My love of Ed Wood is based on the Johnny Depp movie of the same name, which I have watched over and over. As someone who is held back by the idea of perfectionism, I find calm in the way the character of Ed Wood is able to accept almost every scene as "perfect!". As a director, Ed Wood is best known for Plan 9 From Outer Space, which I also own on DVD. The film is definitely B-grade Sci-Fi, with a surprising heap of misogyny.
My copy was a present purchased on the used market. I think it was excess inventory sold off by a public library in Florida, but I always wondered if the book was stolen, which cast a certain shadow across my reading of the contents. I found it interesting that a book about Ed Wood was almost as much of a train wreck as the subjects career. Significant sections are just quotes from various people who knew the director. The author made little or no effort to reconcile conflicting memories of events. It almost seemed like a collection of notes written on 3x5 cards then assembled in chronological order. There are some interesting pictures, which help differentiate between the real world and Tim Burton's movie. What I did learn is that the film covers only a small part of Ed's career, mainly 1953 to 1958. The book describes more of his life after Plan 9, which was dominated by writing soft-core porn scripts, debt, and heavy drinking. Don't get me wrong, I was glad for the opportunity to read more about the filmmakers life, but Nightmare of Ecstasy is not the best biography possible.