Official Review: Everything I Know about Business and Mar...

[WestIndie001]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Everything I Know about Business and Marketing, I Learned from THE TOXIC AVENGER" by Jeffrey W. Sass.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Everything I Know about Business and Marketing, I Learned from The Toxic Avenger is a nonfiction book, a guide to business and marketing told by Jeffrey W. Sass, who had worked for the independent movie studio Troma and had contributed to the making of the classic 1984 superhero film The Toxic Avenger. The book takes you through the process of creating this low-budgeted film. Author Jeffrey W. Sass will teach you how the process of filmmaking can be applied to starting a company or any other entrepreneurial endeavors.

For anyone unfamiliar with The Toxic Avenger, it is a campy B-movie about a nerdy janitor named Melvin, who turns into a superhero after falling into a drum of toxic chemicals. Though the movie was made on a low budget by independent filmmakers, it had become a cult-classic not long after its release. “Tromaville,” which is mentioned several times in the book, is a fictional city in New Jersey. It was, of course, named after the studio. This business and marketing guide can also be considered a documentary on Troma Entertainment, as you are taken behind the scenes on how the studio was structured and organized during the filming of The Toxic Avenger and other cult-classics such as Troma’s War and Class of Nuke ‘Em High.

I immediately chose this book, being that I’m a fan of The Toxic Avenger. I was surprised that this guide did have a lot of helpful information. I also found Jeffrey W. Sass’s story about his time with Troma Entertainment interesting. The book talks about how making a movie is similar to running a company. You’ll need to build and organize a capable team, utilize everyone’s strengths, recognize their weaknesses, and listen to their ideas. The guide covers everything from coming up with an appealing slogan or tagline for your product to creating a successful, reliable brand to always meet consumer expectations.

I liked how the author wrote with much lightheartedness and humor. It made the guide easy to pick up and read and didn’t make learning about business and marketing a chore. I fear that this book might be overlooked, as not everyone knows who or what The Toxic Avenger is, and not everyone is a fan of B-movies or cult-classics, especially from the days of VHS tapes. I’d encourage anyone to give Jeffrey W. Sass’s work a chance.

I give Everything I Know about Business and Marketing, I Learned from The Toxic Avenger 4 out of 4 stars. This should be any smalltime, independent filmmaker’s guide. I’d also recommend this to small business owners, anyone working on creative projects, anyone in the field of marketing and business, definitely anyone a fan of The Toxic Avenger or Troma Entertainment, and, oddly enough, I’d even recommend this to independent authors. Jeffrey W. Sass believes in something that I completely agree with, and that many others can agree with: “You can take your business seriously, but you don’t have to take yourself too seriously.”

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Everything I Know about Business and Marketing, I Learned from THE TOXIC AVENGER
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Like WestIndie001's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Mercelle]

I haven't watched 'The Toxic Avenger' but this sounds like an educational book.

[Chelsy Scherba]

Wow, I would never put a B-movie and business sense in the same sentence, but apparently this book does both. I enjoyed your review; it was thorough and explained the pros and cons of this book as you saw them. I hope for the author's sake people seeking business advice DO check out this book. Hopefully the quirky title will attract readers and entice people to try something fun and outside the box. Nice job!

[kandscreeley]

This could be such a dry subject. It's nice that the author uses his past job to inject some humor into this! Sounds interesting and informative. Thanks!

[The Researcher]

Nice review. I think I will have to watch the toxic Avenger after this.

[geoffrey ngoima]

I too haven't watched the Toxic Avenger, I might just pick it after this

[Quinto]

The title of the book struck me and I said 'wow!' The title elicits feelings of wanting to read it. Your review Westindie001 was to the point.