A Movie Making Nerd
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- Create Date：2023-01-01 18:21:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：James Rolfe
- ISBN：B0BQ17MW8K
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Reviews
John Carolan
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a real entertaining read
Flyss Williams
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I loved this， it’s an absolutely fascinating autobiography of James Rolfe better known as YouTubes Angry Video Game Nerd， AVGN。 It’s has a great message， follow your dreams！ They don’t have to be big budget！
Michael Melnik
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What an amazing book。 I think even for people who don’t know James as the AVGN this book is a must read for anyone with a passion for art。 Film especially。 Filled with heartwarming stories and the trials and tribulations of indie film making， this book was a pure delight and made me smile， laugh， and feel inspired。
Shawn Robare
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Glad I read this book as James represents the closest thing to a contemporary in a world of internet-based nostalgic entertainment that I’ve steeped myself in for over a decade and a half。 Though this world isn’t my day job， I can heavily relate to a lot of his story and it was fun to a glimpse inside of his world。 I will say that as a film memoir， it’s audience might be more on the niche side as his work is mainly shorts and low to micro budget work， but it’s an interesting story most definitel Glad I read this book as James represents the closest thing to a contemporary in a world of internet-based nostalgic entertainment that I’ve steeped myself in for over a decade and a half。 Though this world isn’t my day job， I can heavily relate to a lot of his story and it was fun to a glimpse inside of his world。 I will say that as a film memoir， it’s audience might be more on the niche side as his work is mainly shorts and low to micro budget work， but it’s an interesting story most definitely told in his own voice。 The book could use a bit more editing in terms of tightening the through line as he spends over half of the book on his youth and college experience （which though interesting， can be a bit of a slog with his “I did this/I then did this/I again did this” format that is very much the structure of a blog entry。） When he does get to the Angry Video Game Nerd era he leaves the minutia behind and sort of glosses over large stretches。 It’s not until he discusses the AVGN Movie where the meat of the Filmmaking memoir really begins。 Though at this point he kind of takes a different tone， one of slight aloofness （his switch in his story from being a regular dude to a “celebrity” is not really dug into and it’s abrupt。） That said， I really enjoyed the read。 Recommended if you dig zero budget filmmaking， internet culture or slightly nostalgic fare。 。。。more
Alex Sonicfun
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You can read my full review here:https://sonicfun2012。wordpress。com/20。。。 You can read my full review here:https://sonicfun2012。wordpress。com/20。。。 。。。more
Wyatt Phillips
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I'm extremely biased。 I cannot really give this an objective rating。 I can only offer you what I feel like it meant to me reading， and as a lifelong fan of the work of James Rolfe， it was everything I could have wanted。 Illuminating， heartbreaking， really relatable in a lot of bizarrely specific ways。 Reading it the past couple weeks a bit at a time before bed just stoked the flames of creativity within and really made me eager to write more and more of my own story。 Thanks， you Fuckin Nerd！ I'm extremely biased。 I cannot really give this an objective rating。 I can only offer you what I feel like it meant to me reading， and as a lifelong fan of the work of James Rolfe， it was everything I could have wanted。 Illuminating， heartbreaking， really relatable in a lot of bizarrely specific ways。 Reading it the past couple weeks a bit at a time before bed just stoked the flames of creativity within and really made me eager to write more and more of my own story。 Thanks， you Fuckin Nerd！ 。。。more
Randall
