Steven Spielberg: Interviews


Lester D. Friedman - 2000
    Phrases like "phone home" and the music score from Jaws are now part of our cultural script, appearing in commercials, comedy routines, and common conversation.Yet few scholars have devoted time to studying Spielberg's vast output of popular films despite the director's financial and aesthetic achievements. Spanning twenty-five years of Spielberg's career, Steven Spielberg: Interviews explores the issues, the themes, and the financial considerations surrounding his work. The blockbuster creator of E.T., Jaws, and Schindler's List talks about dreams and the almighty dollar."I'm not really interested in making money," he says. "That's always come as the result of success, but it's not been my goal, and I've had a tough time proving that to people."Ranging from Spielberg's twenties to his mid-fifties, the interviews chart his evolution from a brash young filmmaker trying to make his way in Hollywood, to his spectacular blockbuster triumphs, to his maturation as a director seeking to inspire the imagination with meaningful subjects.The Steven Spielberg who emerges in these talks is a complex mix of businessman and artist, of arrogance and insecurity, of shallowness and substance. Often interviewers will uncover the director's human side, noting how changes in Spielberg's personal life -- marriage, divorce, fatherhood, remarriage -- affect his movies. But always the interviewers find keys to the story-telling and filmmaking talent that have made Spielberg's characters and themes shape our times and inhabit our dreams."Every time I go to a movie, it's magic, no matter what the movie's about," he says. "Whether you watch eight hours of Shoah or whether it's Ghostbusters, when the lights go down in the theater and the movie fades in, it's magic."

Thinking In Pictures: The Making Of The Movie Matewan


John Sayles - 1987
    Many films later, he still works outside the studio system and guides every phase of his productions.Now Sayles has written an illuminating book about the complex choices that lie at the heart of every movie. Using the making of his film Matewan as an example, he offers chapters on screenwriting, directing, editing, sound, and more. Photographs, sketches, and the complete shooting script illustrate this engaging account of how Sayles's curiosity about a coal miners' strike in the town of Matewan, West Virginia, became a screenplay--and then a movie.

Grace Kelly: A Life in Pictures


Pierre-Henri Verlhac - 2007
    Although her career was brief, she lit up the screen in films like High Society, Rear Window, and The Country Girl, for which she won an Oscar. She was not only a fine actress, great beauty, and icon of American style, but she was also a passionate philanthropist, known for her generosity and kindness. Published on the 25th anniversary of her death, Grace Kelly: A Life in Pictures is the definitive photographic portrait—160 images capturing the early years, film career, royal marriage, and private life of this remarkable woman.

Sculpting a Galaxy: Inside the Star Wars Model Shop


Lorne Peterson - 2006
    In each of these cases, and literally hundreds more, the model-making wizards of Industrial Light & Magic were instrumental in creating a universe full of glorious, heart-pounding illusions.In Sculpting a Galaxy: Inside the Star Wars Model Shop, Lorne Peterson, one of the founding members of ILM, takes the reader on a journey through thirty years of incredible adventures, telling never-before-published stories, explaining how classic scenes were created, and how beloved models were - often from the most unexpected of parts and ingredients. Paint buckets, model car parts, and walnut shells play important roles, alongside high-tech lasers and computer graphics, in creating the familiar yet fantastic components of a galaxy far, far away.Lavishly illustrated with more than 300 full-color photographs from the Lucasfilm Archives, this book provides an unparalleled look behind the scenes of a place that really has created magic. Lorne Peterson's warm, evocative voice and dedication to his craft inform every page, making this not just a stunning visual piece, but an epic history in its own right.

Art of the Cut: Conversations with Film and TV Editors


Steve Hullfish - 2008
    It is a fascinating "virtual roundtable discussion" with more than 50 of the top editors from around the globe. Included in the discussion are the winners of more than a dozen Oscars for Best Editing and the nominees of more than forty, plus numerous Emmy winners and nominees. Together they have over a thousand years of editing experience and have edited more than a thousand movies and TV shows.Hullfish carefully curated over a hundred hours of interviews, organizing them into topics critical to editors everywhere, generating an extended conversation among colleagues. The discussions provide a broad spectrum of opinions that illustrate both similarities and differences in techniques and artistic approaches. Topics include rhythm, pacing, structure, storytelling and collaboration.Interviewees include Margaret Sixel (Mad Max: Fury Road), Tom Cross (Whiplash, La La Land), Pietro Scalia (The Martian, JFK), Stephen Mirrione (The Revenant), Ann Coates (Lawrence of Arabia, Murder on the Orient Express), Joe Walker (12 Years a Slave, Sicario), Kelley Dixon (Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead), and many more. Art of the Cut also includes in-line definitions of editing terminology, with a full glossary and five supplemental web chapters hosted online. This book is a treasure trove of valuable tradecraft for aspiring editors and a prized resource for high-level working professionals. The book's accessible language and great behind-the-scenes insight makes it a fascinating glimpse into the art of filmmaking for all fans of cinema.

