read.
This book is an amazing achievement. It has it all- it's funny, witty, thrilling and a brilliant page turner, while simultaneously honing in with laser precision upon the issue of whether watching violent films begets real life murder and violence.
This solemn issue is right at the core of the narrative, and yet the book has a lightness of tone that keeps you turning the pages.
It's an astounding work of satire- deserving of all the praise it's received.
For some reason the bright cover and title of the book put me off picking it up for years- it just looked like it would be a frothy silly book.
I was wrong on both counts- I can't believe it's taken me this long to read this.
Highly recommended- 5 amazing stars
This book is an amazing achievement. It has it all- it's funny, witty, thrilling and a brilliant page turner, while simultaneously honing in with laser precision upon the issue of whether watching violent films begets real life murder and violence.
This solemn issue is right at the core of the narrative, and yet the book has a lightness of tone that keeps you turning the pages.
It's an astounding work of satire- deserving of all the praise it's received.
For some reason the bright cover and title of the book put me off picking it up for years- it just looked like it would be a frothy silly book.
I was wrong on both counts- I can't believe it's taken me this long to read this.
Highly recommended- 5 amazing stars
February 28, 2024
Ben Elton is probably best known for his writing for Blackadder and the Young Ones. Popcorn is one of his novels where his razor sharp wit and bleeding sarcasm come together and create a hard hitting comedy about a oscar winning movie writer who writes Tarantino style movies and two young mass murderers who could have walked off the screen of one of his movies. It's a hilarious riff on violence, mass media, Hollywood culture, human fascination for empty entertainment and who in that mix is responsible for the horrible results.
The novel was published in 1996 and is still as relevant as it ever was. Elton's insight in the modern human condition is amazing and chilling at the same time. You can perfectly see how this would play out in social media, even though when this novel was published it wasn't there as it is today. A prescient, witty, hilarious and deeply scary work by one of the greatest comedic writers of the last 50 years. Very much recommended to everyone, especially people who love Blackadder or the young ones.
The novel was published in 1996 and is still as relevant as it ever was. Elton's insight in the modern human condition is amazing and chilling at the same time. You can perfectly see how this would play out in social media, even though when this novel was published it wasn't there as it is today. A prescient, witty, hilarious and deeply scary work by one of the greatest comedic writers of the last 50 years. Very much recommended to everyone, especially people who love Blackadder or the young ones.
February 23, 2025
Unsure why I picked this up as it's not something I would ever normally read. Struggled through the first 50 pages with the plot however once I got into it I couldn't put it down. I know it's a satire but would make a good play/film.
March 6, 2014
Dear P has to read this for school - he has read the first chapter and is not impressed at all. It does seem a rather obscure choice. So I am reading it for him...
On the morning after the night it happened, Bruce Delamitri was sitting in a police interview room.
Characters:
Bruce Delamitri - Hollywood golden boy
Farrah Delamitri - spouse, model, rock singer and now corpse.
Girl and boy Mall Killers
Errol and Mr. Snuff - actor gangsters (again - think Travolta and Jackson in Pulp Fiction, especially the way they constantly debate)
Professor Chambers - a Mr Chips type of character
Chapters 1 & 2
Read Tarantino as Delamitri, and the start of Pulp Fiction for the Mall killers. Moral arguments about society mimicking films.
Chapter 3 & 4
Oscar for Best Director; dreadful acceptance speech. SWAT team enters Bruce's Mansion (that sounds like Batman doesn't it!). Errol and Mr Snuff are shown plying their skills.
Chapter 5 & 6
Back to just before the Oscar ceremonies has Bruce addressing his Alma Mater at USC. Important phase here is 'ironic juxtaposition'. Cut to cheap cowboy woman practically masturbating to music in a dive of a mid-day shit-house bar.
Think Kill BIll!
Chapter 7 and 8
Highlighting - Feminist angle. Electric chair. Middle class white kids wishing to dress and talk 'dude' - generation X. Gruesome film action to the sound of chirpy music (ironic juxtapositioning again)
Chapters 9 & 10
MAD - Mothers Against Death. The females that follow Bruce around, heckling him, because they accuse him of influencing, via the silver screen, those two Mall Killers into randomly killing their children. Jack Daniels. Twinkies.
