About the Book:

HARD TO FIND BOOK, only a very limited number of copies are still available.

Honest, clever, funny, and at times poignant, And Why Not? offers an honest, clever and humorous insider's account of the worlds of journalism, broadcasting, and film.

For more than thirty years, Barry Norman established himself as the authority on cinema and became one of Britain's best loved, and most influential, film critics. He fronted the BBC's flagship movie review program from 1972 until 1998 when he decided to move to Sky, maintaining his justly-deserved reputation as the nation's infallible guide to the best and worst that cinema had to offer. During his time on television and working as show business editor at The Daily Mail, Barry Norman met and fraternized with the cinematic greats – stars, directors and producers – and his autobiography is an interesting life story, told with wit and candour by a consummate pro.

Renowned for his laconic wit and opinionated ideas, Barry Norman also explores the myths about life among Hollywood royalty, the allegedly glamorous life of the movies and even gets to the bottom of his supposed catch-phrase. From early childhood spent in a film family, And Why Not? covers his father's distinguished career as a film editor, producer and then director. But when his father advised him at 17 that the film industry was too precarious a platform for his ambitions, he turned to journalism. It describes his years as a journalist in southern Africa and Fleet Street and then the strange twist of fate which led him into an unsought career on television. On the way, it takes in encounters with such well-known cinematic greats as Laurence Olivier, Richard Burton, Liz Taylor, Michelle Pfeiffer, Diana Rigg, Sylvester Stallone and Anthony Hopkins, all of whom he liked a lot, Peter Sellers and Bruce Willis, whom he didn't like at all, John Wayne, who tried to hit him and Robert De Niro, who didn't actually hit him but may well have thought seriously about doing so.

What people say:

"This is not just a fascinating look at the film industry from the inside, it's a compulsive look at the cult of celebrity." — Birmingham Post

About the Author:

Barry Norman (1933-2017) was a British film critic, television presenter and journalist. He was best known for hosting the BBC 'Film…' show from 1972 to 1998 making him the program's longest-running host. He was also a well-respected journalist with stints at The Daily Mail and The Guardian, and a radio presenter on Radio 4. His famous catchphrase "And why not?" gained iconic status through his puppet likeness on hit satirical show 'Spitting Image', and it eventually became the title of his autobiography.