Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time: True Stories from a Career in Hollywood by Barry Sonnenfeld is a biography about the famous and celebrated director, producer, and cinematographer. Barry has worked in the industry for over four decades. He has worked on the Men in Black franchise, The Addams Family franchise, Pushing Daises, and RV. He talks about his experiences and projects that he has won and lost.
I have seen Barry’s name, and I am familiar with some of his works. However, I can’t say that I am a fan of his or read his other book, “Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother”. So, this book was a new experience for me. I thought the book was an okay read. The first half of the book was overly technical. It might be interesting to those who are interested in learning more about cinematography or the movie process, but for the average person like me, it went over my head.
I liked reading his stories with other celebrities. I found those bits to be entertaining. I also liked reading about his triumphs and failures. He also talked about the inner workings of the movie industry like how some movies get made before a script is even finalized! There were some parts of the book that I felt were fluff, and didn’t understand why Barry included them and what he was trying to get at. While I thought the book was a good read, I wish the book had come out earlier when some of the movies and TV shows were more recent. Sometimes, I would try to remember a scene that he was referencing, and I couldn’t.