Film Art

Audience-ology takes you to one of the most unknown places in Hollywood - a place where famous directors are reduced to tears and multi-millionaire actors to fits of rage. A place where dreams are made and fortunes are lost. This book is the chronicle of how real people have written and rewritten America’s cinematic masterpieces by showing up, watching a rough cut of a new film, and giving their unfettered opinions so that directors and studios can salvage their blunders, or better yet, turn their movies into all-time classics.

I was a “Monster Kid” and “The Weird Kid, The Horror Movie Kid.” I found out early…horror is always personal. Now I make horror for a living. It shouldn’t just be WATCHED. Horror should be ENJOYED. This isn’t some stuffy analysis telling you what’s good or bad. Instead, it’s a tour of the 1930s through the 1980s—a personal account of how the best and worst of this era gave us so many memories and experiences that impacted our own lives. It’s fun…just how horror should always be.

The first ever autobiography of this truly international legend, written with all the trademark style, candour, charm, and wit he has brought to stage and screen over his long and illustrious career.

With personal anecdotes about such luminaries as Noel Coward, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Cary Grant, and Sean Connery, and memories from the heyday of Hollywood, this frank, funny and charming autobiography is packed with wonderful stories.

In the past decade, there has never been such a pop culture titan as Game of Thrones. We all now live in the seven Kingdoms of Westeros, yearn for the Iron Throne, believe in dragons and know the magic word that makes them breathe fire. What is it in the HBO show, spawned by George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, that has propelled it into the cultural Hall of Fame and made it such a global phenomenon, with loyal fans from all nationalities, cultures, ages, genders, and even tastes?

Now Tom Santopietro has written the ultimate Sound of Music fan audiobook with all the inside dope, from behind-the-scenes stories of the filming in Austria and Hollywood to new interviews with Johannes von Trapp and others. Santopietro looks back at the real-life story of Maria von Trapp, goes on to chronicle the sensational success of the Broadway musical, and recounts the story of the near cancellation of the film when Cleopatra bankrupted 20th Century Fox.

In this companion volume to The Discoverers, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Daniel J. Boorstin brings to life more than three thousand years of human artistic achievement, examining painting, sculpture, architecture, theology, philosophy, history, poetry, drama, literature, dance, music, and film.

A Companion to Steven Spielberg provides an authoritative collection of essays exploring the achievements and legacy of one of the most influential film directors of the modern era.

Lena Horne’s life and career are truly remarkable in American film history. She was the first Black performer to become a true star—to receive the kind of glamour treatment at the fabled MGM that the studio had previously given to the likes of Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Lana Turner, and Ava Gardner.

For seven decades Katharine Hepburn played a leading role in the popular culture of the 20th century, reigning as an admired actress, a beloved movie star, and a treasured icon of the modern American woman. She also remained one of the most private of all the public figures of her time.

Known as “Hitler's Filmmaker,” Leni Riefenstahl directed two of the most innovative and effective propaganda documentaries ever made, Triumph of the Will (1935) and Olympia (1938), which glorified the Third Reich. In this definitive biography, Steven Bach illuminates the truths and lies regarding the self-proclaimed apolitical artist's involvement with Hitler and other Nazi leaders who financed and advanced her career. Probing the borders that divide art and beauty from truth and humanity, Bach untangles the past and gives an objective but unsparing appraisal.

The never-before-published edition of Francis Ford Coppola's notes and annotations on The Godfather novel by Mario Puzo reveals the story behind one of the world's most iconic films. In this one-of-a-kind audio production, Coppola provides listeners with unfiltered access to his creative process in his own voice. Featuring notes from eight scenes - handpicked by Coppola himself - The Godfather Notebook is a must-listen for fans of the 1972 film.

Write It to Win It!: 39 Secrets from a Screenwriting Contest Judge is the first book ever written for screenwriting contest success. The author is a highly successful script consultant and judge for Hollywood screenwriting contests who reveals the insider secrets that give screenwriters the winning advantage while avoiding costly pitfalls.

This book is a one-of-a-kind collection showcasing the wise, witty, and deeply personal speeches Sidney Poitier gave at awards ceremonies, family events, memorials, and more. His salutes to artists such as Dorothy Dandridge, Spencer Tracy, Stanley Kramer, and Denzel Washington offer fresh insight on icons of our time. Poitier's unforgettable cadence and voice are clear as day. Compiled by his wife, Joanna Poitier, this collection captures all that was remarkable about the man through his own words.

TV WRITING TOOL KIT 2nd Edition—is an update of my latest story tools, breakdowns, and handouts. The book covers story structure for a TV pilot and spec script, logline formulas for Logline For Your Life and your story, and character. With character, the book goes into the wound and the flaw. I cover everything that I teach in Writers on the Verge at NBC. There are breakdowns for several shows, including—THE GOOD WIFE, MODERN FAMILY, THE NIGHT MANAGER, HOMELAND, FLEABAG, and DEAD TO ME. The book also explores staffing and development.

There are a lot of compendiums on The Twilight Zone out there, most offering a backstage peek at the ins and outs of producing this seminal genre series. The Binge Watcher’s Guide to The Twilight Zone will offer you something these other books do not: a microscopic look into the themes and ideas that Rod Serling weaved into his landmark show to give you a deeper understanding of why The Twilight Zone still resonates with audiences over 60 years later.

Married . . . With Children writer-producer Richard Gurman takes us behind the scenes of this boundary-breaking show to reveal how its inner workings were at times as disruptive and contentious—yet at other times, as hysterical and raunchy—as the Bundy family themselves.

Baseball has always been a symbol as much as a sport. With a blend of individual confrontation and team play, a luxurious pace, and an immaculate urban parkland setting, it offers a sunny rendering of the American Dream, both the hard work that underpins it and the rewards it promises. Film, America's other national pastime, which magnifies and mythologizes all it touches, has long been the ideal medium to canonize this aspirational idea.

What are the secrets for writing a great ending for your novel? How do you leave readers so satisfied that they'll want another book by you, right now? What tools and techniques can shape your last 50 pages into a powerful, unforgettable experience? Listen to this audiobook, and you will come away with a thorough knowledge of why great endings work and how to create them for every novel you write.

The ultimate guide to writing a great screenplay and building a screenwriting career—from the creators of the "highly influential" (Vulture) hit podcast Scriptnotes

Part autobiography, part master class, Living the Braveheart Life invites us to explore five major archetypes in Braveheart that resonate not only in Randall's life but in the modern-day lives of both men and women: the father, teacher, warrior, sage, and outlaw. Join blockbuster film director Randall Wallace on the journey of his creative and personal life.