Film Life

The incomparable Simone Signoret (1921 - 1985), one of the grand actresses of the twentieth century and one of France's most notable stars, considered herself the "oldest discovery" in Hollywood. After years of blacklisting during the McCarthy era, she was 38 years old when she entered Hollywood through the back door in the 1959 British blockbuster Room at the Top. Her portrayal of the endearing Alice Aisgill earned her the Academy Award in 1960, the first French actor to win a coveted Oscar.

Audiobook includes a special foreword on "Jerry Seinfeld, Jean Shepherd, and Compassionate Humor," by the author-narrator. For the first time, author Quentin Schultze, who taught storytelling with screenwriter Jean Shepherd, reveals the “secret” parables that Shepherd included in his screenplay for A Christmas Story. Now you won't need a decoder ring to learn why the Old Man’s leg lamp is his “trophy wife,” why the bully is named “Scut,” why there is a “Bumpus” in all of us, why Mom and the kids give a “Bronx cheer” after singing “Jingle Bells” in the Olds, and so much more.

A famous Hollywood director comes to the Brookline Movie House to run a special New York Film Academy film camp, and Maeve couldn't be more excited - especially when she finds out this director is bringing her dreamy actor son! But Maeve's quest for the spotlight is interrupted by Madeline, the beautiful, talented, and ultra-rich daughter of the famous Krupcake King. She wants to star in the movie, too.

There can be no last word on Sanjay Dutt. Ever. Even as he walks a free man after more than three decades of prison terms and controversies, Dutt remains a classic case study in all that defines the ‘star’ system in Bollywood - an industry known for its deep-rooted sense of entitlement. However, there is one question that dominates: who is the real Sanjay Dutt?

Brando is perpetually fascinating, both for the power of the characters he portrayed and for his tumultuous personal life. Best-selling biographer Stefan Kanfer seamlessly intertwines the man and the work to give us the fullest and most illuminating appraisal yet. Kanfer takes us from Brando's troubled childhood to his arrival in New York in the 1940s, where he studied with the legendary Stella Adler and became, at age 23, the star of Broadway in A Streetcar Named Desire.

How Does It Feel? follows a lifetime of musical misadventures which have seen Mark striking rock star poses in the Sixth Form Common Room, striding around a string of TV shows dressed from head to foot in black leather, getting heckled off stage by a bunch of angry septuagenarians on a boat on the Mersey, showing Timmy Mallet how to build a tea-chest bass - and winning the International Street Entertainers of the Year award as part of a new wave of skiffle. Really.

Lovers of old-time radio hold a special place in their heart for Agnes Moorehead. She was one of the busiest and most definitive actresses of that medium. The bottom line is that Agnes Moorehead is one of the few actresses who succeeded in every realm of show business: stage, radio, film, and television. This impressive biography proves to listeners and scholars alike that she was much more than the witch of Endor! This is the second edition of the best-selling book, with new material!

During a span of 55 years, Emil Richards has been a renowned presence in Hollywood soundstages, recording studios, jazz clubs, and international touring venues. Considered a supreme artist on the vibraphone, marimba and xylophone, as well as a master of his world-famous collection of percussion instruments, Richards is renowned throughout the world for his versatility.

Rollyson fully explores Brennan's work with Hollywood's greatest directors, such as Howard Hawks, John Ford, and Fritz Lang. As a father and grandfather, Brennan instilled generations of his family with an outlook on the American Dream that remains a sustaining feature of their lives today. His conservative politics, which grew out of his New England upbringing and his devout Catholicism, receive meticulous attention and a balanced assessment in A Real American Character.

Reflections on life and reviews of movies.

Everything I Know About Life I Learned from James Bond by John Flynn and Bob Blackwood is a light-hearted but thoroughly researched look into the world of James Bond. For the adolescent male growing up in the 1950's and 1960's, 007 was everything that young men were not. This audiobook provides witty and insightful aphorisms about everyday things, ranging from girls to food and drink, cars to clothing and style, and life lessons to fun facts about culture and civilization, as reflected through the prism of James Bond, the world’s most stylish and cultured secret agent.

Jeff Corey (1914-2002) made a name for himself in the 1940s as a character actor in films like The Killers (1946). Everything changed in 1951, when he was summoned before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Corey refused to name names and was promptly blacklisted, which forced him to walk away from a vibrant livelihood as an actor and embark on a career as one of the industry's most revered acting instructors. In Improvising Out Loud: My Life Teaching Hollywood How to Act, Corey recounts his extraordinary story.

From this comprehensive, yet critically measured wealth of material, Rollyson offers a distinctive and insightful portrait of Marilyn Monroe, highlighted by new perspectives that depict the central importance of acting to the authentic aspects of her being.

When it comes to living life to its fullest, Rosalind Russell's character Auntie Mame is still the silver screen's exemplar. And Mame, the role Russell will always be remembered for, embodies the rich and rewarding life Bernard F. Dick reveals in his biography, Forever Mame: The Life of Rosalind Russell. Drawing on personal interviews and information from the archives of Russell and her producer-husband Frederick Brisson, Dick begins with Russell's childhood in Waterbury, Connecticut.

Jonathan Taplin’s extraordinary journey has put him at the crest of every major cultural wave in the past half century. His is a lifetime marked not only by good timing but by impeccable instincts - from the folk scene of Woodstock, to Hollywood’s rebellious film movement and beyond, Taplin is not just a witness but a lifelong producer, the right-hand man to some of the greatest talents of both pop culture and the underground. The Magic Years is both a rock memoir and a work of cultural criticism from a key player who watched a nation turn from idealism to nihilism.

Conventional wisdom holds that John F. Kennedy was the first celebrity president, in no small part because of his innate television savvy. But as Kathryn Brownell shows, Kennedy capitalized on a tradition and style rooted in California politics and the Hollywood studio system. Since the 1920s, politicians and professional showmen have developed relationships and built organizations institutionalizing Hollywood styles, structures, and personalities in the American political process.

ESPN broadcaster and coach Jimmy Dykes guides listeners through a tough but crucial evaluation process, incorporating wisdom from both sports and scripture as he demonstrates how to search your heart like a coach scrutinizes game film. Whether you’re experiencing a difficult period in life or simply feel called to something greater, The Film Doesn’t Lie is certain to provoke men to live with passion, conviction, and bold determination.

Hawk Koch is a renowned film producer who has served as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He has produced some of the most iconic films of all time, including The Way We Were, Chinatown, Heaven Can Wait, Gorky Park, and Wayne’s World, among many others. He was born into the business, the son of legendary Howard W. Koch, who ran Frank Sinatra’s production company, was head of Paramount Studios, and was president of the Academy. Growing up, Hawk was dealt an immense amount of privilege.

Lloyd Nolan could play any character in any genre and was believable to every role. He was not acting; he was just real. He was Inspector Briggs in The House on 92nd Street and The Street With No Name. He was Dr. Swain in Peyton Place and, even as a bad guy, he was Lt. De Garmot in Lady in the Lake. Nolan's off-screen life was just as remarkable. He was devoted to his autistic son Jay and, when young Jay died in an accident 2,500 miles away, Lloyd channeled his grief into action.

In the best-selling tradition of Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, a wise and inspiring collection of life lessons drawn from one of the most beloved movies of all time: The Wizard of Oz.