Important phrase: 'I stand here on legs of fire'. Used within the acceptence speech and reiterated throughout the book. Bruce is ashamed at the utter crap that he spewed but this particularly asinine phrase haunts him.
Chapter 11 & 12
Oscar party. Wayne and Scout.
Chapter 13 & 14
Scout and Wayne. A peeling/Appealing. A 'mid-day shit-house bar' moment.
Chapter 15 & 16
Film influences Brooke. "Bruce look behind you." Sheeeee-it! Bikini line shaving.
Chapter 17 & 18
A Severed Head and we not talking talking Iris Murdoch.
Chapter 19 & 20
Enter from stage precinct - Detectives Crawford and Jay. A Chicago moment(page 185)
Chapter 21 & 22
Kurt. Karl. Uh-oh.
Chapter 23 & 24
Bulimic Susan.Mr Chop Chop and a sock in the chops.
Chapter 25 & 26
Early Bruce and Farrah. Is a blow job the same as a nose job? Reporters. Choppers. "What we are looking for is someone else to take the blame."
Chapter 27 & 28
Reporters.Centre stage for the media.
Chapter 29 & 30
"Scout 'n' me are your fault."
Chapter 31 & 32 & 33 & 34 & 35 & 36 & 37 & 38 &39
Deep down, everyone wants to get on TV. Ratings. I KEEL YOU! It's my job, I'm a maniac. Pavlov. She's my mom. SWAT. Epilogue
On the morning after the night it happened, Bruce Delamitri was sitting in a police interview room.
Characters:
Bruce Delamitri - Hollywood golden boy
Farrah Delamitri - spouse, model, rock singer and now corpse.
Girl and boy Mall Killers
Errol and Mr. Snuff - actor gangsters (again - think Travolta and Jackson in Pulp Fiction, especially the way they constantly debate)
Professor Chambers - a Mr Chips type of character
Chapters 1 & 2
Read Tarantino as Delamitri, and the start of Pulp Fiction for the Mall killers. Moral arguments about society mimicking films.
Chapter 3 & 4
Oscar for Best Director; dreadful acceptance speech. SWAT team enters Bruce's Mansion (that sounds like Batman doesn't it!). Errol and Mr Snuff are shown plying their skills.
Chapter 5 & 6
Back to just before the Oscar ceremonies has Bruce addressing his Alma Mater at USC. Important phase here is 'ironic juxtaposition'. Cut to cheap cowboy woman practically masturbating to music in a dive of a mid-day shit-house bar.
Think Kill BIll!
Chapter 7 and 8
Highlighting - Feminist angle. Electric chair. Middle class white kids wishing to dress and talk 'dude' - generation X. Gruesome film action to the sound of chirpy music (ironic juxtapositioning again)
Chapters 9 & 10
MAD - Mothers Against Death. The females that follow Bruce around, heckling him, because they accuse him of influencing, via the silver screen, those two Mall Killers into randomly killing their children. Jack Daniels. Twinkies.
Important phrase: 'I stand here on legs of fire'. Used within the acceptence speech and reiterated throughout the book. Bruce is ashamed at the utter crap that he spewed but this particularly asinine phrase haunts him.
Chapter 11 & 12
Oscar party. Wayne and Scout.
Chapter 13 & 14
Scout and Wayne. A peeling/Appealing. A 'mid-day shit-house bar' moment.
Chapter 15 & 16
Film influences Brooke. "Bruce look behind you." Sheeeee-it! Bikini line shaving.
Chapter 17 & 18
A Severed Head and we not talking talking Iris Murdoch.
Chapter 19 & 20
Enter from stage precinct - Detectives Crawford and Jay. A Chicago moment(page 185)
Chapter 21 & 22
Kurt. Karl. Uh-oh.
Chapter 23 & 24
Bulimic Susan.Mr Chop Chop and a sock in the chops.
Chapter 25 & 26
Early Bruce and Farrah. Is a blow job the same as a nose job? Reporters. Choppers. "What we are looking for is someone else to take the blame."
