Best of
Film

2013

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Visual Companion


Jude Fisher - 2013
    The second epic instalment of Peter Jackson’s trilogy The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will see The Company of Thorin Oakenshield encounter even greater perils in their quest to claim their long-forgotten gold.After setting out from the safety of Bag End, Bilbo Baggins has journeyed through Middle-earth with his fourteen companions, fighting through fire, Wargs, Goblins and even escaping the creature known simply as Gollum.Introduced by Richard Armitage, who plays Thorin Oakenshield, and with over 100 rich illustrations, the Visual Companion is the perfect guide to the Company’s passage to Erebor and the Dragon that awaits them…

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Official Movie Guide


Brian Sibley - 2013
    Packed with exclusive behind-the-scenes photographs, this official illustrated guide tells the detailed story of the making of the second film in the award-winning Hobbit trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson.Journey deeper into the magical world of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, through exclusive interviews with director Peter Jackson, Martin Freeman, Orlando Bloom and principal filmmakers and new cast members, including Stephen Fry as the Master of Lake-town, Evangeline Lilly, who plays Tauriel the Elf, and Benedict Cumberbatch, who reveals film-making secrets about playing the dragon, Smaug.Richly illustrated with a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes photos of the actors, creatures and costumes, and numerous special effects scenes, this essential guide is an indispensable companion to the second film in the award-winning trilogy.

Cabinet of Curiosities: My Notebooks, Collections, and Other Obsessions


Guillermo del Toro - 2013
    Now, for the first time, del Toro reveals the inspirations behind his signature artistic motifs, sharing the contents of his personal notebooks, collections, and other obsessions. The result is a startling, intimate glimpse into the life and mind of one of the world's most creative visionaries. Complete with running commentary, interview text, and annotations that contextualize the ample visual material, this deluxe compendium is every bit as inspired as del Toro is himself.Contains a foreword by James Cameron, an afterword by Tom Cruise, and contributions from other luminaries, including Neil Gaiman and John Landis, among others.

The Wes Anderson Collection


Matt Zoller Seitz - 2013
    A true auteur, Anderson is known for the visual artistry, inimitable tone, and idiosyncratic characterizations that make each of his films—Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Moonrise Kingdom—instantly recognizable as “Andersonian.”The Wes Anderson Collection is the first in-depth overview of Anderson’s filmography, guiding readers through his life and career. Previously unpublished photos, artwork, and ephemera complement a book-length conversation between Anderson and award-winning critic Matt Zoller Seitz. The interview and images are woven together in a meticulously designed book that captures the spirit of his films: melancholy and playful, wise and childish—and thoroughly original.

The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made


Greg Sestero - 2013
    Described by one reviewer as “like getting stabbed in the head,” the $6 million film earned a grand total of $1,800 at the box office and closed after two weeks. Now in its tenth anniversary year, The Room is an international phenomenon to rival The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Thousands of fans wait in line for hours to attend screenings complete with costumes, audience rituals, merchandising, and thousands of plastic spoons.Readers need not have seen The Room to appreciate its costar Greg Sestero’s account of how Tommy Wiseau defied every law of artistry, business, and interpersonal relationships to achieve the dream only he could love. While it does unravel mysteries for fans, The Disaster Artist is more than just an hilarious story about cinematic hubris: It is ultimately a surprisingly inspiring tour de force that reads like a page-turning novel, an open-hearted portrait of a supremely enigmatic man who will capture your heart.

Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk!


Film Crit Hulk! - 2013
    A LOT OF THESE SCREENWRITING BOOKS LIKE TO FILL YOUR HEAD WITH FALSE PROMISES AND EASY TRICKS. BUT IT’S SO DAMN FAR FROM THE OBVIOUS TRUTH: BECOMING A TALENTED WRITER TAKES A LONG TIME AND A LOT OF HARD WORK. THEY ALSO CONVENIENTLY FORGET TO MENTION THAT THE ODDS ARE AGAINST YOU. THERE ARE OVER A MILLION SCRIPTS ALREADY FLOATING AROUND HOLLYWOOD. HULK HAS READ, OH... A COUPLE THOUSAND OF THEM. AND NEARLY EVERY SINGLE PERSON HULK MEETS IN THE FILM INDUSTRY ALREADY HAS A SCRIPT OF SOME SORT. NOT ONLY DOES THE SHEER VOLUME OF SCRIPTS MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO DISTINGUISH ONESELF IN THIS CLIMATE, BUT SO DOES THE FACT THAT THERE ARE ALREADY A VAST NUMBER OF TALENTED, PROFESSIONAL WRITERS IN NEED OF WORK. SO GIVEN ALL THESE CRIPPLING ODDS, WE SHOULD ALL JUST GIVE UP, RIGHT? WELL, NO. YOU’RE NOT HERE READING THIS BECAUSE THAT REALITY BOTHERS YOU. AND THAT’S THE THING ABOUT THE MOVIES: THEY’RE WONDERFUL. THEY’RE THE IMAGINATION OF STORYTELLING MADE TANGIBLE. THEY’RE OUR DREAMS MADE REAL. WHO WOULDN’T WANT TO BE A PART OF ALL THAT? FILM CRIT HULK WAS CREATED IN A CHAOTIC LAB EXPERIMENT INVOLVING GAMMA RADIATION, THE GHOST OF PAULINE KAEL, AND TELEPODS FOR SOME REASON. NOW HULK HAS A DEEP AND ABIDING LOVE OF CINEMA WHEREIN HULK RECOGNIZES THE INHERENT VALUES OF POPULAR, NARRATIVE, OR EXPERIMENTAL STYLES! THROUGH A UNIQUE JOURNEY, HULK HAS ENDED UP WORKING IN HOLLYWOOD FOR OVER A DECADE AND NOW WRITES ABOUT CINEMA AND STORYTELLING IN THOROUGHLY HULK-SIZED FASHION. AND NOW YOU HOLD IN YOUR HANDS / HAVE ON YOUR SCREEN / WHATEVER IN YOUR WHATEVER, THE FIRST EBOOK BY FILM CRIT HULK. THE ONLY THING IT MEANS TO BE IS HELPFUL. Free sentence case version included!

Into the Woods: A Five Act Journey Into Story


John Yorke - 2013
    Many of us love to tell them, and even dream of making a living from it too. But what is a story? Hundreds of books about screenwriting and storytelling have been written, but none of them ask 'Why?' Why do we tell stories? And why do all stories function in an eerily similar way? John Yorke has been telling stories almost his entire adult life, and the more he has done it, the more he has asked himself why? Every great thinker or writer has their theories: Aristotle, David Hare, Lajos Egri, Robert McKee, Gustav Freytag, David Mamet, Christopher Booker, Charlie Kaufman, William Goldman and Aaron Sorkin - all have offered insightful and illuminating answers. Here, John Yorke draws on these figures and more as he takes us on a historical, philosophical, scientific and psychological journey to the heart of all storytelling.What he reveals is that there truly is a unifying shape to narrative - one that echoes the great fairytale journey into the woods, and one, like any great art, that comes from deep within. Much more than a 'how to write' book, Into the Woods is an exploration of this fundamental structure underneath all narrative forms, from film and television to theatre and novel-writing. With astonishing detail and wisdom, John Yorke explains to us a phenomenon that, whether it is as a simple fable, or a big-budget 3D blockbuster, most of us experience almost every day of our lives.

My Mother Laughs


Chantal Akerman - 2013
    She flew back from New York to care for her, and between dressing her, feeding her and putting her to bed, she wrote. She wrote about her childhood, the escape her mother made from Auschwitz but didn't talk about, the difficulty of loving her girlfriend, C., her fear of what she would do when her mother did die. Among these imperfectly perfect fragments of writing about her life, she placed stills from her films. My Mother Laughs is both the distillation of the themes Akerman pursued throughout her creative life, and a version of the simplest and most complicated love story of all: that between a mother and a daughter.Translated by Daniella Shreir WIth an Introduction by Eileen Myles and Afterword by Frances Morgan

Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen, and Candy Stripe Nurses: Roger Corman, King of the B-Movie


Chris Nashawaty - 2013
    As told by Corman himself and graduates of “The Corman Film School,” including Peter Bogdanovich, James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert De Niro, and Martin Scorsese, this comprehensive oral history takes readers behind the scenes of more than six decades of American cinema, as now-legendary directors and actors candidly unspool recollections of working with Corman, continually one-upping one another with tales of the years before their big breaks.Crab Monsters is supplemented with dozens of full-color reproductions of classic Corman movie posters; behind-the-scenes photographs and ephemera (many taken from Corman’s personal archive); and critical essays on Corman’s most daring films—including The Intruder, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Big Doll House— that make the case for Corman as an artist like no other. Praise for Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen, and Candy Stripe Nurses: “This new coffee table book, brimming with outrageous stills from many of Corman’s hundreds of films, looks at the wild career of the starmaker who was largely responsible for so much of the Hollywood we know today.” —New York Post “Vividly illustrated.” —People “An enthusiastic ode to colorful, seat-of-your-pants filmmaking, this one’s hard to beat.” —Booklist (starred review) “It includes in-depth aesthetic appreciations of ten of Corman’s movies, which, taken together, make a compelling case for Corman as an artist.” —Hollywood.com “Author Nashawaty deftly describes how Corman’s legacy is far more nuanced than most realize.” —American Way magazine “Outrageously entertaining . . .”  —Parade magazine “Endlessly fascinating.” —PopMatters.com “You’d think it’d be impossible for any writer to put together a Roger Corman biography that's anywhere near as fun as his movies, but Entertainment Weekly writer/critic Chris Nashawaty has done just that.”  —Complex magazine

Cut to the Chase: Writing Feature Films with the Pros at UCLA Extension Writers' Program