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I've been a fan of the Angry Video Game Nerd for years。 It's a series i find myself endlessly rewatching through the Seasons videos on YouTube。 Cinemasacre's Monster Madness got me into horror movies， a genre I mostly ignored growing up， and his documentary Rocky Jumped A Park Bench got me into the Rocky series。 This is less a story on the Nerd and more about James's passion as a filmmaker， growing up， going to college， finding work， finding success with AVGN， and the behind-the-scenes story of I've been a fan of the Angry Video Game Nerd for years。 It's a series i find myself endlessly rewatching through the Seasons videos on YouTube。 Cinemasacre's Monster Madness got me into horror movies， a genre I mostly ignored growing up， and his documentary Rocky Jumped A Park Bench got me into the Rocky series。 This is less a story on the Nerd and more about James's passion as a filmmaker， growing up， going to college， finding work， finding success with AVGN， and the behind-the-scenes story of Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie， which I now feel compelled to watch again after learning about everything that went into it。The book is surprisingly short， and each chapter is broken up into sections， so it's easy to get through， and it includes various photos。 I will say after reading it that I don't envy him and all that he went through， from going through special education growing up to almost getting expelled from university to the stressful production of AVGN: The Movie while simultaneously preparing to become a father。 He does have his good spots。 He does get to make the movies he wants， and he finds his audience and success。 He's able to turn AVGN into a living， get a good home， and support his family。If you're looking for a ton of behind-the-scenes stuff for the AVGN series， you won't really find it here。 There is The Making of an AVGN Episode， and he's covered his movie making stuff in other videos。 In fact， he doesn't really talk about video games much except for when he first gets an NES and tries out Ghosts 'N Goblins and Castlevania， and a couple of other times here and there until he meets Mike Matei and starts down the road to AVGN。 I'm also confused by his need to mention that the games he mentions are for the NES。 If you're reading the book， I assume you're already familiar with the AVGN， and by extension， the classic NES library。Ultimately though， there's so much more to James than AVGN， and this book is a look at that。 I'm glad I took the time to read it and appreciate the stuff he does， and I'll have to check out the earlier stuff he made。 。。。more
Ian Schultz
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This review is a bit biased， because I have been a fan of James Rolfe and his content for over 10 years now。 I also have been looking forward to this work for a few years ever since first hearing about it。 For fans of the Angry Video Game Nerd， this will be an excellent read。 For those who are not fans however， I will admit the prose is a bit off in places and you can tell that James is not an experienced writer with his sentence structures。 Luckily it never gets so bad that it detracts from the This review is a bit biased， because I have been a fan of James Rolfe and his content for over 10 years now。 I also have been looking forward to this work for a few years ever since first hearing about it。 For fans of the Angry Video Game Nerd， this will be an excellent read。 For those who are not fans however， I will admit the prose is a bit off in places and you can tell that James is not an experienced writer with his sentence structures。 Luckily it never gets so bad that it detracts from the experience。 I devoured this book and read the whole thing in two days。 。。。more
Joe
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This is a great book for fans of James Rolfe （AVGN， Board James， Monster Madness， etc。）。 I would recommend it to those folks without many reservations。With that being said， there are things stated in the book that I feel are self congratulatory （e。g。 volunteer VFX） and other minor gripes throughout the book。If you're a fan， pick it up。 This is a great book for fans of James Rolfe （AVGN， Board James， Monster Madness， etc。）。 I would recommend it to those folks without many reservations。With that being said， there are things stated in the book that I feel are self congratulatory （e。g。 volunteer VFX） and other minor gripes throughout the book。If you're a fan， pick it up。 。。。more
Haden
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SUPER MECHA DEATH CHRIST
Samuel Small
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I breezed through this book in a couple of days because it was so entertaining。 It really reads like one of James' documentaries about his life。 You can hear his soothing narration in your head thanks to his casual prose。 Think Cinemasscre 200 but with even more detail。 It covers bits of James' life we haven't had a chance to visit in depth， such as his college years， and what he was going through during the birth of his child。 It's both interesting from a narrative standpoint and inspirational I breezed through this book in a couple of days because it was so entertaining。 It really reads like one of James' documentaries about his life。 You can hear his soothing narration in your head thanks to his casual prose。 Think Cinemasscre 200 but with even more detail。 It covers bits of James' life we haven't had a chance to visit in depth， such as his college years， and what he was going through during the birth of his child。 