Book picks similar to
Amicus, The Studio That Dripped Blood by Allan Bryce
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Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema
Jamie Russell - 2005
Covering hundreds of movies from America, Europe and Asia, this history chronicles the zombie's on-screen evolution from Caribbean bogeyman to flesh-eating corpse.
The Hollywood Book of Scandals: The Shoking, Often Disgraceful Deeds and Affairs of More Than 100 American Movie and TV Idols
James Robert Parish - 2004
Add a famous Hollywood star or two to the mix and the nation is hooked. The Hollywood Book of Scandals provides the full account of 32 big, provocative scandals--complete with all the sexy, scintillating, and often shocking details. Written by veteran show business chronicler James Robert Parish, this book dishes the full dirt on:Bob Crane's mysterious deathElizabeth Taylor's seduction of Eddie FisherRobert Mitchum's arrest for drug possessionJudy Garland's public meltdownErrol Flynn's trial for statutory rapeWinona Ryder's shoplifting trialMore than 100 black-and-white celebrity photos offer readers a close-up look at the leading players in these sordid dramas.
Unmasked: The True Story of the World's Most Prolific, Cinematic Killer
Michael Aloisi - 2011
To fans, this name is synonymous with horror, an icon on the level of Bela Legosi, Boris Karloff and Vincent Price. Kane has appeared as a stunt man and actor in more than two hundred television shows and movies in a career spanning over thirty years. His role as Jason Voorhees in four consecutive films of the Friday the 13th series came to define the character feared by millions of fans the world over. The man behind the hockey mask would seal his fate as horror royalty years later by starring as the monster Victor Crowley in the Hatchet series. Unmasked documents the unlikely true story of a boy who was taunted and beaten relentlessly by bullies throughout his childhood. Kane only escaped his tormentors when he moved to a tiny island in the South Pacific where he lived for all of his teen years. After living shirtless in a jungle for a while, he headed back to America where he fell in love with doing stunts... only to have his love burn him, literally. For the first time ever, Kane tells the true story of the horrific burn injury that nearly killed him at the start of his career. The entire heart wrenching, inspirational story of his recovery, the emotional and physical damage it caused and his fight to break back into the industry that almost killed him... and triumphant rise to become a film legend are told in Kane's own powerful voice. Take a peek inside the head of the man behind the mask. Be inspired by his triumphant comeback and laugh at his onset hijinks as you unmask the world's most prolific, cinematic killer.
How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood And Never Lost A Dime
Roger Corman - 1990
He also discusses his distribution of the Bergman, Fellini, and Truffaut movies that later won Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Film category. Corman alumni—John Sayles, Martin Scorsese, Jack Nicholson, Vincent Price, Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, Peter Fonda, Joe Dante, and Jonathan Demme, among others—contribute their recollections to give added perspective to Corman's often hilarious, always informative autobiography.
Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski
Annette Insdorf - 1999
His best-known films, Blue; White; Red; The Double Life of Veronique; and The Decalogue, remain watershed events in lmmaking history. Author Annette Insdorf, Kieslowskis close friend and translator, offers a revealing portrait of his life and monumental body of work. From the gold-bathed images of The Double Life of Veronique to the emotionally dark, visually haunting Blue, Kieslowskis films explore personal and social issues with inimitable brilliance. This paperback edition includes an updated introduction with information on the much anticipated release of Heaven (March 2002) which Kieslowski wrote and planned to film, before he died unexpectedly in March 1996.
The Hollywood History of the World: From One Million Years B.C. to Apocalypse Now
George MacDonald Fraser - 1988
The result is a highly entertaining book on Hollywood's extravagant relationship with the past, a celebration of the cinema as an illuminator of the story of mankind. By the author of the bestselling Flashman novels. 200 photos.
