In the glittering labyrinth of Los Angeles, where every waiter moonlights as an actor and every Uber driver has a screenplay, Josiah Erickson dreams not just of stardom but of cinematic immortality. With an acting résumé boasting roles as an unblinking corpse and the face of venereal disease prevention, Josy's journey from obscurity to the red carpet is fraught with the kind of pitfalls and pratfalls reserved for those who dare to dream. But when the mysterious novelist-turned-director Q-Bert offers him a role in his upcoming film, Josy finds himself on the cusp of the breakthrough he's longed for, entangled in a web of artistic ambition and a burgeoning crush that defies the simple scripts of Hollywood romance. "How to Be a Movie Star" is a dazzling odyssey through the highs and lows of chasing fame, navigating the complexities of desire, and finding one's authentic voice in a city that speaks in a thousand dialects of ambition. From the sun-drenched boulevards of LA to the serene small-town charm of Abby, Oregon, William J. Mann crafts a narrative as compelling as it is tender, exploring what it means to love, to create, and to dream in the shadow of the silver screen. It's a story for anyone who's ever looked up at the stars, not just in the night sky but on the walk of fame, and felt their heart quicken with the thrill of what might be.