It's both interesting from a narrative standpoint and inspirational from a creative standpoint。 James， if you're reading this， when I was in 8th grade， a wrestling coach invited me to his house。 He'd noticed I didn't have many friends and wanted to help me make some。 I hung out with his kids， and he took me places like amusement parks and four wheeling。 He once walked into the living room in the middle of the night and jokingly asked me if I wanted a blowjob。 Because I watched your videos， I swore like a sailor。 His wife didn't like that and didn't want me teaching their kids cool new words。 He ended up being exposed as a pedophile years later。 If it wasn't for your videos， I could have been molested。 It's incredibly fucked up but somehow funny at the same time。 What a shitload of fuck。 。。。more
Hunter
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James Rolfe is someone I've always considered an idol of mine。 Ever since discovering his AVGN series in 2008， I became fascinated with the man。 His movie reviews and his passion for the craft was a big factor in me developing my love for movies。 It's because of him that I was the only kid in middle school who could name every retro console and knew the director of the 1931 Frankestein movie by heart。 Just like George Romero， a low budget horror filmmaker， was an influence on him， James is like James Rolfe is someone I've always considered an idol of mine。 Ever since discovering his AVGN series in 2008， I became fascinated with the man。 His movie reviews and his passion for the craft was a big factor in me developing my love for movies。 It's because of him that I was the only kid in middle school who could name every retro console and knew the director of the 1931 Frankestein movie by heart。 Just like George Romero， a low budget horror filmmaker， was an influence on him， James is like my Romero。But instead of me giving this book a perfect rating just because I'm a fan of James' work， I want to give my real opinion。 The big problem people bring up is that there are spelling errors and some of the writing isn't great， and yes， I will have to agree with that。 The writing isn't god awful but it could have had some improvement。 But this is an autobiography so I'm not expecting out of this world writing。Other than that， I highly enjoyed this。 Wanting to get a deeper look into the guys life， this is exactly what I needed。 What really stuck out with me was him talking about how late he was to everything。 Like getting his first girlfriend， going to college， having a stable career， and making a movie。 It made me realize that it's OK to be a late bloomer on certain things and there's no need to rush。 That might sound very cheeky but it just really spoke to me。And that ending was one of the sweetest things I've ever read。 He talks about how happy he is with his life and that he always wants to put his family first before making new AVGN episodes。 It's impossible to not smile while reading。Two things an autobiography should always be in interesting and never boring。 I think this book succeeds in both of that。 I really enjoyed this and I think if you're a fan of his work， you're going to love it。 。。。more
Gareth Alan
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I've been a fan of James Rolfe since he was The Angry Nintendo Nerd。 His was probably the first Youtube channel I subscribed to。 I've enjoyed most of his work since then， from his movie reviews and documentaries to his Bored James series and beyond。 He always seemed like a cool and genuine guy to me， so I was excited to hear that he had written a book。He speaks open and honestly about his life， telling humorous， heart-warming and heartbreaking tales from his lifetime， speaking about the problems I've been a fan of James Rolfe since he was The Angry Nintendo Nerd。 His was probably the first Youtube channel I subscribed to。 I've enjoyed most of his work since then， from his movie reviews and documentaries to his Bored James series and beyond。 He always seemed like a cool and genuine guy to me， so I was excited to hear that he had written a book。He speaks open and honestly about his life， telling humorous， heart-warming and heartbreaking tales from his lifetime， speaking about the problems he had at school and the trouble he got into at college， getting to meet Ozzy， meeting girls， getting married。。。everything you'd expect from a biography。Though the book is full of his life stories， he focuses mostly on his love of movie making。 He goes into great detail about the films he made throughout his life， from shorts recorded with his school friends， up until his feature film， Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie。 He explains how he shot and edited his films， the hardships and obstacles he had to overcome， lessons learned， and the joys of finally showing the films to people。Being a fan of James， I knew I'd enjoy the book， but I was pulled in deeper as I found parallels with my own life。 