Linda Venis - 2013
    Or maybe they have a great script, but no clue about how to navigate the choppy waters of show business. Enter Cut To The Chase, written by professional writers who teach in UCLA Extension Writers' Programme, whose alumni's many credits include Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl; Twilight; and the Academy Award nominated Letters from Iwo Juima. From learning how to identify story ideas that make a good movie to opening career doors and keeping them open, this authoritative, comprehensive, and entertaining book, edited by Writers' Program Director Linda Venis, will be the film-writing bible for decades to come."A well-organized soup-to-nuts manual for aspiring Nora Ephrons and Charlie Kaufmans, from the faculty of a notable screenwriting program. . . . A readable writer's how-to that goes down smoothly."- Kirkus Reviews

Chain Saw Confidential: How We Made the World's Most Notorious Horror Movie


Gunnar Hansen - 2013
    To critics, it was either "a degrading, senseless misuse of film and time" or "an intelligent, absorbing and deeply disturbing horror film." However it was an immediate hit with audiences. Banned and celebrated, showcased at the Cannes film festival and included in the New York MoMA's collection, it has now come to be recognized widely as one of the greatest horror movies of all time.A six-foot-four poet fresh out of grad school with limited acting experience, Gunnar Hansen played the masked, chain-saw-wielding Leatherface. His terrifying portrayal and the inventive work of the cast and crew would give the film the authentic power of nightmare, even while the gritty, grueling, and often dangerous independent production would test everyone involved, and lay the foundations for myths surrounding the film that endure even today.Critically-acclaimed author Hansen here tells the real story of the making of the film, its release, and reception, offering unknown behind-the-scenes details, a harrowingly entertaining account of the adventures of low-budget filmmaking, illuminating insights on the film's enduring and influential place in the horror genre and our culture, and a thoughtful meditation on why we love to be scared in the first place.

Damnation


Janice Lee - 2013
    Inspired by the films of Hungarian auteur Bela Tarr, famous for his long take, and the novels and screenplays of Tarr’s great collaborator László Krasznahorkai, Janice Lee’s Damnation is both an ekphrasis and confession, an obsessive response, a poetic meditation and mirror on time; time that ruthlessly pulls forward with our endurance; time unleashed from chronology and prediction; time which resides in a dank, drunk, sordid hiss of relentless static. As declared in Tarr’s film Damnation, “All stories are about disintegration.”

Master Shots Vol 3: The Director's Vision: 100 Setups, Scenes and Moves for Your Breakthrough Movie


Christopher Kenworthy - 2013
    This books reveals the secrets behind each shot’s success, so it can be adapted to the director’s individual scenes.

Star Wars Storyboards: The Prequel Trilogy


J.W. Rinzler - 2013
    Working from Lucas’s ideas for scenes and sequences, these artists produced beautiful drawings that helped lay the foundations for the worlds, characters, and shots of the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. Together, these conceptual storyboards show early takes on favorite scenes; alternate, unused approaches to character designs and environments; and entirely different approaches to key moments. Like wordless comic books, they have an energy and rhythm all their own that is fascinating to explore.Now, for the first time, Lucasfilm has opened its archives to present the best of the conceptual storyboards for Episodes I, II, and III. Star Wars Storyboards: The Prequel Trilogy collects the best storyboards from all three films together in one striking volume, along with relevant excerpts from the shooting scripts. Throughout this book, readers will find insight into how these conceptual storyboards helped to contribute both to the creation of the Prequel Trilogy and the expansion of the Star Wars universe.

Great Showdowns: The Return


Scott C. - 2013
    A collection of an artist's strangely good-natured confrontations between his favorite movie characters.

The Art of Thor: The Dark World


Marie Javins - 2013
    Continuing their popular ART OF series of movie tie-in books, Marvel presents its latest blockbuster achievement! Featuring exclusive concept artwork, behind-the-scenes photographs, production stills, and in-depth interviews with the cast and crew, THE AR T OF THOR: THE DARK WORLD provides an insider's look into the making of the highly anticipated film directed by Alan Taylor and starring Chris Hemsworth.

Derek Jarman's Sketchbooks


Stephen Farthing - 2013
    Encompassing both the private and the professional, these offer a personal view into the life and career of a highly influential filmmaker and artist.Drawn from the collection of handmade books that Jarman gave to the British Film Institute shortly before his death in 1994, Derek Jarman’s Sketchbooks showcases the most insightful and beautiful pages. Each of the original volumes is composed of drawings, photographs, and cuttings; pressed flowers are set beside scrawled ideas, and carefully penned poems accompany typed and edited working scripts. These once-private books are an intimate pictorial record of the detailed planning and research and the creative and emotional engagement behind every scene in Jarman’s films.

Bresson on Bresson: Interviews, 1943-1983


Robert Bresson - 2013
    Bresson on Bresson collects the most significant interviews that Bresson gave (carefully editing them before they were released) over the course of his forty-year career to reveal both the internal consistency and the consistently exploratory character of his body of work. Successive chapters are dedicated to each of his fourteen films, as well as to the question of literary adaptation, the nature of the sound track, and to Bresson’s one book, the great aphoristic treatise Notes on the Cinematograph. Throughout, his close and careful consideration of his own films and of the art of film is punctuated by such telling mantras as “Sound...invented silence in cinema,” “It’s the film that...gives life to the characters—not the characters that give life to the film,” and (echoing the Bible) “Every idle word shall be counted.” Bresson’s integrity and originality earned him the admiration of younger directors from Jean-Luc Godard and Jacques Rivette to Olivier Assayas. And though Bresson’s movies are marked everywhere by an air of intense deliberation, these interviews show that they were no less inspired by a near-religious belief in the value of intuition, not only that of the creator but that of the audience, which he claims to deeply respect: “It’s always ready to feel before it understands. And that’s how it should be.”

John Badham On Directing: Notes from the Set of Saturday Night Fever, War Games, and More


John Badham - 2013
    Badham’s list of “12 Questions You Must Ask Before Stepping On Set” is an absolute must in any filmmaker’s toolbox. Whether actor, director, cinematographer, production designer, or any other creative, Badham gives you the tools to deconstruct and solve scenes that either don’t work or need sharpening. Continuing the work begun in his best-selling book I’ll Be In My Trailer, Badham shares more insights into working with difficult actors, rehearsal techniques, and getting the best performance from your cast.

Beyond Continuity: Script Supervision for the Modern Filmmaker: Script Supervision for the Modern Filmmaker


Mary Cybulski - 2013
    Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Zero Dark Thirty: The Shooting Script


Mark Boal - 2013
    But in the end, it took a small, dedicated team of CIA operatives to track him down. Every aspect of their mission was shrouded in secrecy. Though some of the details have since been made public, many of the most significant parts of the intelligence operation—including the central role played by that team—are brought to the screen for the first time in a nuanced and gripping new film by the Oscar®-winning creative duo of Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal, starring Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, and Edgar Ramirez.The Newmarket Shooting Script Book includes: Introduction by Kathryn Bigelow Complete shooting script Q&A with Mark Boal by Rob Feld Production notes Storyboards Complete cast and crew credits

Terminator Vault: The Complete Story Behind the Making of The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day


Ian Nathan - 2013
    Nothing like it had ever been seen before—it fused time travel, thrilling action, artificial intelligence, and terror with provocative questions about the human race—and of course, it made Arnold Schwarzenegger an international superstar. The movie’s 1991 sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, has some of the greatest special effects in movie history and remains one of the most influential science fiction films of all time. The story of Sarah and John Connor’s fight against the advanced assassin cyborg, the T-1000, is an astonishing look at the battle between good and evil. Now, for the first time ever, here is the complete story of the Terminator world. Terminator Vault, written by acclaimed film expert Ian Nathan and with a foreword by “Governator” Schwarzenegger, takes a behind-the-scenes look at the making of both films, from the initial conception of Skynet (the AI system determined to destroy humanity) to the creation of the films’ special effects, many of which had never been previously attempted. Reproductions of original scripts and concept drawings provide completely new insights into the Terminator backstory, and there are over 170 color images of the development, production, and more. This is a must-have book for any Terminator fan, released in anticipation of the first film’s thirtieth anniversary.

The Importance Of Being Ernest: The Life of Actor Jim Varney


Justin Lloyd - 2013
    Today, millions of fans still mourn the loss of actor Jim Varney, who portrayed Ernest and who died at age 50 in 2000 of cancer. Ernest fans are finally getting the biography they have been waiting for in this comprehensive work by Jim’s nephew, Justin Lloyd. “The Importance of Being Ernest: The Life of Actor Jim Varney” traces Jim’s journey from a child in Lexington, Kentucky, with dreams of being a stage and film actor to becoming an iconic entertainment figure in the tradition of Charlie Chaplin’s “The Little Tramp.”The book is based on numerous interviews with family members and intimates of Jim who have never spoken publicly before about what drove the actor and how he overcame many personal and professional obstacles to attain success. But with that success came a price: Jim longed for stage and film roles beyond Ernest, and they were difficult to come by because of his symbiosis with the character. Yet Jim persevered, ultimately winning major movie roles such as Jed Clampett in “The Beverly Hillbillies” and (the voice of) Slinky Dog in the first two “Toy Story” films. The book also explores the genius of the small Nashville advertising agency that created Ernest and how it spread his popularity decades before “going viral” became associated with achieving global stardom.Even at the height of his career, Jim never forgot he was a descendant of Appalachian coal miners, and he remained true to his values, his friends and his family. Jim always strove for authenticity and humanity inside his hillbilly humor, endearing him to fans from every walk of life. “The Importance of Being Ernest: The Life of Actor Jim Varney” documents the life of an unforgettable figure in American comedy whose legacy endures today.

The Art of Iron Man 3


Stuart Moore - 2013
    This keepsake volume is co-written by comic-book authors and novelists Stuart Moore and Marie Javins!

