Synopsis
'A blast' - Ian Rankin
'A lively celebration of 1980s action stars' - The Times
'Hugely entertaining' - Edgar Wright
Now with BONUS MATERIAL, from the editor of Empire magazine this is the behind-the-scenes story of the golden age of the action movie, the stars who ruled 80s and 90s Hollywood and the beloved films – from Die Hard to The Terminator – that made them famous.
Charting Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s carnage-packed journey from enmity to friendship against the backdrop of Reagan’s America and the Cold War. It also reveals the untold stories of the colourful characters, from Steven Seagal to Bruce Willis, who ascended in their wake. These invincible action heroes used muscle, martial arts or the perfect weapon to save the day, becoming pop-culture titans.
Drawing on candid interviews with the action stars themselves, plus their collaborators, friends and foes, Nick de Semlyen' s The Last Action Heroes chronicles how, as the 1990s rolled in, the glory days of these macho men began to fade, but how the mayhem they wrought on screen and off excites us still.
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Reviews
“A book as big and brash as the stars who are its focus. I had a blast reading it - no CGI required.”Ian Rankin
“If it's bulging biceps, titanic tantrums, sculpted shoulders and Herculean drug habits you're after, then Nick de Semlyen is the author for you. His book, The Last Action Heroes, is not bad either, a hugely entertaining romp through 80s and 90s action cinema, every page riddled with a zillion bullet holes”Edgar Wright
“This book takes you so close to the action, you can smell the sweat, cigar smoke, and bad cologne that brought these movies to life. Along the way, Nick de Semlyen reveals tales of stunts gone wrong, conversations between Stallone and Reagan, the origin of Jean Claude Van Damme’s buns, and all of the stories from set that people were too afraid to tell - until now.”Paul Scheer
“The action stars of the 80s and 90s weren’t out to make history at the outset of their careers, but that’s what they did all the same. Nick De Semlyen chronicles the rise and fall (and sometimes rise-again) of the world’s most popular action heroes in this juicy, highly entertaining, and informative book.”Leonard Maltin
