Amazon UK reviews for Steven's first book, No Place Like Home, Thank God: "A superb book I devoured in two days." "This book made me laugh out loud." "Great read. Laugh out loud funny." "I really enjoyed this book!" "Steven's style of writing made me laugh out loud." "I couldn't put it down." "One of the best books I've read in a long time." "Found his one liners very funny." "A highly entertaining read." "So well written with brilliant humour." Seventy year-old British ex-pat miserymonger George Pearly lives on the Costa del Sol, all alone except for his ancient, three-legged dog, Ambrose. George hates his life and everybody in it. These feelings are mutual. Everyone hates George too. From this unhappy equilibrium the situation quickly deteriorates. First, George discovers he is dying of a mystery illness. Then his 35 year-old ape-child nephew, Kevin, moves into George's tiny and once tranquil home with a passion for Vimto, Coco Pops and slobbing around in his greying underpants. Worst of all, George's neighbours start to disappear and all accusing fingers point towards George. Pull up a sun lounger, grab yourself a piña colada and enjoy a murder-mystery romp on Spain's sunny southern coast.

    Following on from the success of his thriller, Ex Machina, Alex Garland returns to cerebral sci-fi with his adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer's cult novel -a tale of a biologist attempting to uncover the mystery of her husband's disappearance into a restricted zone.What she and her fellow scientists discover is a world populated by mysterious life forms that might offer answers, but which exposes them to madness and death.Beside the screenplay, the book also includes 20 pages of behind-the-scenes photos.

    His two older brothers never left and are at the top of their respective games—politics and the Irish Mafia. At the wedding, family fireworks go off in spectacular fashion and end with an incident that sends the whole city of Boston into turmoil. An intense seven-day drama creates the ultimate test for the three brothers: how to be loyal to family, to friends and to a place called home.

    He was a tight man. Everything about him was close and quiet; his gestures were short and clean, with no wasted movement. His eyes were bright and hard, the kind of blue you might see in the sky at high noon, if you looked straight up at the sky; almost white, but still pale, pale blue. He had dark yellowish circles under his eyes that rested on his cheekbones where the skin was drawn tight, as if he might have liver trouble from too much drinking, but he was physically sound and the circles came from playing stud poker all day and all night for many years. He had been playing in the back room of Hoban’s Pool Room and Poker Parlor since Monday at 4 p.m. It had started out as fooling around and then, as happened so many times, it developed into a game. The others began to drop in and a gig was working. It was nickel-and-dime stuff as long as it was The Kid and The Shooter and Pig, but when Carey and Carmody came in, both of whom bet the Cardinals and had won nicely over the weekend double-header, the play moved, deceptively, from nickel-and-dime to a quarter and a half and then wide open. It was Wednesday now, eleven in the morning. The game, like an endlessly circling bird, moved with a slow inexorable pace toward the center pot of money that grew magically with each dealt hand; revolving hands of cards, accompanied with a musical comment of silver upon silver tossed into the center of the table as the chant was heard, so soft as to be a litany calling on ghostly assistance and deliverance. “Queens bet.” “A half.” “In.” “Kicking it a half.” “And another half.” “And a half more.” “Buck and a half to me, and a half more.” The ritual quickened. It was the fourth card. Now the whisper and flutter of paper money would wash into the middle of the table. Someone dealt. The cards sliced through the smoky airless room like silent stealing death. And with each card, face up, a chant of destiny from the dealer, for he was the sole instrument in the life of a rambling-gambling man, bringing face up for all the world to see the next wonderful secret. There is nothing more for the gambling man. It is all there, sealed in the narrow turn of the next card. “A five to the queens, a jack to the possible, a nothing to the fours, an ace to the kicker, and the Gun shoots himself a red ten. Still queens.” “Queens check.” The raiser came back with a touch, a breath, feeling his way into those checking queens like a man fumbling in the dark. He touched it and then the queens slammed down hard on him. “Twenty dollars.” It was the clap of doom. Three players dropped out and it was back to the raiser. He hesitated. He knew three fours could not beat three queens. And to make sure (though there was another card coming and another chance) there were three queens, it would cost him twenty dollars. Pig had the fours. The Kid had the queens. They looked at each other’s cards. They were past the point as rambling-gambling men where they could play each other’s faces. Pig played the cards. There was no hope in playing The Kid. And it was not worth twenty dollars to see if The Kid was bluffing. He folded. The Shooter gathered up the cards and began to shuffle. In his huge hands the cards were like summer moths around a light, fluttering, singing, tightening and then disappearing as he cut them and rippled them again. The Shooter was acknowledged as the best man with cards along the Mississippi and west to Vegas. He looked over at The Kid who was stacking his half dollars. “They say Lancey is in town,” he said softly.

    It's the story of The Bride, a world-class assassin and a retired member of the elite, all-female Deadly Viper Assassination Squad (DiVAS), who's ready to settle down to a quiet life of marriage and family.

    The film makes daring use of voice-over and rapidly shifting points of view and time frame, leaving conventional film language far behind.

    Included is the original shooting script. With over thirty pages of material not used in the final film, along with a sixteen-page color section featuring rare artwork, production drawings, photographs of the cast and crew, and detailed annotations by the screenwriters.