Hidden Horror: A Celebration of 101 Underrated and Overlooked Fright Flicks


Aaron ChristensenFreddie Young - 2013
    

Film Noir: 100 All-Time Favorites


Paul Duncan - 2013
    Beginning with silent, German, and French films that were early influences on the genre, through to seminal works such as Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Vertigo, you’ll make your way to the present day via Chinatown, Pulp Fiction, Heat,Memento, and the recent cult favorite Drive. Entries include posters, tons of rare stills, cast/crew details, quotes from the films and from critics, and analyses of the films. Film director, film noir scholar, and Taxi Driverscreenwriter Paul Schrader provides the introduction to this feast of noir worship. Populated by the genre’s most revered directors like Hitchcock, Wilder, Welles, Polanski, Mann, and Scorsese, the book also pays homage to its iconic faces such as those of Mitchum, Bogart, Hayworth, Bergman, Grant, Bacall, Crawford, Nicholson, Pacino, and so many more.

Cinema Sewer Volume 4: The Adults Only Guide to History's Sickest and Sexiest Movies!


Robin Bougie - 2013
    Issues 21 to 23 of Robin Bougie's celebrated independent magazine are revisited in this fourth wild FAB Press volume, along with an additional 80 pages of never-before-seen interviews, rants, comics, hard-to-find classic movie advertising, and graphic illustrations by Bougie and his talented friends from both the comic book and animation industries. Regardless of whether readers are just discovering the world of classic porn, horror, and exploitation movies, or if they're long time fans, they'll find plenty to get excited about, as they gleefully slosh around in the filth of the Cinema Sewer!

Moose


Robert B. Sherman - 2013
    Sherman has forged a phenomenal career as a songwriter, screenwriter and painter. Along with his brother, Richard, he is responsible for the iconic scores of Mary Poppins, Jungle Book, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Charlotte's Web and The Tigger Movie, to name just a few. But to fully appreciate the impact of his songs, one has to get to know the man behind them first. Finally, in his own words and inimitable writing style, comes his long awaited, definitive autobiography: Moose, the delightful and unconventional story of a creative giant, who changed the fabric of the Family Musical forever.

Satyajit Ray on Cinema


Satyajit Ray - 2013
    His work was admired for its humanism, versatility, attention to detail, and skilled use of music. He was also widely praised for his critical and intellectual writings, which mirror his filmmaking in their precision and wide-ranging grasp of history, culture, and aesthetics.Spanning forty years of Ray's career, these essays, for the first time collected in one volume, present the filmmaker's reflections on the art and craft of the cinematic medium and include his thoughts on sentimentalism, mass culture, silent films, the influence of the French New Wave, and the experience of being a successful director. Ray speaks on the difficulty of adapting literary works to screen, the nature of the modern film festival, and the phenomenal contributions of Jean-Luc Godard and the Indian actor, director, producer, and singer Uttam Kumar. The collection also features an excerpt from Ray's diaries and reproduces his sketches of famous film personalities, such as Sergei Eisenstein, Charlie Chaplin, and Akira Kurosawa, in addition to film posters, photographs by and of the artist, film stills, and a filmography. Altogether, the volume relays the full extent of Ray's engagement with film and offers extensive access to the thought of one of the twentieth-century's leading Indian intellectuals.

Bleeding Skull!: A 1980s Trash-Horror Odyssey


Joseph A. Ziemba - 2013
    BLEEDING SKULL! features 300 in-depth reviews of movies that have escaped the radar of people with taste and the tolerance of critics. Black Devil Doll From Hell, A Night To Dismember, Heavy Metal Massacre, The Last Slumber Party - this book gets deep into gutter-level, no-budget horror, from shot-on-video (SOV) revelations (Doctor Bloodbath) to forgotten theatrical casualties (Frozen Scream). Clown midget slashers! The Indonesian Jason! A pregnant woman in a bikini who eats fried chicken before getting her fetus ripped out by a psychopath! It's all here. And it's all curated by the enthusiastic minds behind Bleedingskull.com, the world's foremost authority on trash-horror obscurities. Jam-packed with rare photographs, advertisements, and VHS sleeves (most of which have never been seen), BLEEDING SKULL! is an edifying, laugh-out-loud guide through the dusty inventory of the greatest video store that never existed.

85 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards


Robert Osborne - 2013
    Following an introductory chapter on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the birth of the Oscars, the book presents the story of each year's awards, beginning with the very first, for the years 1927–28. Author Robert Osborne surveys the movies in competition, recounts the speculation on various winners, and describes events during the awards ceremony. He also provides a complete listing of the all the nominees and winners in every category.Each year is illustrated with evocative stills from winning films and candid shots from the awards ceremony. Altogether, the book features more than 750 rare photographs, including original movie posters for every best picture. Drawing on Osborne's profound knowledge of film, the Academy's exceptional archives, and the personal reminiscences of stars from Katharine Hepburn to Clint Eastwood, 85 Years of the Oscar is unrivaled in illustration, accuracy, and completeness.

The Hollywood Pitching Bible: A Practical Guide to Pitching Movies and Television


Douglas Eboch - 2013
    “The Hollywood Pitching Bible: A Practical Guide to Pitching Movies and Television” breaks it down, step by step. From choosing the right idea, to selling it in the room, this book tells you how it’s done, in clear language, suitable for the beginner or the seasoned Hollywood professional.With decades of combined experience working in Hollywood as buyer, seller and teacher, the authors have created the definitive book that will demystify the pitching process, supported by a reasoned, logical point of view and supported by numerous specific examples.If you want to work in the Hollywood creative community, you must know how to pitch. This book will show you how to succeed.

Taxi Driver


Steve Schapiro - 2013
    Time magazine includes the film in its list of 100 Greatest Movies, saying: "The power of Scorsese’s filmmaking grows ever more punishing with the passage of time." Steve Schapiro—whose photographs were featured in TASCHEN’s Godfather Family Album—was the special photographer on the set of Taxi Driver, capturing the film’s most intense and violent moments from behind the scenes. This book—more than a film still book but a pure photo book on its own—features hundreds of unseen images selected from Schapiro’s archives, painting a chilling portrait of a deranged gunman in the angry climate of the post-Vietnam era. With a foreword by Martin Scorsese!First published in TASCHEN’s limited edition—now available in this unlimited popular edition.

Agnes Varda: Interviews


T. Jefferson Kline - 2013
    1928) has given interviews that are revealing not only of her work, but of her remarkably ambiguous status. She has been called the -Mother of the New Wave- but suffered for many years for never having been completely accepted by the cinematic establishment in France. Varda's first film, La Pointe Courte (1954), displayed many of the characteristics of the two later films that launched the New Wave, Truffaut's 400 Blows and Godard's Breathless. In a low-budget film, using (as yet) unknown actors and working entirely outside the prevailing studio system, Varda completely abandoned the -tradition of quality- that Truffaut was at that very time condemning in the pages of Cahiers du cinema. Her work, however, was not -discovered- until after Truffaut and Godard had broken onto the scene in 1959. Varda's next film, Cleo from 5 to 7, attracted considerably more attention and was selected as France's official entry for the Festival in Cannes. Ultimately, however, this film and her work for the next fifty years continued to be overshadowed by her more famous male friends, many of whom she mentored and advised.Her films have finally earned recognition as deeply probing and fundamental to the growing awareness in France of women's issues and the role of women in the cinema. -I'm not philosophical, - she says, -not metaphysical. Feelings are the ground on which people can be led to think about things. I try to show everything that happens in such a way and ask questions so as to leave the viewers free to make their own judgments.- The panoply of interviews here emphasize her core belief that -we never stop learning- and reveal the wealth of ways to answer her questions.

Alternative Movie Posters: Film Art from the Underground


Matthew Chojnacki - 2013
    Thankfully, an underground network of graphic designers and artists has reinvigorated the art of the movie poster, crafting stunning pieces for classic and cult films. Here is the first comprehensive look at the movement, presenting this eclectic and dynamic medium through more than 200 eye-popping posters from over 100 cutting-edge artists, coupled with fascinating commentary and behind-the-scenes information. These new, underground posters have quickly become the most coveted by ardent moviegoers; they are typically produced in very limited runs, sell out within minutes, and command upwards of several hundred dollars each. With a smart, fresh visual perspective, alternative movie posters celebrate classics like Star Wars, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining as well as cult favorites: The Big Lebowski, Blade Runner, and Pink Flamingos.

Ann Dvorak: Hollywood's Forgotten Rebel


Christina Rice - 2013
    Seemingly destined for A-list fame, critics touted her as "Hollywood's New Cinderella" after film mogul Howard Hughes cast her as Cesca in the gangster film Scarface (1932). Dvorak's journey to superstardom was derailed when she walked out on her contractual obligations to Warner Bros. for an extended honeymoon. L

Crazy 4 Cult: Cult Movie Art 2


Gallery 1988 - 2013
    Be prepared to see your favourite cult movies as you've never seem them before!This second volume of Cult Movie Art collects the best of the last two years of the show, with pieces inspired by Escape From New York, Shaun of the Dead, Ghostbusters, The Princess Bride, The Big Lebowski and many moreGallery 1988's annual cult movie-inspired Crazy 4 Cult art show has become a phenomenon. 2012's show moved from LA for the first time, with a triumphant opening in New York

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - Visual Companion


Jude Fisher - 2013
    Destitute, all eyes turn towards the Lonely Mountain and the promised payment of a debt.Under the command of Sauron, Azog the Defiler prepares to unleash a terrible army, the likes of which the Third Age has never seen. All hope rests upon uniting the free peoples of Middle-earth in the fight against evil, and Bilbo Baggins holds a powerful key to striking up a bargain…Follow the last journey of Thorin Oakenshield’s Company as the fight for the vast wealth of the Lonely Mountain continues on to a devastating conclusion.

