My Autobiography
Charlie Chaplin - 1964
In this, one of the very first celebrity memoirs, Chaplin displays all the charms, peculiarities and deeply-held beliefs that made him such an endearing and lasting character.Re-issued as part of Melville House’s Neversink Library, My Autobiography offers dedicated Chaplin fans and casual admirers alike an astonishing glimpse into the the heart and the mind of Hollywood’s original genius maverick.Take this unforgettable journey with the man George Bernard Shaw called “the only genius to come out of the movie industry” as he moves from his impoverished South London childhood to the heights of Hollywood wealth and fame; from the McCarthy-era investigations to his founding of United Artists to his “reverse migration” back to Europe, My Autobiography is a reading experience not to be missed.
The Annotated Godfather
Jenny M. Jones - 2007
And yet, the history of its making is so colorful, so chaotic, that one cannot help but marvel at the seemingly insurmountable odds it overcame to become a true cinematic masterpiece, a film that continues to captivate us decades after its release. Now, thirty-five years after The Godfather's highly anticipated debut, comes this fully authorized, annotated, and illustrated edition of the complete screenplay. Virtually every scene is examined including:Fascinating commentary on technical details about the filming and shooting locationsTales from the set, including the arguments, the accidents, and the practical jokesProfiles of the actors and stories of how they were castDeleted scenes that never made the final cutGoofs and gaffes that didAnd much more Interviews with former Paramount executives, cast and crew members—from the producer to the makeup artist—and director Francis Ford Coppola round out the commentary and shed new light on everything you thought you knew about this most influential film. The more than 200 photographs from the film, from behind-the-scenes, and from the cutting room floor make this a visual feast for every Godfather fan.
Enemies, A Love Story
Josh Schollmeyer - 2012
The competition continued when someone had the bright idea to put the two of them together on television to critique the coming attractions. In the process of becoming legendary, they also came to know and love each other while continuing to put a stick in the eye. This is their funny and engaging story, as told by scores of people who were involved with them and their show over the years. In the end they stood tallest when they stood together.
Hatchet Job: Love Movies, Hate Critics
Mark Kermode - 2013
But with the arrival of the internet, have the critics finally fallen under the axe? With movie posters now just as likely to be adorned by Twitter quotes as fusty reviewer recommendations, has the rise of enthusiastic amateurism sounded the death knell of a profession? Are the democratic opportunities of the internet any more reliable than the old gripes and prejudices of the establishment? Can editing really be done by robots? And what kind of films would we have if we listened to what the audience thinks it wants? Starting with the celebrated TV fight between film-maker Ken Russell and critic Alexander Walker (the former hit the latter with a rolled-up copy of his Evening Standard review on live television) and ending with his own admission to Steven Spielberg of a major error of judgement, Mark Kermode takes us on a journey across the modern cinematic landscape. Like its predecessor, The Good, The Bad and The Multiplex, Hatchet Job blends historical analysis with trenchant opinion, bitter personal prejudices, autobiographical diversions and anecdotes, and laugh-out-loud acerbic humour. It's the perfect book for anyone who's ever expressed an opinion about a movie.
The Most Beautiful Woman in the World: The Obsessions, Passions, and Courage of Elizabeth Taylor
Ellis Amburn - 2000
Filled with stunning revelations about the men in her life—Burton, Clift, Hilton, Dean, Fisher—it is a glorious celebration of the turbulent life of a brilliant star that none in Hollywood or heaven could ever outshine.
Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy
Brandon Alinger - 2014
For the first time, the Lucasfilm Archives is granting full access to the original costumes of episodes IV, V, and VI, allowing them to be revealed in never-before-seen detail. In over 200 new costume photographs, sketches, and behind-the-scenes photos and notes, based on new interviews, fans will get a fresh perspective on the creation of the clothes and costume props that brought these much-loved characters to life. Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy affords both new and longtime Star Wars fans an intimate look at the unforgettable costumes from this classic series.
Moving Pictures: Memories of a Hollywood Prince
Budd Schulberg - 1981
Moving Pictures is his fascinating remembrance of growing up amidst the glamour, swank, courage, triumphs, defeats, cabals, and double-crosses of an industry in the making. His utterly candid account includes unsparing portraits of outsized characters in all their power, venality, charm, pettiness, and vindictiveness. As a book on the early days of the movies in Hollywood, this one is hard to beat. Abundantly illustrated with black-and-white photographs.
John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood
Michael D. Sellers - 2012
It took Disney Studios just ten days to declare the film a flop and lock it away in the Disney vaults. How did this project, despite its quarter-billion dollar budget, the brilliance of director Andrew Stanton, and the creative talents of legendary Pixar Studios, become a calamity of historic proportions?Michael Sellers, a filmmaker and Hollywood insider himself, saw the disaster approaching and fought to save the project – but without success. In John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood, Sellers details every blunder and betrayal that led to the doom of the motion picture – and that left countless Hollywood careers in the wreckage.John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood examines every aspect of Andrew Stanton's adaptation and Disney's marketing campaign and seeks to answer the question: What went wrong? it includes a history of Hollywood's 100 year effort to bring the film to the screen, and examines the global fan movement spawned by the film.