John Wayne: The Westerns
David Morrell - 2012
He’s also a former professor of American Studies who writes in-depth profiles about film and music legends who changed our culture.Few film actors had the lasting popularity of John Wayne, especially in westerns. During his lifetime, Wayne was a top-ten box office star for twenty-four years. Three decades after his death, a 2012 Harris poll continued to place him among the top 5 most-liked film actors. In this comprehensive essay, award-winner David Morrell analyzes Wayne’s career in westerns and explores his fascinating personality, including his Latin studies in high school and his skills as a chess player. Even Wayne’s most knowledgeable fans will be surprised by this insightful study.Morrell’s fascination with Wayne motivated him to use this iconic actor as the inspiration for the main character of a historical novel LAST REVEILLE, which dramatizes America’s 1916 invasion of Mexico, supposedly to pursue the Mexican bandit, Pancho Villa, but actually to practice military exercises for America’s entry into World War I.Critical reaction:“John Wayne: the name still conjures political reaction and cinematic fascination. In this excellent e-essay, author David Morrell (First Blood) presents a thorough and evenhanded consideration of Wayne and his Westerns, from THE BIG TRAIL (1930) to THE SHOOTIST (1976). He’s precise about the narrative problems in THE SEARCHERS, insightful regarding the remarkable emotional range Wayne demonstrates in THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, and mystified at the meaning critics find in RIO BRAVO. While also examining Wayne’s drinking (16 martinis before a Thanksgiving dinner), smoking (five packs a day on THE ALAMO) and expertise as a chess player, Morrell allows us to appreciate and understand how Wayne, ‘an undeniable phenomenon,’ helped create that unique film category: John Wayne Westerns.”—Tom Clagett, ROUNDUP MAGAZINE (WESTERN WRITERS OF AMERICA)David Morrell is the award-winning author of First Blood, the novel in which Rambo was created. A former professor of American literature at the University of Iowa, he has written numerous New York Times bestsellers, including the classic Brotherhood of the Rose spy trilogy. The main character in Morrell’s western novel, Last Reveille, was inspired by Wayne’s career. “David Morrell is, to me, the finest thriller writer living today, bar none.”—Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Columbus Affair“Morrell, an absolute master of the thriller, plays by his on rules and leaves you dazzled.”—Dean Koontz, New York Times bestselling author of 77 Shadow Street
Kubrick: Inside a Film Artist's Maze
Thomas Allen Nelson - 1982
Thomas Nelson's perceptive and comprehensive study of Kubrick rescues him from the hostility of auteurist critics and discovers the roots of a Kubrickian aesthetic, which Nelson defines as the "aesthetics of contingency."After analyzing how this aesthetic develops and manifests itself in the early works, Nelson devotes individual chapters to Lolita, Dr. Stangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, and The Shining.For this expanded edition, Nelson has added chapters on Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut, and, in the wake of the director's death, reconsidered his body of work as a whole. By placing Kubrick in a historical and theoretical context, this study is a reliable guide into--and out of--Stanley Kubrick's cinematic maze.
Too Much Horror Business
Kirk Hammett - 2012
In Too Much Horror Business, Kirk finally unveils his near-mythical treasure trove of rare posters, props, costumes, and toys from the early silent classics to more modern fare. From Bela Lugosi’s annotated Dracula script to the creepy Donnie Darko bunny suit to cool model kits from the 1960s, Hammett has amassed hundreds of items over the years, including priceless international collectibles as well as the quirkier toys of his youth. Alongside scores of full-color, original photographs in this highly designed volume, Kirk offers up thoughts about his appreciation for all things scary and fantastic, shedding light on not only the collection of a lifetime, but the man himself.Praise for Too Much Horror Business:“Like a classic record, there are numerous layers to Too Much Horror Business: The Kirk Hammett Collection, and that’s what makes it so utterly rewarding. Plus, it’s damn beautiful to look at. Ultimately, this is one of the best books of the year and a true game-changer. Whether you’re a Metallica fan, a horror fan, or just a reader in general, you need it.” —ArtistDirect.com
Incredibly Strange Films
V. Vale - 1986
Mikels, Larry Cohen, and others who dared to make independent feature films their way, without bowing to a committee or focus group. This is an oblique how-to manual, covering everything from financing, distribution, lighting, camerawork and acting, to publicity, marketing and screenwriting. Would-be filmmakers as well as scholars will find much inspiration and enlightenment in this volume, which has been used in college film classes. In-depth interviews focus on philosophy, while anecdotes entertain as well as illuminate theory. Lists of recommended films, an A-Z directory, and quotations are also included.
