Feb 23, 2007

See what big-time stars are really like

By Terri Schlichenmeyer / Book Reviewer

"Off the Record"
By Allison Samuels
Amistad
$24.95, 191 pages

So you got an iPod for Christmas, and you've been downloading tunes like crazy ever since.

Janet Jackson is on there. Maybe Lil' Kim and Eminem, too. Snoop for sure, and you're thinking about some old-school Tupac stuff and Aretha Franklin, just because.

As you are choosing your personal playlist, you wonder how it would be to hang out with these singers. For that matter, what would it be like to spend time with sports stars or watch a movie as it's being filmed?

How about the next best thing? Pick up "Off the Record" by Allison Samuels and hang with your favorites on paper.

Imagine yourself at a party where you have to know where the exits are, because if someone pulls a gun, starts a fight, or decides on a stomp-out, you'll want to get out of there fast. That's the kind of party Samuels attended when she was hanging out with the posse members at Death Row Records.

Imagine calling a friend who gives you the number of another friend who gives you the cell phone number of a Hollywood director who tells you that, yes, he'll put in a good word for you and maybe Eddie Murphy will grant you an interview on the set of his new movie. As a reporter for Newsweek magazine, these are the things Samuels has to do to get her job done.

Imagine going to Mike Tyson's house to watch movies. Or watching the Kobe Bryant/Shaquille O'Neal rivalry up close. Or walking into the wrong locker room on your way to meeting A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez). Or dining at a restaurant with a make-up-free but stunningly beautiful (and still recognizable) Tyra Banks. It's all in a day's work for Samuels.

So what do you learn when spending time with Hollywood, sports and hip-hop's top stars?

Plenty.

For instance, Tupac really didn't have to spend time behind bars but nobody could or would post bail. Suge Knight's mother named him "Sugar" because he was the sweetest baby ever. Denzel Washington reads his Bible every day. Bill Cosby collects oil paintings done by slaves. Nobody messes with The Queen of Soul (Aretha Franklin). And there are certain unique underwear considerations one must keep in mind when visiting famous inmates in prison.

A quick check of any newsstand will tell you that we can't get enough of our favorite stars, but "Off the Record" is so much better than any fluff-piece you'll read in any teen magazine. Samuels not only digs deep into the lives of these people, she's also refreshingly able to admit to her own mistakes. She's alternately star-struck and chilly to her subjects, able to see beyond the gossipy hype to talk to the "real" star, and yet brutally willing to discuss things her subjects would probably just as soon forget.

If you've danced in front of your bedroom mirror with Janet or played one-on-one with Shaq in your mind, then read this book.