Die Hard: An Oral History (Kindle Single)
Brian Abrams - 2016
Eventually, the barkeep-turned-actor would grace the small screen opposite Cybill Shepherd in the ABC series "Moonlighting" and, with a few turns of luck, the big screen in the unlikely role of John McClane. Bruce Willis would then forever be recognized as the world's ultimate anti-hero, a blue-collar Everyman with the worst luck, always surrounded by terrorists taking over something or other. And, in this definitive oral history of "Die Hard," writers, actors, producers, and studio executives reveal behind-the-scenes stories, from the curious origins of the film's title, to the script's evolution from a depressing ‘70s character study to an optimistic Reagan-era blockbuster, to the seminal negotiations between 20th Century Fox and Willis's then-agent which sent his client's career into the stratosphere, to details of moguls Lawrence Gordon and Joel Silver’s famously tumultuous relationship while developing some of the '80s most successful franchises. Brian Abrams’ first book, "Party Like a President: True Tales of Inebriation, Lechery, and Mischief from the Oval Office" (Workman Publishing), was released in February 2015 and earned attention from The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, NPR, and Vanity Fair. His Kindle Singles, "AND NOW...An Oral History of 'Late Night with David Letterman,' 1982-1993" and "Gawker: An Oral History" became #1 bestsellers in 2014 and in 2015. He is editor-in-chief of the news and culture site Death and Taxes Magazine and lives in New York City. Cover design by Adil Dara.
Dark History of Hollywood: A Century of Greed, Corruption and Scandal behind the Movies
Kieron Connolly - 2014
But the drama on-screen has been matched, and often exceeded, by the lives off-screen."As the title suggests the book covers the history of Hollywood from its origins in the early part of the 20th century through its heyday under the studio system and finally to the Hollywood of CGI and summer blockbusters.
A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series
David Kalat - 1997
This work also covers various political and social subtexts of the movies.
City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940s
Otto Friedrich - 1986
Its cast includes actors, writers, musicians and composers, producers and directors, racketeers and labor leaders, journalists and politicians in the turbulent decade from World War II to Korea.
The Big Goodbye: Chinatown and the Last Years of Hollywood
Sam Wasson - 2020
and Fosse comes the revelatory account of the making of a modern American masterpiece Chinatown is the Holy Grail of 1970s cinema. Its twist ending is the most notorious in American film and its closing line of dialogue the most haunting. Here for the first time is the incredible true story of its making.In Sam Wasson's telling, it becomes the defining story of the most colorful characters in the most colorful period of Hollywood history. Here is Jack Nicholson at the height of his powers, as compelling a movie star as there has ever been, embarking on his great, doomed love affair with Anjelica Huston. Here is director Roman Polanski, both predator and prey, haunted by the savage death of his wife, returning to Los Angeles, the scene of the crime, where the seeds of his own self-destruction are quickly planted. Here is the fevered dealmaking of "The Kid" Robert Evans, the most consummate of producers. Here too is Robert Towne's fabled script, widely considered the greatest original screenplay ever written. Wasson for the first time peels off layers of myth to provide the true account of its creation.Looming over the story of this classic movie is the imminent eclipse of the '70s filmmaker-friendly studios as they gave way to the corporate Hollywood we know today. In telling that larger story, The Big Goodbye will take its place alongside classics like Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and The Devil's Candy as one of the great movie-world books ever written.Praise for Sam Wasson:"Wasson is a canny chronicler of old Hollywood and its outsize personalities...More than that, he understands that style matters, and, like his subjects, he has a flair for it." -
The New Yorker
"Sam Wasson is a fabulous social historian because he finds meaning in situations and stories that would otherwise be forgotten if he didn't sleuth them out, lovingly." - Hilton Als
Motion Picture and Video Lighting
Blain Brown - 1992
Written by the author of the industry bible Cinematography, this book explores technical, aesthetic, and practical aspects of lighting for film and video. It will show you not only how to light, but why. Written by an experienced professional, this comprehensive book explores light and color theory; equipment, and techniques to make every scene look its best. Now in full color, Motion Picture and Video Lighting is heavily illustrated with photos and diagrams throughout. This new edition also includes the ultimate 'behind the scenes' DVD that takes you directly on a professional shoot and demonstrates technical procedures and equipment. In addition, 20 video clips include lighting demonstrations, technical tests, fundamentals of lighting demos, and short scenes illustrating different styles of lighting.
A Short Walk from Harrods
Dirk Bogarde - 1993
Here he recounts his life growing up in London. "I learned very early in my life that nothing was forever; so I should have been aware of disillusion in early middle age: but, somehow, we try to obliterate early warnings and go cantering along hopefully, idiotically. . . ."