    His dialogue--abrasive, rhythmic--illuminates a modern aesthetic evocative of Samuel Beckett. His plots--surprising, comic, topical--have evoked comparisons to masters from Alfred Hitchcock to Arthur Miller. Here are two screenplays demonstrating the astounding range of Mamet's talents.         The Spanish Prisoner, a neo-noir thriller about a research-and-development cog hoodwinked out of his own brilliant discovery, demonstrates Mamet's incomparable use of character in a dizzying tale of twists and mistaken identity. The Winslow Boy, Mamet's revisitation of Terence Rattigan's  classic 1946 play, tells of a thirteen-year-old boy accused of stealing a five-shilling postal order and the tug of war for truth that ensues between his middle-class family and the Royal Navy. Crackling with wit, intelligent and surprising, The Spanish Prisoner and The Winslow Boy celebrate Mamet's unique genius and our eternal fascination with the extraordinary predicaments of the common man.

    On the northern bank of the water, people live spoiled, luxurious lives. They feast on lamb and shop boutiques and want for nothing. On the southern side of the river, however, life is quite the opposite. Downtown residents know nothing but destitution and poverty, and they are not welcomed by their northern neighbors. Spinster Ursula Underwood shares an apartment with a gray and white cat on the impoverished southern side. Because of the loss and hardship she’s endured, Ursula has earned the nickname “Unfortunate”. She harbors great resentment at her lot in life, but a call on a diner payphone changes her outlook and gives her new purpose. Unfortunate Ursula Underwood takes us on a journey through an unknown world riddled with prejudice and hate, but one woman may change it all− as she learns to love the unlovable, forgive the undeserving and heal the intolerance in her heart.

    Deprived of love and respect from his family, Eddie is renamed 'Dirk Diggler' and conquers the world of porn, but manages to retain his essential innocence. As the turbulent seventies shade into the hedonistic eighties, Dirk's career goes into a tailspin; but he is rescued by the safety net of the extended family fostered by hard-core movie director Jack Horner.Paul Thomas Anderson's screenplay is exemplary in its ability to interweave the stories of its large cast of characters. In accord with the wisdom of the Roman dramatist Terence (who claimed, 'Nothing human is alien to me'), Anderson has engaged with a side of life widely considered to be irredeemably sleazy, and has mined humour, sadness and compassion out of his unlikely subject matter.

    She is the highest-paid actress in town, with a luxurious estate, the respect of her peers, adoration of her fans, and a series of lovers that has included the first wife of her protégé, Rudolph Valentino. But reaching the top is one thing. Staying there is an entirely different matter. Nazimova dreams of producing a motion picture of Oscar Wilde’s infamous “Salomé.” It will be a new form of moviemaking: the world’s first art film. But the same executives at Metro Pictures who hailed Nazimova as a genius when she was churning out hit after hit now turn their backs because her last few movies have flopped. Taking matters into her own hands, Nazimova decides to shoot “Salomé” herself. But it means risking everything she has: her reputation, her fortune, her beautiful home, and even her lavender marriage. But will it be enough to turn her fortunes around? Or will Hollywood cut her out of the picture? From the author of the Hollywood’s Garden of Allah novels and based on a true story, “Chasing Salomé” takes us inside Nazimova’s struggle to achieve a new level of stardom by raising the flickers to an art form.

    Having spent her first full year away at college, she has gained a new appreciation for her peaceful home and new friend, Walter. Walter jumps at the chance to work at Quail Crossings when the opportunity presents itself. Not only does Walter want to learn his chosen trade of agriculture, but he also wants to be closer to Alice who has resisted his romantic advances. The peaceful summer Alice has envisioned with her family and friend quickly dissolves as a stranger arrives proclaiming Quail Crossings as his own. Between the stranger and a natural disaster, the only home Alice has ever known could be destroyed forever. Alice and the whole clan must put their lives in danger to save the very thing that has brought them together … Quail Crossings ... or say goodbye to it forever.

    It was a choice that even earned him the respect and admiration of one of the most wealthy Virginians, and it's part of the huge secret he's hiding from his friends. Kari Albury is a very smart, ambitious, and attractive young woman who has set her sights on Marlin, and at the same time she's managing the biggest real estate project on Virginia's Eastern Shore. What's not to love about a woman who can handle a boat as well as Marlin, and truly appreciates custom fishing rods as a birthday gift? Kari helps Marlin discover that there's actually a lot more to his secret than he was willing to believe. Now, with the help of their friends, "Murph," Lindsay, Casey, Dawn and Rikki, the two of them might just manage to keep from getting killed over it, and have a shot at a "happily ever after." Hopefully without getting shot in the process.

    Rose - who had the added disadvantage of being young and pretty - found she had to cope with elderly male prejudice from those above her, and apathetic ignorance and poverty from those she was trying to help.

    Years later, in London, Poppy, a stage actress with three children and a charming, handsome husband, never imagines that Carrie, now a sexy and passionate caterer, would try to hurt her. But Carrie can't help herself. She's resentful that Poppy has everything she always wanted: a successful, fulfilling career, a gorgeous husband, a loving family, a house in the country, while Carrie has nothing but debts, one-night-stands, and an uncertain future. Carrie discovers the chink in Poppy's armor, her husband Eduardo, and she sets out to exploit it in the way she knows best. She provides Eduardo with danger, excitement, and great sex - all things that have faded in Eduardo and Poppy's marriage. But in destroying her sister's peace of mind, Carrie risks losing all those who love her.Prue Leith has written a poignant and moving story about the real choices siblings have to make once they grow up and start taking stock of their lives. Sisters is a brilliantly crafted portrait of sibling rivalry, love, and the ultimate betrayal.