World War Z: The Art of the Film


Titan Books - 2013
    The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop a pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to annihilate humanity itself.World War Z: The Art of the Film is the official illustrated companion to the movie, and features a wealth of stunning production art, design sketches and storyboards, alongside the full shooting script.(TM) & © 2013 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Water to Paper, Paint to Sky: The Art of Tyrus Wong


Tyrus Wong - 2013
    Tyrus Wong’s ability to evoke powerful feeling in his art with simple gestural compositions continues to inspire each new generation of artists, and his influence can still be seen in movies today.“Tyrus Wong’s sophistication of expression was a gigantic leap forward for the medium. Where other films were literal…Bambi was expressive and emotional. Tyrus painted feelings, not objects.” — John Lasseter, Academy-Award winning director Born in 1910 in Canton, China, Tyrus Wong immigrated as a young boy to the United States, where he has enjoyed a long, distinguished, and diverse artistic career as a prolific painter, illustrator, calligrapher, lithographer, muralist, designer, Hollywood sketch artist, ceramicist, and kitemaker. Tyrus is legendary for his innovative work on Walt Disney Studio’s classic animation film Bambi, in which his singular vision and evocative, impressionistic concept art caught the eye of Walt Disney himself and influenced the movie’s overall visual style.

New Queer Cinema: The Director's Cut


B. Ruby Rich - 2013
    Ruby Rich designated a brand new genre, the New Queer Cinema (NQC), in her groundbreaking article in the Village Voice in 1992. This movement in film and video was intensely political and aesthetically innovative, made possible by the debut of the camcorder, and driven initially by outrage over the unchecked spread of AIDS. The genre has grown to include an entire generation of queer artists, filmmakers, and activists. As a critic, curator, journalist, and scholar, Rich has been inextricably linked to the New Queer Cinema from its inception. This volume presents her new thoughts on the topic, as well as bringing together the best of her writing on the NQC. She follows this cinematic movement from its origins in the mid-1980s all the way to the present in essays and articles directed at a range of audiences, from readers of academic journals to popular glossies and weekly newspapers. She presents her insights into such NQC pioneers as Derek Jarman and Isaac Julien and investigates such celebrated films as Go Fish, Brokeback Mountain, Itty Bitty Titty Committee, and Milk. In addition to exploring less-known films and international cinemas (including Latin American and French films and videos), she documents the more recent incarnations of the NQC on screen, on the web, and in art galleries.

Alien: Diaries


H.R. Giger - 2013
    The film became an international success, earning Giger an Oscar. In the transcribed Alien Diaries, published here for the first time as a facsimile, HR Giger describes his work in the studios. He writes, sketches, and takes photographs with his Polaroid SX70. With brutal honesty, sarcasm and occasional despair, Giger describes what it is like working for the film industry and how he struggles against all odds — be it the stinginess of producers or the sluggishness of his staff — to see his designs become reality. The Alien Diaries (in German transcription with an English translation) show a little-known personal side of the artist HR Giger and offer an unusual, detailed glimpse into the making of a movie classic through the eyes of a Swiss artist. The book contains almost completely unpublished material, including drawings, Polaroids showing the monster coming to life, and several still shots from the plentiful film material that Giger took in Shepperton.

Leonard Maltin's 2014 Movie Guide


Leonard Maltin - 2013
    This 2014 edition covers the modern era, from 1965 to the present, while including all the great older films you can’t afford to miss—and those you can—from box-office smashes to cult classics to forgotten gems to forgettable bombs, listed alphabetically, and complete with all the essential information you could ask for.NEWNearly 16,000 capsule movie reviews, with more than 300 new entriesNEWMore than 25,000 DVD and video listingsNEW Up-to-date list of mail-order and online sources for buying and renting DVDs and videosNEWCompletely updated index of leading performersMOREOfficial motion picture code ratings from G to NC-17MOREOld and new theatrical and video releases rated **** to BOMBMOREExact running times—an invaluable guide for recording and for discovering which movies have been editedMOREReviews of little-known sleepers, foreign films, rarities, and classicsANDLeonard’s all-new personal recommendations for movie lovers• Date of release, running time, director, stars, MPAA ratings, color or black-and-white• Concise summary, capsule review, and four-star-to-BOMB rating system• Precise information on films shot in widescreen format• Symbols for DVDs, videos, and laserdiscs• Completely updated index of leading actors• Up-to-date list of mail-order and online sources for buying and renting DVDs and videos

Offbeat: British Cinema's Curiosities, Obscurities and Forgotten Gems


Julian Upton - 2013
    And there could be no finer guide to these uncharted domains than OFFBEAT. This is the book for the more intrepid cinema lover. A passionate, irreverent and informative exploration of British cinema's secret history, from the buoyant leap in film production in the late fifties to the dying embers of popular domestic cinema in the early eighties. So, move over Peeping Tom, Get Carter and The Wicker Man -- it's time to make way for The Mark, Unearthly Stranger, The Strange Affair, The Squeeze, Sitting Target, Quest for Love, and a host of forgotten gems. OFFBEAT features in-depth reviews of more than 100 films, plus interviews and eye-opening essays that together tell the wider story of film in Britain, its neglected cinematic trends and its unsung heroes. The last great British B-movies Anti-swinging London films Sexploitation The British rock'n'roll movie CIA-funded cartoons Madness in British film The Children's Film Foundation The short as supporting feature The forgotten journeymen Non-horror Hammer, and more!

Writing Selling Thriller Screenplays


Lucy V. Hay - 2013
    The book also considers how the screenplay might be sold to investors, looking at high concept ideas, pitching, packaging, and the realities of film finance. It answers such common questions as What is flight vs. fight? What is the difference between horror and thriller? What are the different sub genres of thriller? What part do actors play in film finance? How can limited locations create new opportunities in storytelling and financing? Why is the lone protagonist so in demand? and Why are female characters so popular in thriller?

Sorting Facts; or, Nineteen Ways of Looking at Marker


Susan Howe - 2013
    Scribble grammar has no neighbor. In the name of reason I need to record something because I am a survivor in this ocean.

Finish The Script! A College Screenwriting Course in Book Form


Scott King - 2013
    It takes a step-by-step approach and focuses not only on theory but also on the actual writing process. It’s a full college course squeezed into a book, complete with exercises and sample assignments. Based on actual class lectures, Finish the Script! is for any writer looking for that extra push and guidance in getting a screenplay written.

John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars


Eve Golden - 2013
    He was a wild, swashbuckling figure on screen and off, and accounts of his life have focused on his high-profile romances with Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, his legendary conflicts with Louis B. Mayer, his four tumultuous marriages, and his swift decline after the introduction of talkies. A dramatic and interesting personality, Gilbert served as one of the primary inspirations for the character of George Valentin in the Academy Award-winning movie The Artist (2011). Many myths have developed around the larger-than-life star in the eighty years since his untimely death, but this definitive biography sets the record straight. Eve Golden separates fact from fiction in John Gilbert: The Last of the Silent Film Stars, tracing the actor's life from his youth spent traveling with his mother in acting troupes to the peak of fame at MGM, where he starred opposite Mae Murray, Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and other actresses in popular films such as The Merry Widow (1925), The Big Parade (1925), Flesh and the Devil (1926), and Love (1927). Golden debunks some of the most pernicious rumors about the actor, including the oft-repeated myth that he had a high-pitched, squeaky voice that ruined his career. Meticulous, comprehensive, and generously illustrated, this book provides a behind-the-scenes look at one of the silent era's greatest stars and the glamorous yet brutal world in which he lived.

Margaret


Kenneth Lonergan - 2013
    Delayed for 4 years in post-production, the film was finally released in 2011, with a director's cut following on DVD in 2012. Our edition will include the scripts of the full director's cut, along with an introduction and key tie-in art.Margaret is the story of a Manhattan teenager whose life is profoundly altered after witnessing a terrible accident. It is the extraordinary journey of an emotional teen who abides by her moral code and wants to set things right, but whose innocent ideals come crashing against the harsh realities of the adult world. It is a story of youth, love, the consequences of mistakes, and the fundamental questions of morality as faced by a teenager in an extraordinary situation.

Xerox Ferox: The Wild World of the Horror Film Fanzine


John Szpunar - 2013
    and everything in between, Xerox Ferox is much more than a book about monster magazines. It is the first book of its kind to examine the home-grown DIY fanzines that dared to dig deeper than the slick and shiny newsstand mags ever would... or indeed even could. The titles were as lurid as the films that they covered. Gore Gazette. Deep Red. Sleazoid Express. Before message boards, before blogs, before the Internet itself, the fanzine reigned as the chief source of news and information for horror fans worldwide. Often printed on the cheap and sold for the price of postage, madcap mags like Slimetime, The Splatter Times, and Subhuman traveled the globe, creating a thriving network of fans and professionals alike. Xerox Ferox traces the rise of the horror film fanzine, from the Famous Monster-starved kids of the 1960s to the splatter-crazed gorehounds of the Fangoria generation. Featuring in-depth interviews with over fifty writers, editors, and industry pros, Xerox Ferox is the final word on an era that changed the world of fandom forever... Xerox Ferox is the first title to cover the horror film fanzine phenomenon and culture in encyclopedic depth. The book also contains lengthy chapters that deal with the New York zine scene and the hub of its grindhouse activity, Times Square. In many ways, the book works as time capsule of that era-writers and filmmakers including Jimmy McDonough, Bill Landis, Mike McPadden, Steve Puchalski, Roy Frumkes, and Buddy Giovinazzo share their memories of the movie houses of Forty Second Street-and the dangers that were encountered while visiting them. Not limited to New York City, Xerox Ferox also concentrates on the drive-in theaters of the south. Other topics discussed include commercial Super-8 horror films of the 1960s and 1970s, the home video revolution of the 1980s, regional exploitation films, low budget filmmaking, and of course, self publishing, networking, and distribution.