Chapter 27 & 28
Reporters.Centre stage for the media.
Chapter 29 & 30
"Scout 'n' me are your fault."
Chapter 31 & 32 & 33 & 34 & 35 & 36 & 37 & 38 &39
Deep down, everyone wants to get on TV. Ratings. I KEEL YOU! It's my job, I'm a maniac. Pavlov. She's my mom. SWAT. Epilogue
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2019
Written around the time of Natural Born Killers and the rise of Quentin Tarantino, this is a blatant satire on the themes that NBK evoked at the time.
Unfortunately, it hasn't aged well at all: I didn't laugh once and the bits that were clearly satire come off as lazy. This is not fair: I'm sure the book was fresh and a riot back in the late 90s. But now it feels like a slapdash effort, akin to Elton's Meltdown, based on the 2009 economic crisis.
Yet I also suspect this was an overpraised darling of its time (the sleeve review blurbs are incredibly enthusiastic), because it's not a good book. At times, I felt I was reading a poor imitation of a Chuck Palahniuk story. Not likely - Elton wrote this before Palahniuk's work became widely popular. Still, it's a seedy, cynical work with shallow caricatures for characters.
Ultimately I enjoyed the character of Wayne, the psycho killer, most, because he turns out to be another enlightened killer - not unlike Cormac McCarthy's Anton Chigurh. Yet overall this felt like a moralistic, smart-ass novel that isn't very creative about the themes it's trying to cover.
In a way, Popcorn seems to be as exploitative and shallow as the media culture it's critiquing. Maybe that was the point. But it's lost on me.
Unfortunately, it hasn't aged well at all: I didn't laugh once and the bits that were clearly satire come off as lazy. This is not fair: I'm sure the book was fresh and a riot back in the late 90s. But now it feels like a slapdash effort, akin to Elton's Meltdown, based on the 2009 economic crisis.
Yet I also suspect this was an overpraised darling of its time (the sleeve review blurbs are incredibly enthusiastic), because it's not a good book. At times, I felt I was reading a poor imitation of a Chuck Palahniuk story. Not likely - Elton wrote this before Palahniuk's work became widely popular. Still, it's a seedy, cynical work with shallow caricatures for characters.
Ultimately I enjoyed the character of Wayne, the psycho killer, most, because he turns out to be another enlightened killer - not unlike Cormac McCarthy's Anton Chigurh. Yet overall this felt like a moralistic, smart-ass novel that isn't very creative about the themes it's trying to cover.
In a way, Popcorn seems to be as exploitative and shallow as the media culture it's critiquing. Maybe that was the point. But it's lost on me.
January 3, 2025
Ben Elton must have realized he let it go too far and that two teenagers who drop out from school when they were 13 could not possibly be able communicate like that so he made a desperate effort to explain it through his narrator. Well, apparently it is because they watch a lot of television. They watched television all the time and that made them smart. Good news, if watching television makes you so smart we have a generation of geniuses entering the labor market right now.
July 24, 2019
Access: Gifted (Harry Harthog)
Picked this one up and polished it off after a two-week reading hiatus due to a veritable clusterfuck of uni work. My brain is firing at best, a quarter neuron right now, so any attempt at sophisticated literary critique will be a meagre one.
This one fires on damn near every cylinder for me. Heavy pop culture references, dark comedy overtones, social satire, erection cream - what else could a guy want? Ben Elton's twisty narrative culminates to a finale of both stark political indictment and hilarity - a delightfully delicate balance. My only notable criticisms are a universally underdrawn character pool, but I'm willing to forgive this aspect, given the pulpy nature of their environment. Ben Elton has won me over with this one - I'll be back for more.
My Pomodoro timer is ringing - guess I oughta return to my studying...
Picked this one up and polished it off after a two-week reading hiatus due to a veritable clusterfuck of uni work. My brain is firing at best, a quarter neuron right now, so any attempt at sophisticated literary critique will be a meagre one.
