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 volume also includes two contemporary and conflicting reviews by Roger Hughes and Pauline Kael, a detailed glossary of nadsat and reproductions of stills from the film.

    This edition features a new and expanded colour section, completely updated DVD information, and several brand new reviews of Takashi Miike films that were unavailable for coverage at the time of the book's initial production.

    From his early experimental films created as an art student in Philadelphia, to his foray into digital film with Inland Empire, Lynch's filmography is as diverse as it is influential.Featuring Thomas Ligotti, John Skipp, David J (of Bauhaus), Ben Loory, Nick Mamatas, Amelia Gray, Kevin Sampsell, Blake Butler, and many others, In Heaven, Everything is Fine: Fiction Inspired by David Lynch is a tribute to one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

    Here are stories of the movies he made famous as well as numerous friends and legendary colleagues such as John Ford, Maureen O’Hara, Natalie Wood, and Dean Martin.A top box-office draw for more than three decades—starring in 142 films from Stagecoach and True Grit, for which he won the Oscar to The Quiet Man and The Green Berets—John Wayne’s life and career paralleled nearly the entire twentieth century, from the Depression through World War II to the upheavals of the 1960s. Setting his life within the sweeping political and social transformations that defined the nation, Eliot’s masterful portrait of the man they called Duke is a remarkable in depth look at a life and the “American Century” itself.

    38 photographs.

    Brando Unzipped is the definitive gossip guide to the late, great actor's life New York Daily News. Lurid, raunchy, perceptive, and certainly worth reading, it's one of the best show-biz biographies of the year. London's Sunday Times. Brando Unzipped received an Honorable Mention from Foreword Magazine in its Book of the Year competition, and it won a Silver Ippy award for Best Biography from the Independent Publisher's Association."

    Decades after their release, his movies remain unsurpassed marvels of comic invention and mechanical timing. In Buster Keaton Remembered, a unique illustrated survey of Keaton's career, Eleanor Keaton, his wife of 26 years, and film historian Jeffrey Vance provide a personal account of this icon of American cinema.Drawing on professional papers, screenplays, studio records, and scrapbooks, the authors trace Keaton's beginnings in vaudeville, where he perfected his gags; his first silent shorts with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle; the brilliant features he conceived, directed, produced, and performed in; and his later sound films for M-G-M and others. Fresh prints of classic film stills and never-before-published photos from the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, together with a lively, anecdotal text, offer a behind-the-scenes look at how Keaton came up with his hilarious ideas, choreographed his elaborate stunts, and crafted his films.

    This biography reveals the secrets of the sometimes strange and often sad private life that was concealed behind the matronly facade.

    Based on six years of research and hundreds of interviews—including conversations with Dietrich herself—this is the last, best word on one of the century's greatest movie actresses and performers, an icon who embodied glamour and sophistication for audiences around the globe.

    Miss Crawford rose from being a telephone operator in Kansas City to glamour, glitter, romance and ultimate stardom.

    Now, in this brilliant collection of essays, he offers a new perspective on how Britain works and sees itself. He discusses the background to his work and its development – from surrealism to post-2008 economic catastrophe – and expands on what the films reveal. Referencing writers including Benjamin and Lefebvre, the essays follow his career since the late 1970s, exploring themes including the surrealist perception of the city; the relationship of architecture and film; how cities change over time, and how films represent this; as well as accounts of cross-country journeys involving historical figures, unexpected ideas and an urgent portrait of post-crash Britain.

    S. senator. Her uncle was a U. S. congressman. Her father was Speaker of the House. Although born to privilege in Alabama and groomed in a convent school, Tallulah Bankhead resolved not to be just another southern belle. Quickly she rose to the top and became an acclaimed actress of London's West End and on the Broadway stage. She originated the starring roles of Regina Giddens in Lillian Hellman's "The Little Foxes" and Sabina in Thornton Wilder's "The Skin of Our Teeth." Her Broadway performances brought her to the notice of Hollywood, and in 1944 she won a New York Film Critics Circle Award for her leading role in Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat." Yet her flamboyant public personality may be the most fully realized and memorable character Bankhead ever played on stage, screen, radio, or television. Tallulah was famous for her snappy repartee, candid quotes, and scandalous lifestyle. Overfond of Kentucky bourbon and wild parties, she was a lady baritone who called everybody "Dahling." In her autobiography, first published in 1952 and a New York Times bestseller for twenty-six weeks, Bankhead's literary voice is as lively and forthright as her public persona. She details her childhood and adolescence, discusses her dedication to the theater, and presents amusing anecdotes about her life in Hollywood, New York, and London. Along with a searing defense of her lifestyle and rambunctious habits, she provides a fiercely opinionated, wildly funny account of the American stage at a time when the movies were beginning to cast theater into eclipse. This is not only a memoir of an independent woman but also an insider look at American entertainment during a golden age. Tallulah Bankhead (1902-1968) headlined NBC's "The Big Show," a ninety-minute weekly radio extravaganza that aired from 1950 to 1952. In 1965 she appeared in her last movie, a British film titled "Fanatic" ("Die, Die, My Darling!" in U. S. release).

    Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds, which dissects such Argento cult films as Two Evil Eyes, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Suspiria, and Deep Red, includes a new introduction discussing Argento’s most recent films, from The Stendahl Syndrome to Mother of Tears; an updated filmography; and an interview with Argento.

    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.