We are both the same age， so we played all the same games and watched the same movies。 I had to laugh at him editing with two VHS recorders because I used to do the same thing。 We both discovered heavy metal around the same age。 And I could sympathise a lot with his struggling to fit in at school and his issues with social anxiety。The book is an uplifting and inspiring read。 James comes across as a decent， calm， quiet and reserved fella from what he has written， unlike his Angry Video Game Nerd character。 He comes across as grateful to all his friends and fans， and he harbours no hard feelings towards the people who have done him wrong， especially the guy who caused all the trouble on the AVGN movie set。 I don't know how he didn't kick that dude's arse。 Anyway， it's as open an honest as you can get for a biography， so I deffo recommend it。 。。。more
Adrian Jimenez
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Solid read， this is one of those reads that makes me lose track of time and makes me feel all kinds of emotions in the process。
Sasha Gercen
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Первая книга， прочитанная мной полностью на английском。 Интересно， что именно Джеймс приучил меня смотреть видео на Youtube-е в оригинале。 У него легкий слог и понятный контекст。Сама книга напоминает его видео: простые， малобюджетные， но с особенной атмосферой， которую сложно описать。 Она что-то типа: школьные годы， летние каникулы и ты с друзьями， пока родители на работе， пытаешься себя развлечь с помощью разнообразных игрушек， придумываешь сюжеты， отыгрываешь их， вдохновляешься дурацкими фильм Первая книга， прочитанная мной полностью на английском。 Интересно， что именно Джеймс приучил меня смотреть видео на Youtube-е в оригинале。 У него легкий слог и понятный контекст。Сама книга напоминает его видео: простые， малобюджетные， но с особенной атмосферой， которую сложно описать。 Она что-то типа: школьные годы， летние каникулы и ты с друзьями， пока родители на работе， пытаешься себя развлечь с помощью разнообразных игрушек， придумываешь сюжеты， отыгрываешь их， вдохновляешься дурацкими фильмами про монстров。 Книга цепляет искреннистью， она как бэкстэйдж ко всем видео Джеймса。 Интересно узнать как он пришел к своим идеям， что было на пути， как он познакомился с Майком。Читать стоит только тем кто был вовлечен в творчество Джеймса， книга， лично мне， вернула те приятные чувства， которые доставляли его старые видео。 Остальным читать не советую， без контекста книга будет непонятна。 。。。more
Jason Ray Carney
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I really enjoyed this。 I have been watching the AVGN videos for years， and I really enjoyed the AVGN movie。 So， this memoir concept intrigued me。 This AVGN guy wrote a memoir？ Seriously？！ I read it in just a few sittings and it really worked for me。 Rolfe is intelligent， thoughtful， and incisive， and tells an intriguing tale。 And it didn't hurt that he is around my age， is saturated in a similar 1980s/90s media landscape， and seems to share an absurdist humor similar to that of my friends and me I really enjoyed this。 I have been watching the AVGN videos for years， and I really enjoyed the AVGN movie。 So， this memoir concept intrigued me。 This AVGN guy wrote a memoir？ Seriously？！ I read it in just a few sittings and it really worked for me。 Rolfe is intelligent， thoughtful， and incisive， and tells an intriguing tale。 And it didn't hurt that he is around my age， is saturated in a similar 1980s/90s media landscape， and seems to share an absurdist humor similar to that of my friends and me while growing up （e。g。 lots of over-the-top scatalogical profanity laced with layers of pop culture allusions）。 It was a pleasure to read because it was very real， relatable， and unpretentious。 The prose style is unadorned， pretty straightforward， and contains few literary acrobatics except for a few well-placed sentence fragments。 It was intriguing to read about Rolfe's life and compare and contrast my own personal nostalgia。 For a comedian known for lowbrow humor， there were some really thoughtful and touching moments: e。g。 reflections on losing loved ones， meditations on mental health， thoughts about parenting， and more。 There does seem to be an inspiring and unifying message presented in a no-BS sort of way: if you can， why not keep doing what you're passionate about？ Not for the money， or the fame， or the cultural capital， but for the thing itself。 This is as much a love letter to independent film making as it is a personal memoir。 Really pleased Rolfe wrote and published this。 Great read。 。。。more
Eli
