Showing titles in Entertainment & Performing Arts

No one knows the writer's Hollywood more intimately than William Goldman. Two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter and the best-selling author of Marathon Man, Tinsel, Boys and Girls Together, and other novels, Goldman now takes you into Hollywood's inner sanctums...on and behind the scenes for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President's Men, and other films...into the plush offices of Hollywood producers...into the working lives of acting greats such as Redford, Olivier, Newman, and Hoffman...and more.

From critically acclaimed comedian Becky Lucas comes a funny, consoling, and very candid collection of stories and essays about friends, enemies, and figuring it out that establishes her as one of today's most original comedy writers.

In this detailed exploration, we delve into the heart of Taylor Swift's latest album, "The Tortured Poets Department," shedding light on its themes, the creative process, and the collaborative efforts behind its production. Swift's album not only continues to define her as a pivotal figure in the music industry but also showcases her evolution as an artist and storyteller. Through discussions on its intriguing tracklist, featuring collaborations with artists like Post Malone and Florence and the Machine, and analysis of its lyrical depth and musical diversity, this podcast episode offers ...

Alfie Moore spent 18 years on the Humberside police force before turning to stand-up comedy. In each episode of this live stand-up show, he takes his audience through a scenario based on a real-life case and tasks them with deciding how they would have acted in the circumstances. Along the way Alfie spills the beans on what it's really like to be one of Britain's finest, tells us some great anecdotes about law breakers and makers that he's come across and gets his audience to divulge secrets about their own, sometimes less than strictly law-abiding lives.

We all love stories. But why do we tell them? And why do all stories function in an eerily similar way? John Yorke, creator of the BBC Writers' Academy, has brought a vast array of drama to British screens. Here he takes us on a journey to the heart of storytelling, revealing that there truly is a unifying shape to narrative forms - one that echoes the fairytale journey into the woods and, like any great art, comes from deep within. From ancient myths to big-budget blockbusters, he gets to the root of the stories that are all around us, every day.

At the age of 9, Romesh Ranganathan delivered his first ever stand-up set at a Pontin's Holiday Camp talent competition, smashing the only other competitor, a young girl playing the kazoo. The gig went so well that Romesh retired his comic genius for 22 years, hiding behind the guise of a maths teacher, before finally revealing himself again (no, not like that) at the tender age of 31. In 2010, Ranganathan staged his epic comeback gig to an almost silent room, and has since gone on to earn his place as the most in-demand overweight vegan Sri Lankan comedian in Britain. 

A full-speed-ahead oral history of the nearly two-decade making of the cultural phenomenon Mad Max: Fury Road—with more than 130 new interviews with key members of the cast and crew, including Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy, and director George Miller, from the pop culture reporter for The New York Times, Kyle Buchanan.

'The ghosts of today live not in castles or stately homes, but in ordinary houses and offices, and they're witnessed by ordinary people like you and me. We just need to figure out what the hell they are - the dead returning from the "undiscovered country" of death? Or the product of that equally mysterious and ancient location, the human mind?

When Monty Don's golden retriever, Nigel, became the surprise star of BBC's Gardeners' World, inspiring huge interest, fan mail and even his own social media accounts, Monty Don wanted to explore what makes us connect with animals quite so deeply. In many respects Nigel is a very ordinary dog - charming, handsome and obedient, as so many are. He is also a much loved family pet. He is also a star. By telling Nigel's story, Monty relates his relationships with other special dogs in his life in a memoir of his dogs past and very much present.

Award-winning journalist Jenniffer Weigel interviews people who have discovered their “superpowers.” From bestselling authors like Caroline Myss and Pat Longo to a variety of “psychic-mediums,” these conversations cover all the different ways people filter energy and information to better understand their own intuition.

Marvel Entertainment was a struggling toymaker not even twenty years ago. Today, Marvel Studios is the dominant player both in Hollywood and in global pop culture. But what accounts for its stunning rise? In MCU, beloved culture writers Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards draw on more than a hundred interviews with actors, producers, directors, and writers to present the definitive chronicle of Marvel Studios and its sole, ongoing production, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Gordy LaSure's passionate about film. He eats film, he drinks film, and sometimes he'll even watch a film. But most of all, he loves talking about film, and how they'd be a shit-ton better if only people would pull their asses out of their ears and listen to Gordy LaSure. Why are some films bad and some films terrible? How come just a handful of films (Titanic, Porky's, Dirty Harry) are any good at all? Gordy'll tell you How and Why, and he'll give you a shot of Wherefore on the side. And he doesn't shoot from the hip; he shoots from the gut.

When former government staffer Alisha Aitken-Radburn was given a 'villain edit' on her first season of The Bachelor, she wasn't entirely surprised – there are only a handful of character tropes producers can manipulate into storylines. But the backlash on social media was unexpectedly intense, and Alisha found her sense of identity completely rocked by a single comment: 'You are a bad person'. Determined to shake the 'villain' label, she returned to reality TV screens, and this time, she got a different edit. 

The sensitive and poetic Richard II is undoubtedly the rightful king of England, but he is unscrupulous and weak. When his cousin Henry Bolingbroke returns from banishment and mounts a challenge to his authority, Richard's right to the throne proves of little help to him. Richard is forced to abdicate, but as his power is stripped away, he gains dignity and self-awareness, and he meets his death heroically.

The New Comedy Bible is a step-by-step, no excuses manual for writing, performing, and launching your career as a stand-up comic. Written by Judy Carter, the author of The Comedy Bible (2001), which was called by The Washington Post and Forbes as a “Comedy Essential”. This new book, penned in classic Carter’s style - part career coach and part comedy dominatrix - has 100 percent new content.

The Graham Norton Book Club is back. We’re still all about the stories – reading them, writing then, listening to them, talking about them - and in our new series we’re featuring some of the world’s best storytellers including Margaret Atwood, Matt Haig, Walter Mosley, Lisa Taddeo and Val McDermid. 

Sheltered is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi sitcom, starring Gemma Whelan, Sindhu Vee, Rufus Hound and Marek Larwood. It’s been centuries since Armageddon and no one has ever left the bunker that has sustained what remains of civilised human life.... When innocent simpleton Gary and social climber Veronica are sent to explore the world outside, they soon regret ever leaving the safety, soft furnishings and quilted toilet paper of Fallout Shelter 7421.

Marc Maron was a parent-scarred, angst-filled, drug-dabbling, love-starved comedian who dreamed of a simple life: a wife, a home, a sitcom to call his own. But instead he woke up one day to find himself fired from his radio job, surrounded by feral cats, and emotionally and financially annihilated by a divorce from a woman he thought he loved.

Blake Snyder's Save the Cat!, the world's top-selling story method for filmmakers and novelists, introduces The Last Book on Creating Binge-Worthy Content You'll Ever Need. 

In her hit Netflix comedy special Baby Cobra, an eight-month pregnant Ali Wong resonated so strongly that she even became a popular Halloween costume. Wong told the world her remarkably unfiltered thoughts on marriage, sex, Asian culture, working women and why you never see new mum comics onstage but you sure see plenty of new dads. The sharp insights and humour are even more personal in this completely original collection.