Overview

Hollywood Wives meets A Visit from the Goon Squad in this emotional debut novel from Variety chief correspondent and a moderator of the Actors on Actors series about a group of actresses confronting their careers, their secrets, and each other throughout one turbulent awards season.As Hollywood prepares for its most glamorous evening, five actresses compete to see who will claim the top prize. Adria, a dignified and highly regarded grand dame of the movie industry, is intent on cementing her legacy as one of the greatest thespians of all time, even as the younger generation creeps up quickly behind her. Bitty must keep a nervous breakdown--and an increasingly debilitating alcohol addiction--at bay, as she searches for genuine closeness in an unforgiving landscape. Contessa, a former child star, is determined to make the world, and her leading man, take her seriously. Davina attempts to find her footing in superficial Los Angeles, a far cry from her roots as a serious London stage actress. And Jenny--always the underdog to her rival, Adria--sees this awards season as her personal redemption, a chance to atone for past mistakes and make up for missed opportunities. With humor, wit, and an insider's insight, The Talent peels back the layers of women who are in the business of being perceived. And while they work to push their careers forward and maintain the public's goodwill, all five are forced to confront truths about themselves that they would rather ignore: Could Adria and Jenny have been a team all these years, rather than bitter enemies? Is it their responsibility to offer a lifeline to poor Bitty, who is clearly teetering on the edge? Should Contessa and Davina dim their own rising stars to make those around them more comfortable? What do women in the spotlight owe each other, and themselves?

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9781668118276

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Daniel D'Addario is chief correspondent at Variety. He has won awards from the Los Angeles Press Club for profile writing and for political commentary and is among the moderators of Variety's Actors on Actors video series. He was previously the television critic for Variety and for Time. A graduate of Columbia University, he lives with his husband and two daughters in Brooklyn. Nancy Linari is an actress and Earphones Award-winning narrator. She has appeared on Fringe, Brothers and Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, and General Hospital. Her theater credits include I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road, and I'm Not Rappaport. Mia Hutchinson-Shaw is a queer actor and voice artist based in NYC. She came to narration with a background in classical and period-drama theater and trained in the UK at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. When not performing, she is thrifting for her next outrageous, colorful clothing item, getting on her soap box about low-waste living, or hunting handmade jewelers for a new item for her collection of giant earrings. Original bio sent from Cassandra: Cassandra Campbell began doing voice overs as the voice for Calvin Klein's Italian commercials. This was followed by commercial and documentary recording in both English and Italian. She has recorded many audiobooks and has received several AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as an Audie(R) Award nomination. As an actress and director, she has worked at the Public, the Mint, the Berkshire Theatre Festival, Stagewest, Theatreworks, the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Millmountain Theatre, the National Shakespeare Company, and the New York Fringe Festival. Shakira Shute is a trained actress/voice actor and alumna of the internationally acclaimed National Youth Theatre. She has been recording audiobooks for the past two years. With her background in theater (Soho Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith), Shakira brings passion and authenticity to each performance. She is able to perform character voices and multiple UK regional accents, as well as American and Australian accents. Jade Wheeler is an actor of the screen, stage, and booth. She has recorded nonfiction, self-help, and educational material as well as fiction, fantasy, and YA. Janina Edwards, an Earphone Award-winning narrator, is a graduate of the acting program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

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