A Star Is Found: Our Adventures Casting Some of Hollywood's Biggest Movies
Janet Hirshenson - 2006
Two of the top casting directors in the business, who most recently cast the new James Bond, The Da Vinci Code, and the summer blockbuster Poseidon, offer an insider’s tour of their crucial craft—spotting stars in the making—in this lively memoir, full of the kind of backroom detail loved by movie fans and aspiring actors alike. Janet and Jane share the fascinating, funny stories of discovering and casting then-unknown stars like Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio, John Cusack, Matt Damon, Winona Ryder, Jennifer Connelly, Brendan Fraser, Virginia Madsen, Joaquin Phoenix, Meg Ryan, Benicio Del Toro, and the Harry Potter kids. Taking us from the first casting call through head shots, auditions, meetings, and desperate searches to fill a part, they give us behind-the-scenes access to the machinery of star-making. Films Include:The Da Vinci CodeFriday Night LightsSomething's Gotta GiveA Beautiful MindHarry Potter & the Sorcerer's StoneHow the Grinch Stole ChristmasThe Perfect StormAir Force OneJurassic ParkGhosts of MississippiThe American PresidentMrs. DoubtfireIn the Line of FireLast Action HeroA Few Good MenHome AloneHookBackdraftMiseryGhostWhen Harry Met SallyLicence to KillMystic PizzaBeetlejuiceThe Princess BrideStand by MeFerris Bueller's Day OffThe Sure ThingDuneBody DoubleRed DawnThe Outsiders
Clive Barker's A-Z of Horror
Stephen Jones - 1997
Here is the unspeakable stuff of which Barker's vision was formed: a wonderfully eclectic and wide-ranging collection of nightmares from the literature and film. Meet serial killers and serious authors, outlaw directors and rebel artists, legendary monsters and movie stars from Psycho to Silence of the Lambs. From exorcisms to zombie dances, chaos to cannibalism, Lovecraft to Elm Street, Dracula to Deuteronomy, discover the dark and grisly world of Clive Barker.
The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi
Arthur Lennig - 1974
While the role may have given him eternal life on the silver screen, it doomed him to a career plagued by typecasting. After a decade of trying vainly to broaden his range and secure parts to challenge his acting abilities, Lugosi finally resigned himself to a career as the world's most recognizable vampire. His last years were spent as a forgotten and rather tragic figure.
The Earth Dies Streaming
A.S. Hamrah - 2018
S. Hamrah's film writing for n+1, The Baffler, Bookforum, Harper s, and other publications. Acerbic, insightful, hilarious, and damning, Hamrah s aphoristic capsule reviews and lucid career retrospectives of filmmakers and critics have taken up the mantle of serious American film criticism pioneered by James Agee, Robert Warshow, and Pauline Kael and carried it into the 21st century. Taken together, these reviews and essays represent some of the best film criticism in the English language. The Earth Dies Streaming showcases a remarkable critical intelligence while offering a cultural history of the cinema of our times.
Fangoria's 101 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen: A Celebration of the World's Most Unheralded Fright Flicks
Adam Lukeman - 2003
Working closely with Fangoria’s experts, including Editor in Chief Anthony Timpone, Adam Lukeman has compiled a must-have guide for casual horror fans and hardcore horror junkies with Fangoria’s 101 Best Horror Films You’ve Never Seen. With a brief synopsis for each of the included films, lists of cast and crew, “Terror Trivia,” and little-known facts about these lesser-known but must-see gems, Fangoria’s 101 Best Horror Films You’ve Never Seen offers a feast of gruesome information. Featured here are flicks that were dumped by their distributors or were initially flops, like Cherry Falls, Manhunter, and Pumpkinhead, foreign winners such as Cronos, The Vanishing, and Funny Games, and straight-to-video sleepers waiting to be discovered, including Shadowbuilder, Jack Be Nimble, and Nomads. There are even surprise entries directed by industry giants—movies like George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead, Brian De Palma’s Sisters, or Dario Argento’s Opera—that are frequently overshadowed by the filmmakers’ other, better-known works but are worthy of further examination. Entertaining and informative, Fangoria’s 101 Best Horror Movies You’ve Never Seen offers more than a hundred reasons to look beyond the often ho-hum Hollywood hype fests . . . when you’re really in the mood to feel your flesh crawl.From the Trade Paperback edition.