Richard Ayoade

Richard Ayoade's fictional quest to rescue Harauld Hughes - the almost mythical mid-century playwright - from obscurity. The gifted filmmaker, corduroy activist and amateur dentist, Richard Ayoade, first chanced upon a copy of The Two-Hander Trilogy by Harauld Hughes in a second-hand bookshop. At first startled by his uncanny resemblance to the author's photo, he opened the volume and was electrified. Terse, aggressive, and elliptical, what was true of Ayoade was also true of Hughes's writing, which encompassed stage, screen, and some of the shortest poems ever published. Ayoade embarked on a documentary, The Unfinished Harauld Hughes, to understand the unfathomable collapse of Hughes's final film O Bedlam! O Bedlam!, taking us deep inside the mind of the most furious British writer since the Boer War. This is the story of the story of that quest.

What is it that makes YOU want to read a book? Richard Ayoade's children's debut gives you all the answers in a way that's silly, funny, and thoroughly beguiling. Have you ever thought about how it feels to be a book? To be left under a whiffy pant pile or shelved, forever collecting dust? To have your pages bent backwards or your spine BROKEN? What if you don't have a sparkly unicorn or dragon adorning your cover - who will pick you out of the bookshop then? This is the story of the sadly neglected Book That No One Wanted To Read - can its destiny change when it finally meets the right reader? Spoiler alert: yes.

What is it that makes YOU want to read a book? Richard Ayoade's children's debut gives you all the answers in a way that's silly, funny, and thoroughly beguiling. Have you ever thought about how it feels to be a book? To be left under a whiffy pant pile or shelved, forever collecting dust? To have your pages bent backwards or your spine BROKEN? What if you don't have a sparkly unicorn or dragon adorning your cover - who will pick you out of the bookshop then? This is the story of the sadly neglected Book That No One Wanted To Read - can its destiny change when it finally meets the right reader? Spoiler alert: yes.

A message from the Captain: 'On behalf of myself and the entire Ayoade team, welcome to Ayoade on Top. At last, the definitive book about perhaps the best cabin-crew dramedy ever filmed: View from the Top, starring Gwyneth Paltrow.' Buckle up for the flight of your life. 'The most profoundly silly book on film I've ever read and somehow one of the most insightful too.' Edgar Wright 'A brilliant satire of film, academia, commerce and Richard Ayoade... The funniest book I've ever read.' Jesse Eisenberg 'I haven't laughed this much reading a book in a long time. The man is a national treasure.' Big Issue

Gordy LaSure's passionate about film. He eats film, he drinks film, and sometimes he'll even watch a film. But most of all he loves talking to people about film: whether a comely student with low confidence and a father complex, a Studio 'development' exec who doesn't trust his own judgement, or the countless people Gordy LaSure's encountered in his capacity as the web moderator on an Excessive Sweating Discussion Forum. Gordy LaSure's alwaystalking about films and how they'd be a shit ton better if only people would pull their asses out of their ears and listen to Gordy LaSure. The voyage of this book can be categorised as an attempt to understand How In Hell Film Works. Why are some films bad, and some films terrible?How come just a handful of films (Titanic, Porky's, Dirty Harry) areany good at all? Gordy'll tell you How and Why, and he'll give you a slug of Wherefore on the side. And he doesn't shoot from the hip; he shoots from the gut.

In this book Richard Ayoade - actor, writer, director, and amateur dentist - reflects on his cinematic legacy as only he can: in conversation with himself. Over ten brilliantly insightful and often erotic interviews, Ayoade examines Ayoade fully and without mercy, leading a breathless investigation into this once-in-a-generation visionary. They have called their book Ayoade on Ayoade: A Cinematic Odyssey. Take the journey, and your life will never be the same again.

"This book contains all the hot Ayoade-on-Ayoade action any self-respecting adult could reasonably withstand." (Charlie Brooker). "This book changed my sex." (Noel Fielding). "So, it's not about Ayoade at all?" (Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Channel 4 News). "Hilarious." (Caitlin Moran). In this book Richard Ayoade - actor, writer, director, and amateur dentist - reflects on his cinematic legacy as only he can: in conversation with himself. Over ten brilliantly insightful and often erotic interviews, Ayoade examines himself fully and without mercy, leading a breathless investigation into this once-in-a-generation visionary. Only Ayoade can appreciate Ayoade's unique methodology. Only Ayoade can recognise Ayoade's talent. Only Ayoade can withstand Ayoade's peculiar scent. Only Ayoade can truly get inside Ayoade. They have called their book Ayoade on Ayoade: A Cinematic Odyssey. Take the journey, and your life will never be the same again. Ayoade on Ayoade captures the director in his own words: pompous, vain, angry and very, very funny.