Hawks on Hawks


Joseph McBride - 1982
    The distinguished director, Howard Hawks, discusses his techniques of filmmaking, analyzes the artistry of his movies, and portrays his experiences working in Hollywood.

Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema; 1930-1934


Thomas Doherty - 1999
    Though more unbridled, salacious, subversive, and just plain bizarre than what came afterwards, the films of the period do indeed have the look of Hollywood cinema--but the moral terrain is so off-kilter that they seem imported from a parallel universe.In a sense, Doherty avers, the films of pre-Code Hollywood are from another universe. They lay bare what Hollywood under the Production Code attempted to cover up and push offscreen: sexual liaisons unsanctified by the laws of God or man, marriage ridiculed and redefined, ethnic lines crossed and racial barriers ignored, economic injustice exposed and political corruption assumed, vice unpunished and virtue unrewarded--in sum, pretty much the raw stuff of American culture, unvarnished and unveiled.No other book has yet sought to interpret the films and film-related meanings of the pre-Code era--what defined the period, why it ended, and what its relationship was to the country as a whole during the darkest years of the Great Depression... and afterward.

The Sounds of Star Wars


J.W. Rinzler - 2010
    But how many of them would be able to identify the lion's roar used in the sound of the Millenium Falcon's engine? In this aurally astonishing and visually engaging book, New York Times best-selling author J. W. Rinzler reveals the illuminating history of the sounds that make the Star Wars universe so believable, as recounted by their creator, legendary sound designer Ben Burtt. An attached sound module with an exterior speaker and headphone jack lets readers listen to more than 250 unique sound effects, and more than 300 photographs illustrate the epic's many memorable scenes. From the first films to the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, The Sounds of Star Wars is Star Wars as you've never heard it before.

Hollywood Costume


Deborah Nadoolman Landis - 2012
    Published in conjunction with an exhibition launched at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London that the New York Times called “extraordinary,” the book showcases the talents of renowned designers such as Adrian, Edith Head, and Sandy Powell, among many others, whose work spans the silent era to the Golden Age of Hollywood to the present day. Essays by a wide variety of leading scholars, archivists, and private collectors, as well as contributions by contemporary costume designers, actors, and directors, take a close look at the conventions of what is considered “costume” and the role of the designer in creating a film’s characters and helping to shape its narrative. With memorable wardrobe classics from The Tramp, Ben-Hur, Cleopatra, The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Pirates of the Caribbean, Ocean’s Eleven, Sherlock Holmes, Avatar, and many more, Hollywood Costume is the ultimate volume for fashionistas and film lovers alike. Praise for Hollywood Costume: “More than a book, it’s a display and worthy of every coffee table.” —DailyCandy

The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume


Ephraim Katz - 1979
    With up-to-date additions, this fifth edition features more than 7,000 A-Z entries on the artistic, technical, and commercial aspects of moviemaking, including:- Directors, producers, stars, screenwriters, and cinematographers- Styles, genres, and schools of filmmaking- Motion picture studios and film centers- Film-related organizations and events- Industry jargon and technical terms- Inventions, inventors, and equipment- Plus, an index of Academy Award winning films and artists, top grossing films, and much more.

101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die


Steven Jay Schneider - 2009
    This comprehensive, chronological film guide summarizes the 101 most important horror movies ever produced, from the 1922 silent classic Nosferatu to the low-budget, 1999 Sundance Film Festival hit, The Blair Witch Project. General editor Stephen Jay Schneider presents film summaries, reviews from a wide array of critics, cast and credit lists, and film production notes. The book's 200 illustrations include unforgettable still shots from the movies as well as iconic film posters. Horror film buffs who open this book will renew their chilling memories of Hitchcock thrillers like Psycho and The Birds, revisit Dr. Frankenstein's castle with Boris Karloff, haunt the sewers of Paris with Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera, and recall Anthony Hopkins' most chilling role in The Silence of the Lambs. 101 Horror Movies is international in scope, and covers films from Japan, Russia, Italy, Germany, France, and Australia. Fans of horror movies will want to see all 101 films before they die--and they'll also want to own this entertaining and informative book.