This one fires on damn near every cylinder for me. Heavy pop culture references, dark comedy overtones, social satire, erection cream - what else could a guy want? Ben Elton's twisty narrative culminates to a finale of both stark political indictment and hilarity - a delightfully delicate balance. My only notable criticisms are a universally underdrawn character pool, but I'm willing to forgive this aspect, given the pulpy nature of their environment. Ben Elton has won me over with this one - I'll be back for more.
My Pomodoro timer is ringing - guess I oughta return to my studying...
February 13, 2012
Brilliantly written as always. Un-put-downable. But I found the general cynicism, and my intense dislike of all the characters, just too much to stomach. I need a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.
February 18, 2021
Life Imitating Art
Everyone is to blame but no one is responsible. A glancing satirical observation of the modern cult violence movie industry and I suspect as others have mentioned of the works of a popular American film maker who will go unmentioned and the potential impact these people can have on a society that in general has become indifferent to violent crime. Its pretty daft this book, not to be taken too seriously, true pulp! I had a few giggles from the absurdity of it all. Well written, engaging, easy to read and surprisingly light hearted given the subject matter It did raise some interesting points but did so I guess in the way Neil from The Young Ones might do with a bin bag full of snot on his head. I think my next move now will be to go and lie prostrate so I can consider which book to read next.
Everyone is to blame but no one is responsible. A glancing satirical observation of the modern cult violence movie industry and I suspect as others have mentioned of the works of a popular American film maker who will go unmentioned and the potential impact these people can have on a society that in general has become indifferent to violent crime. Its pretty daft this book, not to be taken too seriously, true pulp! I had a few giggles from the absurdity of it all. Well written, engaging, easy to read and surprisingly light hearted given the subject matter It did raise some interesting points but did so I guess in the way Neil from The Young Ones might do with a bin bag full of snot on his head. I think my next move now will be to go and lie prostrate so I can consider which book to read next.
October 18, 2021
Pretty okay. I must admit for the most of the first third I was pushing on only for not wanting to quit.
The first third employs a clever back and forth in time narrative structure which is enjoyable, although it does spoil the end some what. The latter half is more chronologically simple, but the tense nature of the plot carries this forward well.
The plot and the situation the characters find themselves in is the real boon of this book. The characters suck and aren’t particularly nice people to have to spend time with. Some of the writing comes across as puerile and jarring. Maybe that’s intentional, maybe that’s 1990s Eurotrash style humour. In 2021, it seems unnecessary.
I’d looked forward to reading this, be it from the writer who scripted Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line. This is a lesser cousin and one, now read, I’ll immediately give to the charity shop.
The first third employs a clever back and forth in time narrative structure which is enjoyable, although it does spoil the end some what. The latter half is more chronologically simple, but the tense nature of the plot carries this forward well.
The plot and the situation the characters find themselves in is the real boon of this book. The characters suck and aren’t particularly nice people to have to spend time with. Some of the writing comes across as puerile and jarring. Maybe that’s intentional, maybe that’s 1990s Eurotrash style humour. In 2021, it seems unnecessary.
I’d looked forward to reading this, be it from the writer who scripted Blackadder and The Thin Blue Line. This is a lesser cousin and one, now read, I’ll immediately give to the charity shop.
October 9, 2017
This is a satirical story that looks at how people are able to shirk all responsibility for their actions by placing the blame on someone or something else. In this case how violence in movies is often blamed for the actions of violent people who watch them. It also deals with how the news channels cover acts of violence and how they pump it into our homes. This is a particularly poignant and reinforcing message about the way that the news has covered the current atrocity of the Las Vagas killings and is precisely what Ben Elton was writing about (checks publication date) twenty years ago.
The story itself gets a little lost behind the message but is reasonably thrilling.
The story itself gets a little lost behind the message but is reasonably thrilling.
April 25, 2017
Y... qué se yo. La verdad que no me gustó mucho.
El libro no es malo, pero simplemente no me pareció un gran libro.
El año pasado leí , también de éste autor, y realmente me gustó mucho.
Pero éste libro simplemente no es my cup of tea.
Están buenos los temas que plantea pero tampoco me pareció demasiado original. Ningún personaje me pareció precisamente memorable o agradable. Y odié el final. Qué sé yo. Los finales feos no son lo mío. That's just me.