150 Screenwriting Challenges


Eric Heisserer - 2013
    Hi. I'm Eric, and I'm a working screenwriter, which is a dressed-up way of saying it's how I pay the rent. I started writing for the chance at paying the rent with it about fifteen years ago (oh god, that's a long time, I was such a derp), and during that long, slow crawl uphill to professional status I learned a ton of tricks and tests to help me improve my craft, including ways to find my own unique voice, and methods to break through writer's block.A few years ago I began sharing these writing challenges on Twitter (@HIGHzurrer) and gained a healthy number of followers who were just here for the "writing insight porn" if you know what I mean. This book contains my favorite challenges from that collection, plus a few dozen new ones I've learned since then.To be honest, the book is going to be as much a reference document for myself as I hope it will be for you, so here it is. We're in this together. - Eric

Master Shots Vol 3: The Director's Vision: 100 Setups, Scenes and Moves for Your Breakthrough Movie


Christopher Kenworhty - 2013
    This books reveals the secrets behind each shot's success, so it can be adapted to the director's individual scenes.

Sahir Ludhianvi - The peoples poet


Akshay Manwani - 2013
    So great was his stature as an Urdu poet that he never had to mould his poetry to suit the demands of film songwriting; instead, producers and composers adapted their requirements to his poetry. His songs in films like Pyaasa, Naya Daur and Phir Subah Hogi have attained the status of classics. This exhaustive biography traces the poet’s rich life, from his troubled childhood and his equally troubled love relationships, to his rise as one of the pre-eminent personalities of the Progressive Writers Movement and his journey as lyricist through the golden era of Hindi film music, the 1950s and 1960s.

Gothic: The Dark Heart of Film


James BellRoger Clarke - 2013
    Gothic: The Dark Heart of Film explores the shadowy world of Gothic cinema and television – a haunted place stalked by vampires and werewolves, ghosts and tormented monsters, mad scientists and the living dead, brooding Princes of Darkness and imperilled heroines…Through a range of lavishly illustrated new essays, written by some of the foremost authorities in the field, Gothic: The Dark Heart of Film reveals how the archetypes of Gothic horror and romance have endured, reflecting our deepest fears back at us.It charts the story of how the Gothic found its dark heart in Britain, and came to life on film across the world, from its origins in the silent era, through the Universal horrors of the 1930s, the rise of Hammer in the 1950s, and many other twilight stops on its path to the present.

On Story: Screenwriters and Their Craft


Barbara Morgan - 2013
    Its annual Film Festival and Conference offers screenings, panels, workshops, and roundtable discussions that help new writers and filmmakers connect with mentors and gain advice and insight from masters, as well as refreshing veterans with new ideas. To extend the Festival’s reach, AFF produces On Story, a television series currently airing on PBS-affiliated stations and streaming online that presents footage of high-caliber artists talking candidly and provocatively about the art and craft of screenwriting and filmmaking, often using examples from their own films.This book distills the advice of renowned, award-winning screenwriters who have appeared on On Story, including John Lee Hancock, Peter Hedges, Lawrence Kasdan, Whit Stillman, Robin Swicord, and Randall Wallace. In their own lively words and stories transcribed from interviews and panel discussions, they cover the entire development of a screenplay, from inspiration, story, process, structure, characters, and dialogue to rewriting and collaboration. Their advice is fresh, practical, and proven—these writers know how to tell a story on screen. Enjoy this collection of ideas and use it to jumpstart your own screenwriting career.

The Wonderful World of Oz: An Illustrated History of the American Classic


John Fricke - 2013
    Frank Baum penned his enduring classic in 1900. With the 1939 movie starring Judy Garland, Oz was forever woven into our culture. Over the course of the 20th century, Oz continued to capture the hearts of the American people as well as people all over the world. This book documents that magical journey through beautiful photographs of the world s largest collection of Oz memorabilia. Whether it s first-edition covers, a munchkin costume, or the Wicked playbill, the iconic items on these pages tell the story of America s most beloved fairy tale. Come over the rainbow and see why there truly is no place like Oz."

Shining Glory: Theological Reflections on Terrence Malick's Tree of Life


Peter J. Leithart - 2013
    Leithart is President of Trinity House, a study center in Birmingham, Alabama, and an adjunct Senior Fellow at New St. Andrews College, Moscow, Idaho.

The Smurfs 2 Movie Novelization


Stacia Deutsch - 2013
    Includes plenty of of images from the movie!It’s SMURFTASTIC! The second Smurfs movie releases July 31, 2013!The evil wizard Gargamel is up to no good again in this electrifying sequel to The Smurfs. To enhance his magical powers, Gargamel seeks to harness the all-powerful, magical Smurf essence by creating a group of mischievous Smurf-like creatures called the Naughties. But when he discovers that only a secret spell that Smurfette knows can turn the Naughties into real Smurfs, Gargamel kidnaps Smurfette and imprisons her in the city of Paris.To save their beloved Smurfette, Papa and the Smurfs return to our world and reunite with Patrick and Grace Winslow, joined in their new adventure by Patrick’s stepfather, Vic. Will Papa and the gang save Smurfette before Gargamel can learn the secret spell and take over the world? Find out in this retelling of The Smurfs 2!SMURFS™ & © Peyo 2013 Licensed through Lafig Belgium/IMPS. The Smurfs 2, the Movie © 2013 Sony Pictures Animation Inc. and Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Billson Film Database


Anne Billson - 2013
    You won't find reviews of every film ever made, or of the latest blockbuster, but you will have fun browsing (and perhaps disagreeing with) the personal and often unorthodox opinions of a widely published and respected film writer. Find out which films made her laugh, which made her cry, and which have cats in them!

Love Dog


Masha Tupitsyn - 2013
    LACONIA experimented with new modes of writing and criticism, updating traditional literary forms and practices like the aphorism and the fragment. Re-imagining the wound-and-quest story, the love narrative, and the female subject in love in the digital age, Love Dog is the second installment in Masha Tupitsyn's trilogy of immaterial writing. Written as a multi-media blog and inspired by Roland Barthes' A Lover's Discourse and Mourning Diary—a couple in Tupitsyn's mind—Love Dog is an art book that is part love manifesto, part philosophical notebook, part digital liturgy. The trilogy will culminate with the sound installation Love Sounds/Love Tests, an audio history of love in cinema. For Love Dog's 2-part playlist:Part I: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...Part II: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...Love Dog book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNDWwA...

Man of Steel: Inside the Legendary World of Superman


Daniel Wallace - 2013
    Man of Steel: Inside the Legendary World of Superman explores the remarkable creative process behind the movie and showcases the exceptional concept art that shaped its unique visual style. From the stark alien vistas of Krypton to the down-to-earth warmth of Smallville, this book uncovers the intensive world-building process that makes Superman’s universe both thrilling and believable. Also featuring in-depth interviews with the cast and crew, and candid on-set photography, Man of Steel: Inside the Legendary World of Superman is the ultimate insider’s look at one of the most electrifying movies in recent memory.MAN OF STEEL, SUPERMAN and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics. (s13)

Jean-Luc Godard, Cinema Historian


Michael Witt - 2013
    In this stunningly illustrated volume, Michael Witt explores Godard's landmark work as both a specimen of an artist's vision and a philosophical statement on the history of film. Witt contextualizes Godard's theories and approaches to historiography and provides a guide to the wide-ranging cinematic, aesthetic, and cultural forces that shaped Godard's groundbreaking ideas on the history of cinema.

Filmcraft: Producing


Geoffrey MacNab - 2013
    While few film producers are household names, they wield a degree of control that only the biggest name directors can aspire to. As with all of the FilmCraft titles, this book is based on new indepth interviews and features such greats as Tim Bevan, Marin Karmitz, Jeremy Thomas, Jon Kilik, Lauren Shuler Donner, Jan Chapman, and Peter Aalb�k Jensen.

Pulp Fiction: The Complete Story of Quentin Tarantino's Masterpiece


Jason Bailey - 2013
    The New York Times called it a "triumphant, cleverly disorienting journey," and thirty-one-year-old Quentin Tarantino, with just three feature films to his name, became a sensation: the next great American director. Nearly twenty years later, those who proclaimed Pulp Fiction an instant classic have been proven irrefutably right. In Pulp Fiction: The Complete Story of Quentin Tarantino's Masterpiece, film expert Jason Bailey explores why Pulp Fiction is such a brilliant and influential film. He discusses how the movie was revolutionary in its use of dialogue ("You can get a steak here, daddy-o," "Correct-amundo"), time structure, and cinematography--and how it completely transformed the industry and artistry of independent cinema. He examines Tarantino's influences, illuminates the film's pop culture references, and describes its phenomenal legacy. Unforgettable characters like Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson), Vincent Vega (John Travolta), Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis), and Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) are scrutinized from all-new angles, and memorable scenes--Christopher Walken's gold watch monologue, Vince's explanation of French cuisine--are analyzed and celebrated. Much like the contents of Marcellus Wallace's briefcase, Pulp Fiction is mysterious and spectacular. Illustrated throughout with original art inspired by the film, with sidebars and special features on everything from casting close calls to deleted scenes, this is the most comprehensive, in-depth book on Pulp Fiction ever published.

Nosferatu (1922): eine Symphonie des Grauens


Kevin Jackson - 2013
    W. Murnau's Nosferatu (1922), the first screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, remains a potent and disturbing horror film. One of the outstanding documents of Weimar culture's dark side, the film's prevailing themes of human destructiveness, insanity, and moral and physical pollution had a stinging topicality for contemporary audiences.Kevin Jackson's illuminating study traces Nosferatu's production and reception history, including attempts by Stoker's widow to suppress the film's circulation. Exploring the evolution of the vampire myth, both in the film and in wider culture, Jackson exposes how and why this film of horror and death remains enduringly beautiful and chilling today.This special edition features original cover artwork by Julia Soboleva.

Spinegrinder (Canceled): The Movies Most Critics Won't Write about


Clive Davies - 2013
    With so many sources available, today s fan of horror and exploitation movies isn t necessarily educated on paths well-trodden Universal classics, 1950s monster movies, Hammer as once they were. They may not even be born and bred on DAWN OF THE DEAD. In fact, anyone with a bit of technical savvy (quickly becoming second nature for the born-clicking generation) may be viewing MYSTICS IN BALI and S.S. EXPERIMENT CAMP long before ever hearing of Bela Lugosi or watching a movie directed by Dario Argento. In this world, H.G. Lewis, so-called godfather of gore, carries the same stripes as Alfred Hitchcock, master of suspense. SPINEGRINDER is one man s ambitious, exhaustive and utterly obsessive attempt to make sense of over a century of exploitation and cult cinema, of a sort that most critics won t care to write about. One opinion; 8,000 reviews (or thereabouts)."

