Scott L. Decker Books

Wes Anderson is now seen as one of America's greatest and most stylistic filmmakers. With movies likeThe Fantastic Mr. Fox,The Grand Budapest Hotel,Moonrise Kingdom, andThe Darjeeling Limited, Anderson has solidified his place among the best and brightest of contemporary filmmakers. Anderson's early films, the films that rocketed him to stardom, are often written about separately and in contrast to his later films, inFucking Innocent, John Andrew Frederick, who has taught Anderson's early work at the University of Southern California, examines his three earliest films and discusses each individually and as the burgeoning of the art of one of most talented of American directors. Frederick's criticism looks atBottle Rocket,Rushmore, andThe Royal Tennenbaums in this fun and sharp critique.

This is the chronicle of an indie band in Los Angeles in the early 1990s as they meet, rehearse, make their first recordings and get their first big gig. It's also the story of a love affair between John and Jenny, the band's charming but troubled guitarists/singers. Along the way, they and their bandmates make all manner of discoveries about themselves and the Hollywood milieu in which they're struggling to succeed: a world of narcissistic actors, wannabe screenwriters, pretentious musicians, weirdo fans, crazy neighbours and an emu called Heidi.