El libro no es malo, pero simplemente no me pareció un gran libro.
El año pasado leí , también de éste autor, y realmente me gustó mucho.
Pero éste libro simplemente no es my cup of tea.
Están buenos los temas que plantea pero tampoco me pareció demasiado original. Ningún personaje me pareció precisamente memorable o agradable. Y odié el final. Qué sé yo. Los finales feos no son lo mío. That's just me.
November 7, 2018
Satire & suspense. Director Bruce Delamitri, whose movies make killing cool, thinks the night he wins the Best Director Oscar will be the best night of his life. Things quickly change when he & Brooke (the nude model/actress he picked up at the after party) are taken hostage in his home by Wayne & Scout, the Mall Murderers. Funny & enjoyable. (I found this author because he was included in a list of writers that Christopher Moore said had influenced and inspired him.)
January 3, 2022
Ingenieus gecomponeerde nagelbijter, maar ik heb te traag gelezen om me helemaal in te leven. Of was het toch doordat er geen enkel herkenbaar of sympathiek personage te vinden was? Ik heb het als een buitenstaander gelezen. Een buitenstaander met veel bewondering voor Eltons sarcastische humor, vernuftige opbouw en speelse wissels van stijl en POV, maar desalniettemin een buitenstaander.
En ook: de VS op hun lelijkst.
Maar ook: een echt nineties-boek.
En ook: de VS op hun lelijkst.
Maar ook: een echt nineties-boek.
July 30, 2020
Quite a decent book, better than most thrillers, though I found it a tad obvious and on the nose near the end. The couple of killers reminded me of Mickey and Mallory of Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, and two of the main characters are called Bruce and Wayne. That kind of Spiel.
December 11, 2019
Clever but I felt the end was rushed and needed more of an epilogue to tie up the loose ends
September 3, 2020
This author is crazy, as his characters... but the subject is interesting, and the conclusion well written.
Three stars because of the many gruesome scenes - both real and filmed (and the lack of distinction is the fulcrum of the whole story)
Three stars because of the many gruesome scenes - both real and filmed (and the lack of distinction is the fulcrum of the whole story)
December 12, 2023
Pulp Fiction in een boek
Read
March 29, 2022didn’t finish
May 14, 2013
This novel, by comedian Ben Elton, was very thought provoking. It looked thoroughly into the topic of violent films, and whether or not they influence violence in the real world. I myself do not think that violence in films is responsible for real violence - I've seen plenty of violence on the TV, and I am not likely to go and start killing people in real life. Elton evidently has the same views, as he portrays his protagonist, a director by the name Bruce Delamitri, as the victims of media and disgruntled relatives seeking to find someone to lay the blame on. But, as Bruce himself states on page 19; 'Human beings aren't Pavlov's dogs. You can't just ring a bell and make them salivate. They don't simply do what they see. If it were easy to manipulate people, no product would ever fail and no government would ever fall.' Bruce is particularly annoyed to hear that a couple of lunatics have gone around copying violent scenes from his movies in real life - which prompts his speech about the influence of films. At first he pays little attention, but when he is held hostage by the two criminals and forced to 'admit' that he was responsible for their crimes, thus granting them a lessened sentence, the line between fact and fiction becomes considerably blurred for the protagonist.
The book focuses on the theme of taking responsibility for your actions, and not attributing them to fictional violence. Elton does not state definitely, however, who was to blame for the massacre (though he obviously implies it is the criminals, Wayne and Scout), and I believe this was because he wanted to stress the fact that no-one in the novel, in fact, wanted to take responsibility. Wayne and Scout didn't want to take responsibility for fear of execution; Bruce didn't want to take responsibility because it was not his to take; and the media definitely did not want to take responsibility because, even thouhg they shaped the situation, they convinced themselves that they were mere observers. This ambiguity is stated in the final line of the novel, 'So far no-one has claimed responsibility.'
However, the reason I have taken a star away from this novel is because, after reading similar books by Elton such as Dead Famous, his characters seem to resemble each other a little too much. For instance, no character in this novel is particularly likeable; Wayne and Scout kill people, and Bruce is arrogant and self-obsessed. These are trademarks of some of Elton's other characters, and they are not interesting enough to sustain for very long.
