This is the term generally used to describe self-published books where authors pay to publish their own book instead of passing by the more traditional book editors.
I recently purchased a new photographic book by well known actress Audrey TATOU. She teamed up with the crew from the French magazine FISHEYE and this is the result which was published on the 29th of November 2024.
Frankly I’m at a bit of a loss as to what to say about this collection of images and texts…which makes me think of the title of this article.
TATOU is known as a keen amateur photographer, and past images, although few and far between, have shown a certain competance – this cannot be denied. However, the texts (many from her days of filming « The Fabulous Destiny of Amelie Poulain » in 2000) and the photos are supposed to « …questionne son statut de star avec humour et profondeur » question her status as a star with depth and humour.
I beg to differ – I find nothing particularly interesting, humouristic or profound in pages of ‘contact’ prints of lighting setups or postage stamp portraits (to my mind, completely out of context) taken during filming.
© Audrey Tatou
© Audrey Tatou
I feel sure that there is some deep and meaningful logic to all this, probably only discernable to people who know her well, but I can’t help thinking it’s taking the piss.
Sorry Mme Tatou but for once I really can’t help thinking you could do better than this…or as they say, don’t give up the day job.
3/10 must try harder