"Admit One: My Life in Film" is the amusing memoir of actor Emmett James. Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s in Croyden, England, Emmett soon discovered that the cinema made for a great escape from his mundane childhood. Using a memorable movie as the theme for each chapter, he writes his story starting with his first ever movie experience and moving through his childhood to adulthood when he tried to break into the movie business.

While I found his childhood interesting and was glad he included those details, for me the book really got exciting when Emmet started getting involved in acting. I’ve always had an interest in the behind the scenes world of Hollywood and this book gave me a glimpse at the ups and downs of a struggling actor. The dichotomy between his experience in soft porn and his experience on the set of the blockbuster film "Titanic" is not something many popular actors of today would ever share, so I appreciate the fact that Emmett does not try to hide the realities he dealt with while struggling for his “big break”.

This honest and cleverly written memoir was a really fun read, and I can see why it recently won the award for Best Book from the USA Book News as I would not hesitate recommend it to anyone who has an interest in acting or movies. I wish Emmett James the best in his future career whether it be in acting, writing, or some other aspect of the entertainment industry.

Source: Reviewed by Ron Standerfer for Reader Views
Date: (01/10)

Most memoirs are organized around a series of dates and places that provide a framework upon which the author can describe in detail how his or her life unfolded. In fact, it is not all that uncommon for a writer to title each chapter of his memoir with the date and place, and nothing else, e.g. “North Africa, 1940.” But “Admit One: My Life in Film” by Emmett James is a different story; mainly because James is totally obsessed with movies and has been since childhood. The result is a delightful, witty, and totally engaging book in which each chapter begins appropriately with the title of a well-known film, the year it was released, the name of the director, and a brief synopsis of the story. If you are a lover of old movies this book is definitely going to work for you.
Emmett James spent his childhood and adolescent years in Croydon, South London. While his friends endured those difficult years in the manner children normally do, he chose to escape the pains of adolescence by going to the cinema. It was there in the darkness of the theater that he was able draw into his own private world, sometimes with aloof indifference to what was happening on the screen and other times coalescing with the movie itself. It was while at the movies that he learned some of life’s more distressing lessons. For example, one afternoon he took a seemingly shy classmate there and ensconced her in the darkest corner of the theater with the express purpose of “making out.” But before he could execute his well thought-out plan, a gang of rowdy young men sat down nearby and began to tease and taunt them. What ensued was a melee of shouting and screaming that ended when the “shy girl” bloodied the nose of one of the intruders and then stormed out of the theater telling James that she would never speak to him again---and she didn’t. Ah the joys of adolescent love!
James always believed that film has a correlation to our past and so it was no surprise that in a case of life imitating art he eventually realizes that his calling is to be on the silver screen, not sitting in front of it. That’s when he travelled to the United States and eventually to Los Angeles. Like most aspiring young actors his career took off slowly; and along the way he takes us on a humorous journey of adventures from forgery to pornography to crashing the Academy Awards under the alias of a nominated screen writer. Eventually he stumbles into acting in the highest grossing movie of all times, Titanic.
The narrative of “Admit One” by Emmett James reflects a smooth writing style laced with wry, self-deprecating humor and observation that makes it eminently readable. I enjoyed the book immensely and suspect you will too.

Source: TwitterLit.com, by Debra Hamel
Date: 2/28/08

Emmett James was born in 1972 in South London, where he grew up watching a lot of movies with his family at the local theater. He was seduced by the cinema, eventually studied acting, and moved to Hollywood in the early 90's to try to make it as an actor. He did make it, finally, becoming a successful working actor if not a household name, most significantly landing a small part in the biggest movie of all time, Titanic. James tells the story of his life in Admit One in chapters that are named after and loosely organized around movies--films that influenced him during the period described or whose plots mirrored his own experiences, or films he appeared in. But while the pictures he selects for each chapter heading provide a framework for James's book, it's not really about the movies.

Nor is Admit One, as the above summary might suggest, an insipid story about a boy who pursued and finally achieved his dream. The author is too acerbic to have written such a book. Here he is early on, for example, describing Croydon, the borough of London in which he grew up:

"The streets were lined with filth, the people were bitter and miserable and a fantastic night out meant a large kebab rather than the regular size, which of course went hand-in-hand proportionally with the amount you would subsequently vomit later that evening."