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James Rolfe is perhaps the most important content creator of my adolescence。I still remember trying to watch his Angry Video Game Nerd videos on my computer， sweating bullets that my parents were hearing the barrage of obscenities blasting from my room。 Good times。 Some of the best memories of my childhood， in fact。 I， too， was a lonely kid; worrying about not fitting in， being uncool with people， worried about my looks， and wrestled with feelings of being lost and directionless。 James’s videos James Rolfe is perhaps the most important content creator of my adolescence。I still remember trying to watch his Angry Video Game Nerd videos on my computer， sweating bullets that my parents were hearing the barrage of obscenities blasting from my room。 Good times。 Some of the best memories of my childhood， in fact。 I， too， was a lonely kid; worrying about not fitting in， being uncool with people， worried about my looks， and wrestled with feelings of being lost and directionless。 James’s videos were a fortress of solitude to me， allowing me to laugh my troubles away。 But learning James dealt with the same feelings I did really shocked me。 Reading how James used his passions for art—video games， filmmaking， or music—to overcome his struggles was inspiring。While many of his content-making contemporaries have come and gone， and with the state of the Internet itself changing like the wind， James still remains a pioneer， a humble person， and a rebel with a loyal fanbase。 And he more than deserves it。 Reading this was like catching up with a old friend。 Really enjoyed it。 。。。more
Jac
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He took me back to the past！
Fred Fuchs
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Evidently， the manuscript had to be finished by 5:40 and there was NO TIME to find an editor or even do basic proofreading。
Ben Haskett
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A few months ago a review from the "Angry Video Game Nerd" popped up in my YouTube recommendations， and I figured it must be an old video or a retrospective or something because I used to watch his funny reviews more than a decade before。 But it turns out he's still at it。 James Rolfe， the titular Nerd， is still， to this day， subjecting himself to retro video games until he loses his temper and literally beats the game cartridges into pieces （or burns them， or shoots them， or dumps fake poo or v A few months ago a review from the "Angry Video Game Nerd" popped up in my YouTube recommendations， and I figured it must be an old video or a retrospective or something because I used to watch his funny reviews more than a decade before。 But it turns out he's still at it。 James Rolfe， the titular Nerd， is still， to this day， subjecting himself to retro video games until he loses his temper and literally beats the game cartridges into pieces （or burns them， or shoots them， or dumps fake poo or vomit on them， or sometimes all of these things）。 And he's thriving — he's got a huge audience and a semi-regular release schedule。 I've always lumped this guy in with other mid-aughts internet sensations like Homestar Runner or Shockwave， so it was kinda wild to see that he's still going。 He's been doing this for almost 20 years now。 I followed that YouTube recommendation， and then I watched some of his other recent episodes， and then I watched all of them， all 200+， the same way I would binge any other TV show。 I play board games with a group of guys once a month and I remember explaining AVGN to them when I was knee-deep in his videos。 I said， "You know， it's this guy， and he dresses like someone from an IT department， and he plays poorly made video games from the '80s and '90s， and he swears a lot and sometimes performs skits where one of the game's characters will show up in a cheap costume and they'll fight to the death。 Sometimes he breaks the games with a hammer or uses a prosthetic rear end to—" And then I stopped because one guy at the table was looking at me like I was having a stroke。 He said that sounded absolutely awful。 He smiled and shook his head in disbelief and repeated himself。And well， yeah， fine， I get that。 If I hadn't seen AVGN videos when I was in my early 20s， present-day-late-30s me probably wouldn't have seen the appeal。 But as a young adult I'd never seen something so irreverent， never seen anything so crude and silly。 Someone cussing up a storm and fighting five-and-dime Bugs Bunnies was novel for the low-budget spectacle that it was。 I can't even invoke that old trope where someone is caught reading a tawdry magazine and insists they just read it for the articles， because even though I've learned an awful lot of honest-to-God fascinating video-game-related history and trivia from AVGN， I can get all of that and more from watching The Gaming Historian。 I try to explain the appeal to people sometimes but I end up sounding like an overgrown basement dweller。 What can I say， it's a guilty pleasure。 I like him。 He makes me laugh。 What's really wild is that in the almost two decades he's been doing this， he's blown up （albeit in an underground sorta way）。 