When Penguin bought the rights to Al Pacino’s memoir in 2022 for $5m, it raised questions about the true value of Hollywood celebrity autobiography at a time when most stars happily spill sanctioned life highlights for free on social media.
Yet it seems there remains a considerable premium on the value of stories from those actors who have kept themselves relatively private. Pacino’s book, Sonny Boy, published last week, is boasting healthy hardback sales – it entered the Bookseller’s top bestsellers list at No 9 – and a strikingly good trade in newspaper syndication.
