You maybe surprised by this, but I do read a lot of books -- I even wrote one -- a book on how to be famous. If I could have written a sequel to my book, it would be Celebrity Inc. which is how to make money being famous!
Jo Piazza approached me to to be interviewed for Celebrity Inc. about two years ago. It wasn't the first time a celebrity journalist asked me to talk about my time on The Hills and I don't always read the books/articles I've been featured in. Well, I read this one and I can honestly say it is one of the best books I have ever read. And no, I haven't even been paid to say that. Celebrity Inc. is truly the star map of hustling. It exposes the machinations famous people use to profit off what they call their "fans" aka "consumers."
The timing of this book could not have been more perfect given the recent saga of Kim Kardashian's 72-day marriage.
The public has been on to Kim and her momager Kris Jenner for awhile now. I'm sure they know how every move they've made in Kim's life has been part of a money-making strategy. Reading Jo's book shows you exactly how this stuff goes down. It takes the vague idea of "that looks fake," and turns it into, "that is fake, and here's exactly why."
For example, look at Kim's millions of Twitter followers. She pretends they're part of her extended family, but after her divorce announcement when all anyone wanted to know about was her relationship, she only tweeted about her store appearances. There's a reason for this. Kim tweets to promote herself. She'll do that for free. Talking about her personal life? That'll cost you.
After reading Celebrity Inc. you will clearly understand the magnitude of the lies Kris Jenner has told when she says Kim didn't profit from her wedding.
When I was manipulating the media for profit I was blatantly obvious about my attention-seeking antics, with the goal of making money off stories and photos. I never thought I was putting one over on the audience/viewer/reader. That is why I love Celebrity Inc. because where Speidi was the obvious fame loving duo, this book exposes that everyone making significant money in Hollywood is doing everything Speidi did in the past -- only they do it in secret. We made our money the same way everyone in Hollywood makes money, we just never tried to cover it up.
Celebrity Inc. unveils the fact that all major stars have photo deals with photo agencies and sell these photographs along with strategically manufactured stories that are all timed with the launch or release of a book, film, TV show, fragrance or product. Every story you consume about Hollywood has a purpose and that purpose is to make money for the celebrity.
Celebrity Inc. makes the reader understand that there are no coincidences in Tinseltown. It's no coincidence that Kris Jenner had her book tour during the week of her daughter's divorce announcement. I love this book because it reveals the monetary gain these "actors," no pun intended, have in the roles they put themselves In. This book is a must read for anyone that enjoys reading celebrity magazines, watching reality television, following a celeb on Twitter, and even those people who claim they can't stand famous people and want more reason to dislike the self-promoting narcissists they really are.
Jo's background in economics gives the reader a jaw dropping look at the monetary revenue streams that even someone as nauseating as Snooki can make in the popculture apocalypse that is the 2012 Fame Olympics.
With the entertainment business suffering the same economic realities the rest of the market is coping with, agencies, publicists, and stars are working harder then ever to squeeze every possible dollar they can out of the unaware "fan." Celebrity Inc. clearly lays out how this is done and why we should think twice about spending our hard earned money on celebrity-endorsed products.