And again:

"Unfortunately, it was that type of town, inhabited by those types of people, living that type of crap life."

James's familial relationships meet with similar criticisms. His mother had a "permanent melancholy demeanor." His maternal grandparents were an overbearing couple whose home "was always rich with the smell of old people," a smell that "left a thick, pungent coating in the fibers of your clothes.... They were," he says, "much less benign in the days of my mother's childhood." Of his brother he writes:

"My older brother was a weaselly boy named Cymon (pronounced Simon, just spelled wanky to give him some added torment in school), and for as long as memory serves we have loathed one another."

It's unfortunate that the author's experiences weren't more positive--though this is not the sort of book that leaves you feeling sorry for him. On the other hand, it's quite refreshing to see such candor on the page.

Admit One is divided into two parts. The first concerns the author's childhood in England. It has universal appeal but will probably be enjoyed particularly by readers who grew up around the same time, and who will remember BMX bikes and Star Wars tie-in merchandise as fondly as does the author. In the second half James moves to America to make his way in Hollywood. This part of the book is less personal, yet it's interesting for its depiction of the life of a struggling actor. Also fascinating is the behind-the-scenes story of his work on Titanic: whatever you're thinking that might entail, you're wrong.

Coming away from the book I'm not entirely sure that I like the author. But that's a testament to his honesty. He's not only not afraid to look stupid, but he reveals some quite unflattering truths about himself--from an ill-conceived instance of, well, something approaching stalking (in tights!), to his willingness to participate in activities both legally and morally sketchy. (He's also due for a whomping from Steven Seagal, whom he sucker punches in an open letter at the beginning of the book.)

If nothing else, James is by no means a run-of-the-mill guy. Having been given this glimpse into his history and character, it will be interesting to watch his career unfold on screen.

-- Debra Hamel

Source: ReaderViews.com, by Ron Standerfer
Date: 1/10/2010

Most memoirs are organized around a series of dates and places that provide a framework upon which the author can describe in detail how his or her life unfolded. In fact, it is not all that uncommon for a writer to title each chapter of his memoir with the date and place, and nothing else, e.g. “North Africa, 1940.” But “Admit One: My Life in Film” by Emmett James is a different story; mainly because James is totally obsessed with movies and has been since childhood. The result is a delightful, witty, and totally engaging book in which each chapter begins appropriately with the title of a well-known film, the year it was released, the name of the director, and a brief synopsis of the story. If you are a lover of old movies this book is definitely going to work for you.

Emmett James spent his childhood and adolescent years in Croydon, South London. While his friends endured those difficult years in the manner children normally do, he chose to escape the pains of adolescence by going to the cinema. It was there in the darkness of the theater that he was able draw into his own private world, sometimes with aloof indifference to what was happening on the screen and other times coalescing with the movie itself. It was while at the movies that he learned some of life’s more distressing lessons. For example, one afternoon he took a seemingly shy classmate there and ensconced her in the darkest corner of the theater with the express purpose of “making out.” But before he could execute his well thought-out plan, a gang of rowdy young men sat down nearby and began to tease and taunt them. What ensued was a melee of shouting and screaming that ended when the “shy girl” bloodied the nose of one of the intruders and then stormed out of the theater telling James that she would never speak to him again---and she didn’t. Ah the joys
of adolescent love!

James always believed that film has a correlation to our past and so it was no surprise that in a case of life imitating art he eventually realizes that his calling is to be on the silver screen, not sitting in front of it. That’s when he travelled to the United States and eventually to Los Angeles. Like most aspiring young actors his career took off slowly; and along the way he takes us on a humorous journey of adventures from forgery to pornography to crashing the Academy Awards under the alias of a nominated screen writer. Eventually he stumbles into acting in the highest grossing movie of all times, Titanic.

The narrative of “Admit One” by Emmett James reflects a smooth writing style laced with wry, self- deprecating humor and observation that makes it eminently readable. I enjoyed the book immensely and suspect you will too.