Last Night at the Viper Room
River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind
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Last Night at the Viper Room
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Narrated by:
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Luke Daniels
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By:
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Gavin Edwards
About this listen
Hollywood was built on beautiful and complicated matinee idols: James Dean and Marlon Brando are classic examples, but in the 1990s, the actor who embodied that archetype was River Phoenix. As the brightly colored 1980s wound down, a new crew of leading men began to appear on movie screens. Hailed for their acting prowess and admired for choosing meaty roles, actors such as Johnny Depp, Nicolas Cage, Keanu Reeves, and Brad Pitt were soon rocketing toward stardom while an unknown Leonardo DiCaprio prepared to make his acting debut. River Phoenix, however, stood in front of the pack. Blessed with natural talent and fueled by integrity, Phoenix was admired by his peers and adored by his fans. More than just a pinup on teenage girls' walls, Phoenix was also a fervent defender of the environment and a vocal proponent of a vegan lifestyle—well on his way to becoming a symbol of his generation. At age 18, he received his first Oscar nomination. But behind his beautiful public face, there was a young man who had been raised in a cult by nonconformist parents, who was burdened with supporting his family from a young age, and who eventually succumbed to addiction, escaping into a maelstrom of drink and drugs.
And then he was gone. After a dozen films, including Stand by Me and My Own Private Idaho, and with a seeminily limitless future, River Phoenix died of a drug overdose. He was 23 years old.
In Last Night at the Viper Room, best-selling author and journalist Gavin Edwards toggles between the tragic events at the Viper Room in West Hollywood on Halloween 1993 and the story of an extraordinary life. Last Night at the Viper Room is part biography, part cultural history of the 1990s, and part celebration of River Phoenix, a Hollywood icon gone too soon. Full of interviews from his fellow actors, directors, friends, and family, Last Night at the Viper Room shows the role he played in creating the place of the actor in our modern culture and the impact his work still makes today.
©2013 Gavin Edwards (P)2013 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Last Night at the Viper Room
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- marie
- 27-11-17
exceptional
Brilliant book well worth the money you will not be disappointed
well read and a great insight into his short life
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- booklover
- 02-09-20
Listening in one sitting
Very well read. What a tragedy the loss of Phoenix was and still is. Excellent book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- TJTB
- 29-08-20
Deeply engaging
I was a 14 year old grunge kid who adored River Phoenix so I was very excited to stumble across this book. I knew River had died of drugs but I was unaware he’d had so many problems with them. Fast forward to today and my innocent image of him is now tarnished as I learned just how much of a druggie he was and how easily led and naive and vulnerable he was too. Half his life seems a strange mix of much love but much sadness with an extraordinary beginning in a cult. And the realisation that he could have been saved from death by his siblings but wasn’t is terribly unfortunate.
The book details lots of interesting and first-hand accounts of life on and off film sets and his relationships with his own self worth, his family and friends and others who influenced him.
Stories about other huge celebrities like Johnny Depp, Leo DiCaprio, Flea and Michael Stipe and their rise to fame and connections are equally as fascinating and knit the story together well. These are bonus sub-narratives and all in all the author inspires you to want to explore all the movies and bands mentioned.
This is an easy and engrossing listen. The only thing I hated was the narrator insisting on mimicking voices which all sounded like a mickey taking school girl and was completely unnecessary, distracting and extremely annoying! This girly voice was used for men and women alike! Luke Daniels mumbles at times too and his voice is fairly monotone for the most part.
In conclusion, the subject matter and writing are great and I’ll happily read more Gavin Edwards work. And the audiobook is a nice, straightforward listen with no interfering music or dramatic interludes. I highly recommend.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MIss S.
- 08-07-24
Thoughtful and surprising
This was a really informative and detailed look into a period of time, that has both fascinated and saddened me since I can remember. The story is much more than just River but it does paint a picture of a sensitive, lost soul, whose future was so bright. An excellent listen.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- G F.
- 20-07-24
A review of an interesting era not analysed before
Good idea to put dear River’s story in the context of others at the time, uses interesting perspectives and anecdotes.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Zara
- 08-02-15
Fantastic book. highly recommemded!
A great insight into not only River Phoenix but the whole LA scene of the 90s.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Graham G.
- 11-01-20
A very worthy listen
looked the book and narrator but it is almost as if River Phoenix is secondary to the plot. The subtitle is appropriate: It seems more about the Hollywood of the time, using RP as the CA the catalyst of the story. would easily recommend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chris
- 20-06-24
Discovering so much more than I didn't know
Great book, very well researched and although River is the central character there is so much more to this book than his story
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- M. N. Baker
- 15-11-16
A young talented life lost too soon
Last night at the viper room is a compelling, level headed exploration of the short life and career of River Phoenix. The book does not shy away from examining many of the issues and challenges of young Hollywood in the 80s and 90s or the structures of Rivers childhood which were often nomadic and shrouded in secrecy and religious indoctrination. The book does not pedal to the pop culture image of River but gives an honest and often heart rendering account of an extremely talented but also deeply complex young man who given time may have become one of the finest actors of his generation. A sad loss that could have so easily been prevented through meaningful intervention, but within a Hollywood bubble where drugs and alcohol were the norm, meaningful interventions appeared to come second to career and public image. RIP River xx
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. C. M. Mccann
- 15-09-22
Brilliant narration
I loved River Phoenix. I was one of the girls that had his photos on my wall. I was devastated when he died. I found this book really interesting and made a lot of sense about his life.
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