Showing titles in Film & TV

Now, with The Golden Hour, Specktor blends memoir, cultural criticism, and narrative history to tell the story of the modern motion picture industry—illuminating the conflict between art and business that has played out over the last seventy-five years in Hollywood. Braiding his own story with that of his father, mother (a talented screenwriter whose career was cut short), and figures ranging from Jack Nicholson to CAA’s Michael Ovitz, Specktor reveals how Hollywood became a laboratory for the eternal struggle between art, labor, and capital.

Cilla Black is without doubt one of Britain's most treasured personalities. Generations have grown up with Cilla's music, TV shows, and performances. But how much do we really know about "the girl with the bright red hair and the jet black voice"? What's It All About? is Cilla's own story, told for the first time ever.

Nicholas Parsons was the host of the Just a Minute for nearly 52 years - from its first broadcast on 22nd December 1967 until his last show on 23rd September 2019, aged 96. He was a comedy 'straight man', West End actor, radio personality, game-show presenter, chat-show host, quiz master supreme and larger-than-life stage superstar. Here we celebrate his life and work with a series of programmes compered by Paul Merton, plus Series 85 of Just a Minute - his final series.

Irresistible and authoritative, The Movie Musical! is an in-depth look at the singing, dancing, happy-making world of Hollywood musicals - an essential audiobook for anyone who's ever laughed, cried, or sung along at the movies. Leading film historian Jeanine Basinger reveals, with her trademark wit and zest, the whole story of the Hollywood musical - in the most telling, most incisive, most detailed audiobook of her long and remarkable career.

When Jill Nalder arrived at drama school in London in the early 1980s, she was ready for her life to begin. With her band of best friends—of which many were talented young gay men with big dreams of their own—she grabbed London by the horns: partying with drag queens at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, hosting cabarets at her glamorous flat, flitting across town to any jobs could get. But soon rumours were spreading from America about a frightening illness being dubbed the 'gay flu', and Jill and her friends found that their formerly carefree existence now under threat.

In the decades following his death, many of those who knew James Dean best - actors, directors, friends, lovers (both men and women), photographers, and Hollywood columnists - shared stories of their first-person experiences....

Kermit the Frog is back, and he’s revised and updated his bestselling memoir with life advice and inspiration for a whole new generation of fans! In Before You Leap, the world's most famous frog shares his own story in a funny, heartfelt manner about his life and yours. After telling the tale of his humble swamp beginnings, remarkable career in show business, and about all the amazing people and pigs he's met along the way, Kermit shares his advice on many of life's milestones.

50 Years of Hammer Horror by John L. Flynn, Ph.D. is the follow-up book to his popular 75 Years of Universal Monsters. Hammer Film Productions was the most successful independent film company in the world. Between 1935 and 1983, the company produced more than 250 motion pictures and television shows, and their signature productions headlined theater marquees all around the globe. Those productions included thrillers, comedies, historical dramas, and science fiction. The company was best known for its series of gothic horror films.

Science fiction can often seem to be pure imaginative fantasy, but many authors are more fluent in real science than many readers and viewers may realize. Professor Charles L. Adler of St. Mary’s College of Maryland was the perfect choice for this subject, as he is both a longtime science-fiction fan and a real-world scientist. Professor Adler’s talent for using literature to shine a light on science - both the accurate and not-so-accurate versions employed by creators, spanning two centuries - makes this course a great survey for fans of both science fact and science fiction.

Doc Savage is the prototype of the modern fictional superhero. The character exploded onto the scene in 1933, with the Great Depression and the gathering clouds of war as a cultural backdrop. The adventure series is examined in relation to historical events and the changing tastes of readers, with special attention paid to the horror and science fiction elements. The artwork features illustrations, covers, and original art. Chapters cover Doc Savage paperbacks, pulp magazines, comic books, and fanzines, and an appendix offers biographies of all major contributors to the series.

The Klingon Way is a guide to the wisdom of Klingon warriors, including proverbs and quotes from some of its greatest thinkers. Featuring Michael Dorn and Roxann Dawson - in both English and Klingon!

At the age of 17, in the glory days of moviemaking, Piper Laurie was living every little girl's dream. A contract star with Universal, Piper was elevated to the heights of Hollywood, her name emblazoned on 1950s marquees across America for hit movies like The Prince Who Was a Thief, The Mississippi Gambler, and Ain't Misbehavin'. Meanwhile, Piper's beauty was admired by the likes of Ronald Reagan, Howard Hughes, Paul Newman, and Tony Curtis as well as dozens of directors and legions of fans.

A fascinating, complex dual biography of Hollywood's most dazzling—and famous—brothers, and a dark, riveting portrait of competition, love, and enmity that ultimately undid them both—one most famous for having written Citizen Kane (with Orson Welles, as most recently portrayed in David Fincher's newly released Netflix film Mank); the other, All About Eve....

The Black Guy Dies First explores the Black journey in modern horror cinema, from the fodder epitomized by Spider Baby to the Oscar-​winning cinematic heights of Get Out and beyond. This eye-opening book delves into the themes, tropes, and traits that have come to characterize Black roles in horror since 1968, a year in which race made national headlines in iconic moments from the enactment of the 1968 Civil Rights Act and Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in April. This timely book is a must-listen for cinema and horror fans alike.

Game of Thrones, book and show alike, is spun from classic myth, from the tales of Robin Hood and King Arthur to the Norse Ring Cycle and saga of Ragnarok. Above all these human adventures soar Daenerys' dragons adapted from the dragons, wyverns, and wyrms of Western bestiaries. But what about the merlings, seal folk, wargs, greenseers, grumpkins, and snarks: Which mythologies created them?

This new edition of Bill Nichols' best-selling text provides an up-to-date introduction to the most important issues in documentary history and criticism. Designed for students in any field that makes use of visual evidence and persuasive strategies, Introduction to Documentary identifies the distinguishing qualities of documentary and teaches the viewer how to read documentary film. Each chapter takes up a discrete question, from "how did documentary filmmaking get started?" to "why are ethical issues central to documentary filmmaking?"

In A Prairie Devotional, former child actress Wendi Lou Lee, who played Grace Ingalls on the TV show, is an ideal source of unique stories and spiritual insights that give listeners a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the hearts and souls of the series’ beloved characters.

A central figure in the Hollywood Ten and one of the most successful screenwriters in Hollywood history, Trumbo epitomized the spirit of American capitalism, yet he went to jail refusing to talk about his membership in the Communist party.

This is the story of how four people, grouped together inside a set of offices five floors above a greengrocer's shop on Shepherd's Bush Green in West London, scaled the heights of British comedy.

Have no fear! The Great Book of Pub Trivia Volume 2 is finally here, and it’s the perfect companion for game nights, fun family times, fun evenings with friends, or just reading to brush up on your pub trivia knowledge. You’ll get instant access to fun quizzes covering different topics such as film, politics, science, history, fashion, and many more.