American Cinematographer Manual


The ASC Press - 2013
    The editing of the 10th AC Manual was overseen by Michael Goi, ASC, former ASC President. He is a key speaker on issues involving technology and the history of cinema. Completely re-imagined to reflect the sweeping technological changes that our industry has experienced, this edition of the Manual is vibrant and essential reading, as well as an invaluable field resource, covering subjects such as: • A comprehensive breakdown of digital technology terminology •The explosion of prosumer cameras in professional use • Previsualization • 3-D • LED lighting fixtures • How to use the Academy Color Encoding Specification (ACES) • An entirely new section on digital camera prep, and more!

Pier Paolo Pasolini: My Cinema


Pier Paolo Pasolini - 2013
    Opening with Accattone (1961) and closing with Salo (1975), followed by a section on unrealized works, Pier Paolo Pasolini: My Cinema devotes a chapter to each of Pasolini's movies, supplementing stills and a wealth of documentary material with extended commentary by Pasolini on each film, in the form of interviews, journal notes, stories and essays, as well as screenplay excerpts. The four unrealized films discussed in the book's final chapter are The Savage Father (1963), Notes for a Poem on the Third World (1968), Saint Paul (1968) and Porno-Teo-Kolossal (1973). Also included are photos by some of the great Italian set photographers: Angelo Pennoni, Angelo Novi, Mario Tursi, Mario Dondero, Mimmo Cattarinich, Deborah Beer, Bruno Brunia and Roberto Villa. The book closes with an album of photographs from the archive of Laura Betti, the actress and singer who was Pasolini's close friend and confidante, which include photos of Pasolini with his mother, and in the company of writers such as Alberto Moravia, Carlo Emilio Gadda and Ezra Pound. Set designer Dante Ferretti, who began his career with Pasolini, contributes a foreword. My Cinema offers the most succinct statement of the director's vision in print.

Grande Illusions: Books I & II


Tom Savini - 2013
    Now, for the first time, both books are combined into one ultimate guide to the craft and art of make-up effects. With hundreds of pictures and diagrams, Grande Illusions uses Tom's real world experience on dozens of classic movies to show the readers exactly how he did each effect in an easy to understand step-by-step guide. This book offers budding make-up artists and film fans a firsthand look at how cinematic illusions are created. Some of the amazing effects that are explained in this book are from legendary films such as: Friday the 13th, Creepshow, The Burning, Maniac, The Prowler, Dawn of the Dead, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, Monkey Shines, Red Scorpion, Texas Chainsaw Massacre II, Night of the Living Dead (1990) and others. Using his own films as an example, Tom teaches not only how he did each effect, but also how to do head casts, make case molds, punching hair, sketching, color plates and casting teeth, giving budding artists a full understanding of the craft. With amazing introductions by fellow legends, Stephen King, George Romero and Dick Smith, Grande Illusions is sure to thrill and entice film fans and become and become a constant companion for new make-up artists.

Critical Mass: Four Decades of Essays, Reviews, Hand Grenades, and Hurrahs


James Wolcott - 2013
    This collection features the best of Wolcott in whatever guise—connoisseur, intrepid reporter, memoirist, and necessary naysayer—he has chosen to take on.      Included in this collection is “O.K. Corral Revisited,” a fresh take on the famed Norman Mailer–Gore Vidal dustup on The Dick Cavett Show that launched Wolcott from his Maryland college to New York City (via bus) to begin his brilliant career. His prescient review of Patti Smith’s legendary first gig at CBGB leads off a suite of eyewitness and insider accounts of the rise of punk rock, while another set of pieces considers the vast cultural influence of the enigmatic Johnny Carson and the scramble of his late-night successors to inherit the “swivel throne.” There are warm tributes to such diverse figures as Michael Mann, Sam Peckinpah, Lester Bangs, and Philip Larkin and masterly  summings-up of the departed giants of American literature—John Updike, William Styron, John Cheever, and Mailer and Vidal. Included as well are some legendary takedowns that have entered into the literary lore of our time.      Critical Mass is a treasure trove of sparkling, spiky prose and a fascinating portrait of our lives and cultural times over the past decades. In an age where a great deal of back scratching and softball pitching pass for criticism, James Wolcott’s fearless essays and reviews offer a bracing taste of the real critical thing.

Pan's Labyrinth


Mar Diestro-Dopido - 2013
    This book explores the film's cross-cultural and historical contexts, and its groundbreaking use of ancient myths and folklore. It also includes an interview with del Toro about the genesis and production of the film.

Johnny Depp: A Retrospective


Steven Daly - 2013
    One of the most gifted actors of his generation, his charismatic screen presence has brought to life such characters as the tragi-comic Edward Scissorhands, the compassionate but tormented Gilbert Grape, the edgy FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone (under cover as Donnie Brasco), the murderous Sweeney Todd, and, of course, the swashbuckling Captain Jack Sparrow—to name a few. Impeccably designed and lavishly illustrated with more than 200 stills and behind-the-scenes images from the movies themselves, Johnny Depp: A Retrospective is the definitive celebration of this uncompromising actor’s intriguing and deeply personal moviemaking story. This timely retrospective, published to celebrate Johnny Depp’s 50th birthday, charts his career from his first role in Wes Craven’s classic horror A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) through his legendary incarnation as Captain Jack Sparrow in all four Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and the many roles he has brought to life with director Tim Burton (Edward Scissorhands and the Mad Hatter among them), to his most recent role as Tonto in The Lone Ranger (2013). Movie by movie, journalist and author Steven Daly draws upon first-hand interviews, as well as his own in-depth knowledge of Depp’s movies, to appraise the actor’s remarkably varied career.

Blossoms and Blood: Postmodern Media Culture and the Films of Paul Thomas Anderson


Jason Sperb - 2013
    In Blossoms and Blood, Jason Sperb studies the filmmaker’s evolving aesthetic and its historical context to argue that Anderson’s films create new, often ambivalent, narratives of American identity in a media-saturated world. Blossoms and Blood explores Anderson’s films in relation to the aesthetic and economic shifts within the film industry and to America’s changing social and political sensibilities since the mid-1990s. Sperb provides an auteur study with important implications for film history, media studies, cultural studies, and gender studies. He charts major themes in Anderson’s work, such as stardom, self-reflexivity, and masculinity and shows how they are indicative of trends in late twentieth-century American culture. One of the first books to focus on Anderson’s work, Blossoms and Blood reveals the development of an under-studied filmmaker attuned to the contradictions of a postmodern media culture.

A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Film Noir: The Essential Reference Guide


John Grant - 2013
    This extensive encyclopedia describes movies from noir's earliest days - and even before, looking at some of noir's ancestors in US and European cinema - as well as noir's more recent offshoots, from neonoirs to erotic thrillers. Entries are arranged alphabetically, covering movies from all over the world - from every continent save Antarctica - with briefer details provided for several hundred additional movies within those entries. A copious appendix contains filmographies of prominent directors, actors, and writers. With coverage of blockbusters and program fillers from Going Straight (US 1916) to Broken City (US 2013) via Nora Inu (Japan 1949), O Anthropos tou Trainou (Greece 1958), El Less Wal Kilab (Egypt 1962), Reportaje a la Muerte (Peru 1993), Zift (Bulgaria 2008), and thousands more, A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Film Noir is an engrossing and essential reference work that should be on the shelves of every cinephile.

Lame Brains and Lunatics


Steve Massa - 2013
    While the Chaplins, Keatons, and Laurel & Hardys are still remembered and celebrated, this book profiles unsung practitioners such as Billie Ritchie, Marcel Perez, Lige Conley, and George Rowe, with special focus on the neglected comediennes Alice Howell, Gale Henry, Fay Tincher, and Josie Sadler. Popular icons on the order of Mack Sennett, Marie Dressler, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, and W.C. Fields are re-examined, plus detailed histories of silent comedy teams and kid's comedies are offered. The book also includes selected filmographies and is lavishly illustrated with more than 225 rarely-seen photographs and advertising images. Steve Massa is a leading enthusiast of silent comedy, who has devoted 45 years to researching the genre. A librarian in the Billy Rose Theatre Collection at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, he has organized comedy film programs for the Museum of Modern Art, the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Pordenone Silent Film Festival. In addition to consulting with the Eye Film Institute, Netherlands and other archives, and writing for film journals such as Griffithiana, he is a founding member of Silent Cinema Presentations which produces NYC's Silent Clown Film Series. Steve has also contributed articles and commentary tracks to many comedy DVD collections such as The Forgotten Films of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Becoming Charley Chase, and Kino Video's Buster Keaton: The Short Films Collection.

Fredric March - A Consummate Actor


Charles Tranberg - 2013
    On the screen he created memorable performances in such classic films as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Death Takes a Holiday, Les Miserables, A Star is Born, Nothing Sacred, One Foot in Heaven, The Adventures of Mark Twain, The Best Years of Our Lives, Death of a Salesman and Inherit the Wind. Along the way he was nominated five times for an Academy Award and won the coveted statuette twice. He had an equally distinguished career as a stage actor-appearing in such acclaimed Broadway productions as The Skin of Our Teeth and Long Day's Journey Into Night-winning two Tony Awards-including the very first presented to an actor. Despite this great record of success, Fredric March isn't as well remembered today as some of his peers (Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, James Stewart) because unlike them he never developed a recognizable screen persona that followed him from film to film. He was always characterizing-always hiding his own personality behind that of the character he was portraying. He was the consummate actor who richly deserves to be rediscovered. About the Author: Charles Tranberg has written six previous books: I Love the Illusion: The Life and Career of Agnes Moorehead, Not so Dumb: The Life and Career of Marie Wilson, Fred MacMurray: A Biography, The Thin Man Films: Murder over Cocktails, Robert Taylor: A Biography and Walt Disney & Recollections of the Disney Studios 1955-1980. In addition he has written articles for such publications as Classic Images and Films of the Golden Age. Mr. Tranberg lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

FilmCraft: Screenwriting


Tim Grierson - 2013
    Whether an original concept or an adaptation, the screenplay is the key to the success of a movie good dialogue, story pacing, and character development are the framework everything else hangs on. Featuring in-depth interviews with modern masters of film including Stephen Gaghan, Guillermo Arriaga, Caroline Thompson, Hossein Amini, and Jean-Claude Carriere, this book reveals the mysteries behind how the best scripts are written and reach the screen.

