Film Acting

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.

Only one performance style has dominated the lexicon of the casual moviegoer: "Method acting." The first reception-based analysis of film acting, Imagining the Method investigates how popular understandings of the so-called Method—what its author Justin Rawlins calls "methodness"—created an exclusive brand for white, male actors while associating such actors with rebellion and marginalization. Drawing on extensive archival research, the book maps the forces giving shape to methodness and policing its boundaries.

One perfect island. Two rivals. A star-studded cast. But underneath the glitter, disaster is brewing. Summer, 1958. Vivienne Rhodes thinks she’s finally landed her break playing Helen of Troy in Apex Pictures’ big-budget epic, A Thousand Ships, an anticipated blockbuster meant to resurrect...

When Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman, News Corporation, blew up more than $870 million buying Star TV from Richard Li in the early 1990s, analysts were dismayed. Why on earth had Murdoch invested in a pan-Asian broadcaster that was neither fish nor fowl? More than 25 years later, with revenues of over $2 billion, Star India is one of the country's three largest media firms. Murdoch's instinct had done what a hundred investor summits could not: showcased the potential of the Indian media market to the world.

A cinephile's dream: the chance to follow legendary director Woody Allen throughout the creation of a film--from inception to premiere--and to enjoy his reflections on some of the finest artists in the history of cinema. Eric Lax has been with Woody Allen almost every step of the way. He...

The highly anticipated first book by a widely respected entertainer whose career highlights include The Right Stuff, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, and former Miss America When Vanessa Williams was growing up, she had a plan: She’d go to college and major in musical theater; afterward...

An Esquire Best Book About Hollywood A USA TODAY Best Book of 2021 “A lovely and loving book.”—Will Schwalbe, New York Times bestselling author of The End of Your Life Book Club "I'm not sure I have ever read a book about movies that is as tender and open-hearted as Films of Endearment...

Bestselling author A. E. Hotchner's intimate account of his 53-year friendship with his pal Paul Newman. A. E. Hotchner first met Paul Newman in 1955 when the virtually unknown actor assumed the lead role in Hotchner’s first television play, based on an Ernest Hemingway story. The project...

RYAN O’NEAL AND FARRAH FAWCETT. One of the most storied love affairs in Hollywood history, their romance has captivated fans and media alike for more than three decades. Fans of each other from afar, Ryan and Farrah met through her husband, Lee Majors, and fell passionately in love. Soon...

Women have been instrumental in the success of American cinema since its very beginning. One of the first people to ever pick up a motion picture camera was a woman, as was the first screenwriter to win two Academy Awards, the inventor of the boom microphone, and the first person to be credited with the title film editor. Throughout the entire history of Hollywood women have been revolutionizing, innovating, and shaping how we make movies. Yet their stories are rarely shared. This is what film reporter Alicia Malone wants to change. Backwards and in Heels tells the history of women in film in a different way.

Even as actresses become increasingly marginalized by Hollywood, French cinema is witnessing an explosion of female talent - a Golden Age unlike anything the world has seen since the days of Stanwyck, Hepburn, Davis, and Garbo. In France, the joy of acting is alive and well. Scores of French actresses are doing the best work of their lives in movies tailored to their star images and unique personalities. Yet virtually no one this side of the Atlantic even knows about them. Viewers who feel shortchanged by Hollywood will be thrilled to discover The Beauty of the Real.

Daniel Day-Lewis is an actor regarded by many as the finest of his generation. His portrayal of cerebral-palsy sufferer Christy Brown in My Left Foot won him his first Oscar in 1990, and in 2008 another Oscar followed for his role in There Will Be Blood. His roles in The Age of Innocence, The Last of the Mohicans and In the Name of the Father further cemented his reputation as well as grossing millions at the box office, making Day-Lewis one of Hollywood's most bankable stars.

Despite increasing corporate mergers and bottom-line thinking, the entertainment business will never function like a bank or an insurance company because it is an industry rooted in imagination. Rules are meant to be broken. The best work is often produced in an environment where plans change by the minute and nothing seems to make sense. To wit, those who choose this profession must alter preconceived notions of work itself, sometimes discovering that fantasy and horror describe both movie genres and life on the job.

Jesse Vint is a veteran of over 100 films and television shows. He has also produced, directed, and written full-length feature films that have played throughout the world. Jesse shows actors how to internalize. Once they listen to this audiobook, they will have a clarity about acting and what it is that they have never had before, regardless of how long they've studied.

“All my life I had one dream and that was to be in the movies.” He was the Golden Boy of the Golden Age. A prince of the silver screen. Dashing and debonair, Tony Curtis arrived on the scene in a blaze of bright lights and celluloid. His good looks, smooth charm, and natural talent earned...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “[This] absorbing, affectionate portrait manages to bring [Newman] back to us. . . . Paul Newman leaves readers with a surprisingly cheering message. If the rest of us can’t aspire to having Newman’s life, we can at least take inspiration from the way he lived...

Cuando Carrie Fisher redescubrió los diarios que había escrito durante el rodaje de La Guerra de las Galaxias, la primera película de la trilogía Star Wars, le asombró descubrir unos ingenuos poemas de amor y unas cándidas reflexiones que apenas reconocía. Hoy Carrie Fisher ha pasado a la historia como actriz e icono pop, pero en 1976 solo era una chica de diecinueve años perdidamente enamorada de su compañero en la pantalla, Harrison Ford.

This comprehensive biography draws from previously unreleased photographs and documents from the Grimaldi family archive and, for the first time, access to the letters between Kelly and Hitchcock. It is also based on interviews with Kelly’s companions and relatives, including an exclusive interview with Prince Albert II of Monaco.

A New Slant on Acting offers a clear, detailed description of how films get made, how to work on a set, and what filmmakers need from actors. Once you know what everyone on the set is doing, you’ll know what you can do to help films and their crew members be successful. As a valuable team player, you’ll gain a definite edge over your competition and build a life for yourself in the midst of the wonderful magic of moviemaking.

Not everyone can be Bradd Pitt or Denzel Washington. Most aspiring actors end up as waiters, or pursuing other odd jobs while they wait for their big break. What if there was a path to making a living while waiting for your opportunity? What if there were philosophies and actions one could take that could potentially make their journey into Hollywood easier to grasp? This book will give you examples of what I have done over the last twenty-five years making a living in the entertainment business.