His videos have been organized into discreet seasons you can buy on DVD at Wal-Mart。 Gilbert Gottfried made a cameo appearance in one episode。 There are two real， genuine， bona fide video games starring James Rolfe as his Nerd persona fighting legendary game glitches and his made-up characters。 Seriously， you can buy a physical， licensed Nintendo Switch cartridge with his face on it。 Rolfe even raised money and made a feature-length AVGN film， with a limited theatrical release （！）， where his character reviews E。T。 for the Atari and unwittingly uncovers an Area-51-related conspiracy。 He has merchandise， for crying out loud。 I have approximately zero interest in any of these things but I'm delighted that this guy has been able to cultivate such an audience and remain so relevant for so long。 There is also another video series by James Rolfe where he reviews movies， typically classic horror movies。 It was the weirdest thing watching one of these reviews for the first time — his Nerd character is so consistent that I sometimes forget it's just a schtick。 After seeing Rolfe dressed as a doofus for so many years， chugging beer and cursing and performing various bodily functions all over anything and everything， the idea of him in a t-shirt and jeans， calmly explaining why he enjoys Mel Brooks movies was almost its own form of comedy。 It was like that gag from Wayne's World where Alice Cooper turns out to be a mild-mannered history buff。 No antics， no prop comedy， just a mellow Rolfe talking about his favorite flicks。 I hadn't seen this side of him before， this passionate film aficionado。 It was fascinating and informative。 The dude has clearly watched a ton of movies， and he really loves them。 This is mostly the tone of Rolfe's memoir， A Movie Making Nerd。 Just a mellow film buff talking about home movies and the events that led to his internet popularity。 Among the most interesting nuggets: He was in special education for most of his childhood （and returned to public high school as a sophomore without any academic issues）， he was suspended from college because he and his roommates absolutely trashed their dorm over the course of his freshman year （though as he tells it， he never participated in the destruction， only filmed it）， and he honed his craft creating workplace safety videos that， apparently， no one ever saw except for his boss。 He created the first few AVGN episodes in between editing wedding videos， and they were just meant for him and his close friends， passed around on VHS tapes。 A large portion of the book focuses on his feature-length AVGN film。 After a successful crowdfunding campaign， he temporarily moved to L。A。 and did the whole Hollywood thing。 If you've ever run a Kickstarter or something similar， you'll surely wince when you read that he received his funds near the end of the calendar year， before he had a chance to do anything with them。 All that money he raised， therefore， was considered normal， taxable income， and a third of the budget went up in smoke。 Poof。 It put James in a different tax bracket。 He ended up dumping his savings into the project。 His Hollywood experience was a disaster and sucked all the fun out of everything （though， spoiler alert， he obviously got his film made and he's happy with the result）。 His family camcorder and captive childhood cast had been replaced with a real cast and crew， a mountain of red tape and fees and L。A。 phonies and crazies and swindlers。 Nothing went according to plan， and chapter 5 is a genuinely entertaining， wacky， jaw-dropping account of what went down。 Despite this he speaks highly of nearly everyone he worked with and goes out of his way to thank most of them by name。 （For us normies， this means an avalanche of Mikes and Kyles and Kevins， none of whom you will remember。） One of my favorite bits is when， on the last day of filming， with their money depleted， Rolfe is tied to a chair and he's barely managing to hold himself together。 Stephen Mendel notices that Rolfe is down in the dumps and， in his wheelchair made to look like a tank， his arms made to look like they'd been ripped off， leans in close and whispers， "You know I was Splinter on Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation？" And it was so random that it cheered Rolfe right up。 They finished filming and went home。 The final chapter focuses on his extended efforts to finish editing the film， its eventual release， and fatherhood。 What he went through to wrap up post-production is worth the price of the book。 His wife's birth story is BANANAS。 And the film's long-awaited premier lifted his spirits into the stratosphere。 There is surprisingly little said about his AVGN series。 In fact， I kinda got the impression it's just a means to an end for him。 He seems delighted with the fandom and loves connecting with people but expresses some mild regret that AVGN has kept him from pursuing a traditional filmmaking career。 