The Grip Book: The Studio Grip's Essential Guide


Michael Uva - 2013
    Discover vital insider tips ranging from how to operate cutting-edge rigging and lighting equipment to performing difficult camera mounts on aircraft, boats, cars, and trains.In The Grip Book, Fifth Edition, seasoned Hollywood grip Michael G. Uva teaches you to install, set up, maintain, and ensure the safety of all equipment on a set, such as C-stands, cameras, and any specialty gear needed for a shoot. Guidelines for on-set etiquette and how to succeed as a technical crew member will jumpstart your career and make you a valuable asset on any film or television crew. This newly enhanced edition marks the 25th anniversary of a Focal Press classic and has been updated to include:A 4-color insert covering greenscreen setupTechnical expertise on maintaining the latest and greatest filmmaking equipmentEngaging how-to videos on the companion website (www.focalpress.com/9780415842372) which demonstrate techniques described in the bookA completely new test section with over one hundred questions and answers, allowing you to quiz yourself on the techniques and concepts you've just readGuidelines on what a grip has to be physically able to perform in their day-to-day dutiesA European-specific appendix that features a table of European grip terms and their American equivalentsWhether you are a professional grip looking to boost your skills or an aspiring one just beginning to learn the trade, the time-tested tips and techniques for smooth and safe operation on set make this new edition an indispensable reference guide.

Ecologies of the Moving Image: Cinema, Affect, Nature


Adrian J. Ivakhiv - 2013
    This is the premise of Ecologies of the Moving Image, which accounts for the ways cinematic moving images move viewers in ways that reshape our understanding of ourselves, of life, and of the Earth and universe.This book presents an ecophilosophy of the cinema: an account of the moving image in relation to its lived ecologies--the material, social, and perceptual relations within which movies are produced, consumed, and incorporated into cultural life. Cinema, Adrian Ivakhiv argues, lures us into its worlds, but those worlds are grounded in a material and communicative Earth that supports them, even if that supporting materiality withdraws from visibility. Ivakhiv examines the geographies, visualities, and anthropologies--relations of here and there, seer and seen, us and them, human and inhuman--found across a range of styles and genres, from ethnographic and wildlife documentaries to westerns and road movies, and from sci-fi blockbusters and eco-disaster films to the experimental and art films of Tarkovsky, Herzog, Greenaway, Malick, Dash, and Brakhage as well as YouTube's expanding audiovisual universe.Through its process-relational account of cinema, drawn from philosophers such as Whitehead, Peirce, and Deleuze, the book boldly enriches our understanding of film and visual media.

The Cinema of Sergei Parajanov


James Steffen - 2013
    An ethnic Armenian in the multicultural atmosphere of Tbilisi, Georgia, he was one of the most innovative directors of postwar Soviet cinema. Parajanov succeeded in creating a small but marvelous body of work whose style embraces such diverse influences as folk art, medieval miniature painting, early cinema, Russian and European art films, surrealism, and Armenian, Georgian, and Ukrainian cultural motifs.            The Cinema of Sergei Parajanov is the first English-language book on the director's films and the most comprehensive study of his work. James Steffen provides a detailed overview of Parajanov's artistic career: his identity as an Armenian in Georgia and its impact on his aesthetics; his early films in Ukraine; his international breakthrough in 1964 with Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors; his challenging 1969 masterpiece, The Color of Pomegranates, which was reedited against his wishes; his unrealized projects in the 1970s; and his eventual return to international prominence in the mid-to-late 1980s with The Legend of the Surami Fortress and Ashik-Kerib. Steffen also provides a rare, behind-the-scenes view of the Soviet film censorship process and tells the dramatic story of Parajanov's conflicts with the authorities, culminating in his 1973–77 arrest and imprisonment on charges related to homosexuality.            Ultimately, the figure of Parajanov offers a fascinating case study in the complicated dynamics of power, nationality, politics, ethnicity, sexuality, and culture in the republics of the former Soviet Union.

American Cinematographer Manual


Michael Goi - 2013
    Completely re-imagined to reflect the sweeping technological changes that our industry has experienced, this edition of the Manual is vibrant and essential reading, as well as an invaluable field resource, covering subjects such as:•The explosion of prosumer cameras inprofessional use• Previsualization• 3-D• LED lighting fixtures• An entirely new section on digital camera prep,and more!CHAPTERSOrigins of the American Society of CinematographersResponsibilities of the CinematographerSummary of Formats Basic Digital Concepts Evaluating Digital Motion Picture Cameras Low-Cost Options For Digital Cinematography Putting the Image on FilmComparisons of 1.85, Anamorphic and Super 35 Film FormatsAnamorphic CinematographyExposure Meters Lenses Camera FiltersCamera-Stabilizing SystemsPrevisualization 3-D Stereoscopic CinematographyDay-for-Night, Infrared and Ultraviolet CinematographyAerial Cinematography Underwater Cinematography Arctic and Tropical CinematographyFilming Television and Computer DisplaysDigital Postproduction for Feature FilmsThe ASC Color Decision List (CDL)Academy Color Encoding Sytem (ACES)The Cinematographer and the Laboratory Emulsion Testing Finding Your Own Printer LightAdjusting Printer Lights to Match Sample ClipsCinemagic of the Optical PrinterMotion-Control CinematographyGreenscreen and Bluescreen PhotographyTravelling MattesPhotographing MiniaturesIn-Camera Compositing of Miniatures...Light Sources, Luminaires and Lighting FiltersLED Lighting For Motion Picture ProductionDigital GlossaryFilm and Digital Camera SectionSafety on the SetFilm Camera Prep Digital Camera Prep Camera -Support SystemsQuick Picture Monitor Set-up Handheld Apps for Production

Send in the Clowns - The Yo Yo Life of Ian Hendry


Gabriel Hershman - 2013
    The original star of The Avengers, Ian went on to give iconic performances in films such as Live Now Pay Later, The Hill and Get Carter and TV series such as The Lotus Eaters. Hailed by John Nettles as ""a ruined genius"" and by Brian Clemens as ""Britain's greatest actor"", this is a touching story of an outstandingly talented star dogged by tragedy.

عباس کیارستمی و درس هایی از سینما


Mahmoud Reza Sani - 2013
    He allows us to sit in on the beginning days of a workshop taught by critically-acclaimed and award-winning director Abbas Kiarostami (Taste of Cherry, Certified Copy, Like Someone in Love).In February 2012, Abbas Kiarostami traveled to Spain to receive the Ibn-Arabi trophy for a lifetime of artistic achievements. It was decided at that time that he would hold a 10 day film maker workshop for 35 students who had traveled from all over the world in eager anticipation to attend this once in a lifetime event. We join Kiarostami in class as he converses with the students and author. We listen as Kiarostami reminisces about some of his past experiences and offers insight into his cinematic style. We learn as he advises the students on how to shape their stories and find their voice, not only in the world of film but also in their lives. The book also includes the foreword "Lessons of Refusal" written by famed French Screenwriter Jean-Claude Carriere (Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Belle du Jour)."

Film Technique and Film Acting - The Cinema Writings of V.I. Pudovkin


V.I. Pudovkin - 2013
    We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

TV Horror: Investigating the Dark Side of the Small Screen


Lorna Jowett - 2013
    This complete, utterly accessible, sometimes scary new book is the definitive work on TV horror. It shows how this most adaptable of genres has continued to be a part of the broadcast landscape, unsettling audiences and pushing the boundaries of acceptability. The authors demonstrate how TV Horror continues to provoke and terrify audiences by bringing the monstrous and the supernatural into the home, whether through adaptations of Stephen King and classic horror novels, or by reworking the gothic and surrealism in Twin Peaks and Carnivale. They uncover horror in mainstream television from procedural dramas to children's television and, through close analysis of landmark TV auteurs including Rod Serling, Nigel Kneale, Dan Curtis and Stephen Moffat, together with case studies of such shows as Dark Shadows, Dexter, Pushing Daisies, Torchwood, and Supernatural, they explore its evolution on television. This book is a must-have for those studying TV Genre as well as for anyone with a taste for the gruesome and the macabre.

Early Paramount Studios


E.J. Stephens - 2013
    Arising from the collective genius of Adolph Zukor, Jesse L. Lasky, and Cecil B. DeMille during the 1910s, Paramount Pictures is home to such enduring classics as Wings, Sunset Boulevard, The Ten Commandments, Love Story, The Godfather, the Indiana Jones series, Chinatown, Forrest Gump, Braveheart, Titanic, and Star Trek. Early Paramount Studios chronicles Paramount's origins, culminating in the creation and expansion of the lot at 5555 Melrose Avenue, the last major motion picture studio still in Hollywood.

