Not Famous Anymore by Michael Loyd Gray is a fictional book which addresses the price of fame. We all know that being famous cannot be easy, but why do famous people who got what they wanted keep complaining?
Elliott Adreian’s parents have died when he was young, and while playing with a sword from World War II he accidently cut off his brother’s arm. Now a famous action hero, Elliott is a jerk and a drunk (but still popular).
Realizing that he is on his way to the point of no return, Elliott goes to rehab and starts a road trip ending up in his hometown. On the way Elliott meets old friends, old loves, as well as new ones.
Not Famous Anymore asks a very interesting question: what if you were famous and decided you didn’t want to be known anymore? I hear that often: someone who's achieved the pinnacle of success now acts as if it is a burden. While I’m sure that it’s not easy, that is the price of success, and the famous know well ahead of time what they were getting themselves into.
What I find even more fascinating is the whole cultural phenomena of people wanting to be famous even if they are made to look like total idiots.
Every now and then my wife and I accidentally watch one of those idiotic gossip shows on TV (TMZ, Entertainment Tonight, etc.) out of sheer boredom, lack of reason, or simply as brain porn. Whenever we see the shenanigans of the rich and famous I repeat the same point I have repeated to friends, family, and whoever is willing to listen (or unwilling and has the unfortunate luck to be in the area): I can't understand them, they are not normal people.
DaVinci wasn't normal; Mozart wasn't normal; Michelangelo, Picasso, DeNiro, Pecsi--they're not normal.
Which explains their behavior, use of drugs, and why they think they look better with plastic skin than carrying the evidence of a life worth living on their faces (Kenny Rogers, I'm looking at you).
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