It's just a job sometimes， not too dissimilar from workplace safety videos or wedding mementos。 I was reminded of an episode of The X-Files that follows the elusive Cigarette Smoking Man as he tries， and fails， over the course of his career to get his short stories published in pulpy sci-fi magazines。 It comes as a complete surprise very late in the series — he's a high ranking government official doing work most of us would kill for， but all he wants is a little slice of recognition and the freedom to chase his passion projects。 In the end he seems to gain a renewed enthusiasm for AVGN， just tempered by his responsibilities as a husband and father。 Rolfe does， admittedly， engage in a fair amount of preening throughout his memoir。 In the first few pages he references King Kong and follows it up with the year 1933 in parentheses。 I figured he did this to clarify which version of the film he watched， but then a few paragraphs later， he explains how it led him to record his first home movie， Escape from Monster Island， and he follows the title with "（1991）。" And I laughed， thinking the year was some kind of gag， as if the reader needed any clarification。 But he takes this stuff seriously。 He counts it among his works the same way a famous painter might count whatever his parents pinned to the fridge in his childhood home。 It would be like if I listed this review in my bibliography。 Every story idea， every homegrown advancement in editing includes a moment where he steps back and admires what he's done。 One of his films is a documentary about himself where he covers his first hundred films。 "I felt like I was reaching awkwardly to pat myself on the back，" he says。 Years later， he modified that documentary to cover his first 200 films and re-released it。 This was jarring at first， perhaps a little silly， and the writing often straddles the fence between humble and self-absorbed。 But his enthusiasm is infectious， and his stories are undeniably interesting。 I didn't particularly enjoy any of his early home movies （any of which you can easily find by googling Cinemassacre + the title） but I sincerely enjoy his director commentary in this book。 During his formative years he taught himself to make films with whatever resources he had， and he kind of stumbled into doing things the right way。 He realized much later that he'd created a Foley and made story boards just by throwing stuff at the wall to see what stuck。 It's a fun trip to go on。 In Dan Simmons's Hyperion， the poet Martin Silenus at one point frets over his new book and his agent compares it to Pilgrim's Progress。 She says Martin's a famous poet and that it doesn't actually matter whether the book is good because it's basically just a decoration for the mantlepiece at home。 It'll sell millions of copies but good heavens， no one is going to read it。 I initially viewed A Movie Making Nerd through a similarly cynical lens; that the target market was not necessarily “readers” but super-fans eager to have an AVGN-branded book for their coffee tables， where they would remain unread forever and ever and ever amen。 The book is not particularly well written。 It's often awkward and meandering （though mostly free of typos） and took so long to write that he had drafts of it stored on floppy disks。 His writing style over this extended period is all over the place， and some chapters are better than others。 But you don't need good prose to tell a good story， and thankfully James Rolfe is a good storyteller。 And he’s funny。 I laughed so much reading this book。 He nails it every time， typically with a well-placed string of invective or self-deprecating reflection。 After his wife's rather traumatic birth story， he wraps it up by saying of his newborn daughter， "I'd never been so happy to see a person puke sh*t。" Either he’s funny or I’m a child。 Just a month ago he released a video where he reviews all the various Doom ports。 He pops the disk into his Commodore 64 and the console tries so hard to load it but then just lets out this teeny-tiny little fart， and it made me laugh。 He’s still got it。 Anyway， if you've ever watched one of his goofy videos and wondered what he's like， or how he got into this gig， then chances are you'll find a lot to love in his memoir。 Don’t let the early Kindle reviews get you down; yes， it was bungled， but he fixed it with a less-bungled version， and soon after fixed that version with an almost completely un-bungled version。 Reading the book honestly puts this very minor debacle in perspective， in a weird way。 It turns out Rolfe often takes the long way around， even if the long way is covered with nails and broken glass。 It's a great read。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Movie Making Nerd
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Movie Making Nerd&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Movie Making Nerd&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0