The Beach Boys in Concert: The Ultimate History of America's Band on Tour and Onstage


Ian Rusten - 2013
    The Beach Boys in Concert is an exhilarating day-by-day journey through the triumphs and tribulations of one of rock's most legendary acts. More than ten years of exhaustive research has produced an unprecedented window into the Beach Boys' thrilling successes, personal tragedies, inter-band dramas, and globe-trotting, rock-and-roll adventures from 1961 to 2012. The Beach Boys in Concert is a solidly factual and highly entertaining ride from their humble beginnings of driving to local gigs in their mom's station wagon to touring the world in private jets with a massive entourage in tow, from nervously playing to a dozen unimpressed Southern California surfers to performing for a half-million worshipping fans on the National Mall. The evolution and growth of an entertainment phenomenon is captured here in a far more detailed way than ever before. The Beach Boys in Concert is the ultimate document for fans when it comes to the group's career as concert performers; no other publication comes close to this tome in scope, detail, and definitive quality. Adding to the feast is an extensive collection of unpublished photos and rare memorabilia images that bring fans deeper into the context of any given era covered in the book. This detailed, illustrated 50-year Surfin' Safari will blow your mind!

Touching and Imagining: An Introduction to Tactile Art


Jan Švankmajer - 2013
    Illustrated with over 100 images, the book is organized around many reproductions of Švankmajer's wondrous tactile art objects, tactile poems, experiments and games. It also includes dialogues with, and artworks by, other collaborating artists from the Group of Czech and Slovak Surrealists. Švankmajer also gathers together as contributors such notable exponents of tactual experience as Edgar Allen Poe, Guillaume Apollinaire, Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, Meret Oppenheim, Ay-O, and F.T. Marinetti.Michael Havas, producer of some of Švankmajer's films, says of the book: 'it is typically Švankmajer: erudite and very consequential. Sometimes also very funny and erotic. Totally unique.'

Technology, Monstrosity, and Reproduction in Twenty-first Century Horror


Kimberly Jackson - 2013
    These monsters, threatening and ominous as they may be, represent the possibility for a renewed belief in the reality of the world and humanity's place within it. Through a wide spectrum of horror sub-genres, this book examines how the current state of horror - its sense of being at an end, its increasing self-awareness, and its concern with the relationship between media and message - reflects these anxieties in Western culture. Horror films bring them to a mass audience and offer ever new figures for the nameless faceless 'antagonist' that plagues us. At the same time, horror provides material with which to build a different understanding of ourselves, its monsters representing ends but also beginnings.

Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube


Trav S.D. - 2013
    As in his first book, the critically acclaimed No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, author Trav S.D. mixes a wicked wit, a scholar's curiosity, and a keen critical appreciation for laugh-makers through the ages, from classical clowns like Joseph Grimaldi to comedy kings like Mack Sennett, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton . . . to more recent figures, from Red Skelton, Sid Caesar and Ernie Kovacs to Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey and Steve Carell . . . all the way down to the teenagers on YouTube whose backyard antics bring us full circle to slapstick's beginnings. This valentine to the great clowns contains enough insights and surprises to open the eyes of even life-long comedy fans. Here's what critics had to say about Trav S.D.'s first book, No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous: "A book that sharpens the mind and stirs the heart . . .The writing is as snappy as these troupers and headliners deserve. And the scholarship is high-class. - Margo Jefferson, New York Times "Almost a vaudeville show unto itself...Open a single chapter of No Applause and you'll get a great snapshot of the industry at that time. . .An ode to the tenacity, the freaks, the slapstick, and yes, the art form that was responsible for entertainment today as we know it." - Rachel Shindelman, Time Out Chicago "Much has been written about the American institution of vaudeville, but readers would be hard-pressed to find an account as humorous and sharp as writer and performer Trav S.D.'s tasty chronicle . . . A well-researched, riotous book." - Publisher's Weekly (starred review) "Thorough and thoroughly entertaining . . . One of the year's best historical performing arts texts; a wonderful story wonderfully told." - Barry X. Miller, Library Journal (starred review) "Both performer and theatre historian, [Trav S.D.] knows of what he speaks. His rich, well-researched history of American vaudeville from its roots in the 1880s onward is a rare enough feat made all the more startling by the wit, zest and fresh eyes [he] brings to the subject." - Jack Helbig, Booklist (starred review)

All Due Respect . . . The Sopranos Changes Everything: A Chapter From The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall


Alan Sepinwall - 2013
    It rewrote the rules and made TV a better, happier place for thinking viewers, even as it was telling the story of a bunch of stubborn, ignorant, miserable excuses for human beings" (From All Due Respect…The Sopranos Changes Everything).In this chapter from the critically acclaimed book The Revolution Was Televised, Alan Sepinwall explores why The Sopranos was critical to ushering in a new golden age in television. Drawing on a new interview with creator David Chase, Sepinwall weaves fascinating behind-the-scenes details about the show with his trademark incisive criticism—including his theory on the controversial series finale.

Monsters, Inc.: Scary Stories


Marvel Comics - 2013
    When monsters Mike and Sulley accidentally let a human girl sneak into Monstropolis, they must return her home before anyone notices - or they might lose their jobs at Monsters, Inc.! Plus, all-new Monsters, Inc. tales! It's that time of year again: Humanween, Mike's and Sulley's annual costume party - where monsters dress up as humans! This time the annual party is at Mike and Sulley's home...but Mike goes into panic mode when he learns of an unplanned visit from...his mother! Then, when Mike forgets a special date he promised his girlfriend, can he get his relationship off the rocks with a little help from his pal Sulley? COLLECTING: Monsters , Inc . 1-2; The Humanween Party ; A Perfect Date

Sirens Sinners: A Visual History of Weimar Film 1918-1933


Hans Helmut Prinzler - 2013
    Through the silent era to the early years of sound, the visual flair and technical innovation of its filmmakers set an international standard for the powerful possibilities of cinema as an art form, with movies such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Metropolis, and M building a legacy that shaped the world of film.Here is a showcase of more than seventy films, selected to give a wide-ranging overview of Weimar cinema at its finest. Every genre is represented, from escapist comedies and musicals to gritty depictions of contemporary city life, from period dramas to fantastical visions of the future, with themes such as sexuality and social issues tackled by iconic stars like Marlene Dietrich and Louise Brooks. A wealth of film stills captures the bold vision of great directors like Fritz Lang and Ernst Lubitsch, while the text sets the historical scene and gives intriguing insights into what the films meant to the society that created them.This chapter in movie history was brought to a close by Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. Directors, screenwriters and actors found themselves obliged to leave Germany, and brought their talents to Hollywood.

INCITE Journal of Experimental Media issue 4 Exhibition Guide


Brett Kashmere - 2013
    A detailed look at the microcinema movement of the last twenty years and beyond.

An Invention Without a Future: Essays on Cinema


James Naremore - 2013
    These essays include discussions of authorship, adaptation, and acting; commentaries on Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Vincente Minnelli, John Huston, and Stanley Kubrick; and reviews of more recent work by non-Hollywood directors Pedro Costa, Abbas Kiarostami, Raul Ruiz, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Important themes recur: the relations between modernity, modernism, and postmodernism; the changing mediascape and death of older technologies; and the need for robust critical writing in an era when print journalism is waning and the humanities are devalued. The book concludes with essays on four major American film critics: James Agee, Manny Farber, Andrew Sarris, and Jonathan Rosenbaum.

Monsters University: The Essential Guide


Glenn Dakin - 2013
    Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn't always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn't stand each other. Monsters University unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.Featuring colorful stills from the movie and detailed character images, Monsters University: The Essential Guide is the perfect companion for any young fan!

The Prop Building Guidebook: For Theatre, Film, and TV


Eric Hart - 2013
    This book lays the groundwork for an artisan to determine what materials and techniques to use to build these props. Walking the reader through the various tools and techniques used in historical and contemporary prop-making, the author presents a process for deciding the materials and methods to build any prop. With an explanation of how the craft and its products have developed over time, the budding artisan will understand not just how and when to use certain techniques or materials, but also why to use them and what advantages they give. It arms the prop maker with a structured procedure for approaching the construction of any prop. Illustrated with step-by-step examples of how to use each construction method, and explanations of different types of materials, this book gives the beginner prop artisan a strong foundation to approach the construction of props and answers the question, "How should I begin?"The author is hosting an online component to the book along with his successful blog. It will feature additional resources for the prop maker, including books, shops, contact information, and how-to videos.

Torture Porn: Popular Horror after Saw


Steve Jones - 2013
    Although torture porn films such as Saw, Hostel and The Human Centipede were highly successful and have become cultural touchstones, the term 'torture porn' remains synonymous with misogyny, obscenity and moral depravity. Arguing primarily in defense of these popular torture-themed horror films, this is the first book to offer a detailed critical examination of the 'torture porn' phenomenon, outlining the subgenre's lineage, scrutinizing responses to the sub-genre, and offering narrative analyses of the sub-genre's central box-office hits as well as the multitude of independent direct-to-DVD films that have followed in their footsteps. In doing so, this book seeks to unpick the relationships between 'porn', 'horror', 'immorality', and 'extremity'.

Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980


Roberto Curti - 2013
    In a country plagued with violence, political tensions and armed struggle, these films managed to capture the anxiety and anger of the times in their tales of tough cops, ruthless criminals and urban paranoia. Recent years have seen renewed critical interest in the genre, thanks in part to such illustrious fans as Quentin Tarantino. This book examines all of the 220+ crime films produced in Italy between 1968 and 1980, the period when the genre first appeared and grew to its peak. Entries include a complete cast and crew list, home video releases, a plot summary and the author's own analysis. Excerpts from a variety of sources are included: academic texts, contemporary reviews, and interviews with filmmakers, scriptwriters and actors. There are many onset stills and film posters.

Alfred Hitchcock's America


Murray Pomerance - 2013
    Murray Pomerance works from a basis in cultural analysis and a detailed knowledge of Alfred Hitchcock's films and production techniques to explore how America of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s is revealed and critically commented upon in Hitchcock's work. Alfred Hitchcock's America is full of stunning details that bring new light to Hitchcock's method and works. The American spirit of place, is seen here in light of the titanic American personality, American values in a consumer age, social class and American social form, and the characteristic American marriage. The book's analysis ranges across a wide array of films from Rebecca to Family Plot, and examines in depth the location sequences, characterological types, and complex social expectations that riddled American society while Hitchcock thrived there.