The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter


Jeremy Arnold - 2016
    Readers can enjoy one film per week, for a year of stellar viewing, or indulge in their own classic movie festival. Some long-championed classics appear within these pages; other selections may surprise you. Each film is profiled with insightful notes on why it's an Essential, a guide to must-see moments, and running commentary from TCM's Robert Osborne and Essentials guest hosts past and present, including Sally Field, Drew Barrymore, Alec Baldwin, Rose McGowan, Carrie Fisher, Molly Haskell, Peter Bogdanovich, Sydney Pollack, and Rob Reiner.Featuring full-color and black-and-white photography of the greatest stars in movie history, The Essentials is your curated guide to fifty-two films that define the meaning of the word "classic."

Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave Cinema


David Desser - 1988
    The films of the New Wave in Japan have, until now, been largely overlooked. Eros plus Massacre (taking its title from a 1969 Yoshida Yoshishige film) is the first major study devoted to the examination and explanation of Japanese New Wave film.Desser organizes his volume around the defining motifs of the New Wave. Chapters examine in depth such themes as youth, identity, sexuality, and women, as they are revealed in the Japanese film of the sixties. Desser's research in Japanese film archives, his interviews with major figures of the movement, and his keen insight into Japanese culture combine to offer a solid and balanced analysis of films by Oshima, Shinoda, Imamura, Yoshida, Suzuki, and others.

The Princess Bride: A Celebration


Rob Reiner - 2012
    One of the most hilarious, romantic, adventurous, and best-loved movies of all time, The Princess Bride is a touchstone in the lives of generations of moviegoers. Now, for the first time, millions of fans will have the opportunity to own the first book to celebrate the magic, memories, and derring-do of the seminal film.A veritable treasure trove of images from everyone’s most-loved moments as well as never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photographs, script pages, production designs, and reminiscences from cast and crew, this giftable package is a perfect and brand-new way for fans of all ages to relive the film over and over again.The Princess Bride, written by William Goldman, is a timeless story set in the mythic land of Florin, where Princess Buttercup and her true love, Westley, must face kidnappers, vengeful swordsmen, an evil prince, a fire swamp, and rodents of unusual size. Its hilarious and exciting storyline, set within the loving framework of a grandfather reading to his grandson, made the film a box-office hit and pop culture phenomenon. The film starred Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, André the Giant, Wallace Shawn, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Billy Crystal, Fred Savage, and Peter Falk. It is best known for being an undeniably loved, oft-quoted piece of American cinematic history.Fans will find it "inconceivable" that it has been twenty-five years since Westley and Inigo Montoya first stormed the castle. This official celebration is a must-have for any of the millions of people who love the film.

Chasing the Light: Improving Your Photography with Available Light


Ibarionex Perello - 2011
    It's the most powerful tool that any photographer has at their disposal. Whether the lens is turned to people, wildlife or the landscape, it is the creative use of light that transforms a snapshot into a photograph." Chasing the Light" enlightens photographers of all levels and helps them make the most of this most important tool--light. With over 25 years of experience in the photographic industry as a photographer, writer, and educator, Ibarionex Perello has developed an approach to photography that has helped photography enthusiasts from all over the world discover and nurture their own passion for photography. In" Chasing the Light, "he brings his palpable passion to the subject as he guides the reader through many scenarios--landscape, close-up, portraits--using his principle of seeing and evaluating the light and then using the right features and controls on the camera to make the most of it. Utilizing a very personal approach rooted in decades of experience, he shares how to see, control, and use available light to create beautiful and personal photographs. By developing the way photographers "see" light, "Chasing the Light "aids them to make the connection between the camera and their own eye. "Chasing the Light "removes the mystery of the buttons and dials that control focus, exposure, white balance, and sharpness and free the photographer to explore their own unlimited creativity. In an industry so filled with obsession over gear, " Chasing the Light" removes much of that from the discussion and returns the reader to a basic, yet inspirational, conversation about leveraging light to take evocative photographs.