That said, this book is about a very interesting idea and concept, told by a very humorous person, and examines all angles of the topic being discussed.
The book focuses on the theme of taking responsibility for your actions, and not attributing them to fictional violence. Elton does not state definitely, however, who was to blame for the massacre (though he obviously implies it is the criminals, Wayne and Scout), and I believe this was because he wanted to stress the fact that no-one in the novel, in fact, wanted to take responsibility. Wayne and Scout didn't want to take responsibility for fear of execution; Bruce didn't want to take responsibility because it was not his to take; and the media definitely did not want to take responsibility because, even thouhg they shaped the situation, they convinced themselves that they were mere observers. This ambiguity is stated in the final line of the novel, 'So far no-one has claimed responsibility.'
However, the reason I have taken a star away from this novel is because, after reading similar books by Elton such as Dead Famous, his characters seem to resemble each other a little too much. For instance, no character in this novel is particularly likeable; Wayne and Scout kill people, and Bruce is arrogant and self-obsessed. These are trademarks of some of Elton's other characters, and they are not interesting enough to sustain for very long.
That said, this book is about a very interesting idea and concept, told by a very humorous person, and examines all angles of the topic being discussed.
January 12, 2025
Takes ages to get going and delights in satirising Tarantino. Once the actual story kicks in about 1/3 of the way through, it is interesting but always feels a bit too on the nose, like it's flashing an alarm and pointing to every piece of violence or point about the media and saying, "See?! Do you get it?!" The vignettes written in script format only make things worse.
Even so, it's an interesting idea and mostly entertaining even if the characters are paper thin. The final segments were a bit preachy but I really liked the epilogue. Ultimately, it was too long for what it is and didn't have enough meat on its bones. In a book like this, it would be easy for someone to say 'that's the point...' but it's doubtful that it was.
Even so, it's an interesting idea and mostly entertaining even if the characters are paper thin. The final segments were a bit preachy but I really liked the epilogue. Ultimately, it was too long for what it is and didn't have enough meat on its bones. In a book like this, it would be easy for someone to say 'that's the point...' but it's doubtful that it was.
May 17, 2014
Ben Elton turns the sharp end of his pen towards slasher movies in Popcorn. This darkly comic tale sees the convergence of celebrated movie director Bruce Delamitri and murdering psychopaths Wayne and Scout.
Very much the theme of this novel is society’s aversion to responsibility. Bruce is facing accusations that his violent films breed violent acts, a la Sandy Hook and Batman Begins, which he refutes. Essentially, is TV a reflection or influence on society?
It’s a complex issue and Elton explores it well. There are strong arguments put forth by each side, though you get an idea of what his own views are.
The characters are less memorable than in Chart Throb or Dead Famous. Truthfully, the cast is very functional and plot based. The pace is steady but doesn’t build any tension or reach a climax that seems in any way different from the rest of the book.
Occasionally, Elton switches from prose to scripting the action along with directors� notes. It’s an odd experiment and doesn’t add anything. In fact, it’s a little strange.
A very witty and typically accurate examination of popular culture, Popcorn captures the zeitgeist of our buck passing, blame shifting era and creates a very readable book on the way.
Very much the theme of this novel is society’s aversion to responsibility. Bruce is facing accusations that his violent films breed violent acts, a la Sandy Hook and Batman Begins, which he refutes. Essentially, is TV a reflection or influence on society?
It’s a complex issue and Elton explores it well. There are strong arguments put forth by each side, though you get an idea of what his own views are.
The characters are less memorable than in Chart Throb or Dead Famous. Truthfully, the cast is very functional and plot based. The pace is steady but doesn’t build any tension or reach a climax that seems in any way different from the rest of the book.
Occasionally, Elton switches from prose to scripting the action along with directors� notes. It’s an odd experiment and doesn’t add anything. In fact, it’s a little strange.
A very witty and typically accurate examination of popular culture, Popcorn captures the zeitgeist of our buck passing, blame shifting era and creates a very readable book on the way.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 296 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.