Film Art

No industry has been as influential at shaping the popular notion of what it means to be a witch quite as much as Hollywood. This book traces the fascinating history of witchcraft and witches in American film and television. From Joan the Woman and The Wizard of Oz to Carrie and Charmed, author and film scholar Heather Greene explores how these films helped influence the public image of the witch and profoundly influenced how women negotiate their power in a patriarchal society.

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER! FEATURED ON NPR FRESH AIR, NPR WEEKEND EDITION, CBS MORNINGS, AND NBC THE TODAY SHOW “A brilliant literary thriller.” – NBC The Today Show "A masterclass in suspense … Extraordinary." – Paula Hawkins “Terrifying, explosive and exhilarating” – Katie...

Super Structure represents over two decades of research on what makes a novel or screenplay entertaining, commercial, original, and irresistible. Contrary to what some may think, structure is not a nasty inhibitor of creativity. Quite the opposite. Properly understood and utilized, structure is what translates story into a form audiences are wired to receive it.

Serving as the sequel to Gene Roddenberry's original television series, Star Trek: The Next Generation pushed the boundaries of the "final frontier." At the same time, the show continued the franchise's celebrated exploration of the human experience, reflecting current social and political events. ST: TNG became immensely successful, spawning four feature films and several television spin-offs. This collection of new essays explores both the series' characters and its themes.

As a casting director for 23 years, Holly Powell witnessed the casting world from three different points of view: as an independent casting director, as head of casting for a studio, and as a network casting executive. From this unique perspective she formed Holly Powell Studios, with her mission being to demystify the audition process for actors.

The 1930s was a magical age in Hollywood, with Shirley Temple and Mickey Rooney, Bette Davis, and Clark Gable lighting up the silver screen. But Deanna Durbin’s fame surpassed them all. Born in Canada, Deanna was “discovered” by star-maker Eddie Cantor, producer Joe Pasternak, and director Henry Koster, and she quickly became the world’s most celebrated star. She saved Universal Studios from ruin, she was a favorite of Winston Churchill and Anne Frank, and she became the highest-paid woman in America.

From USA TODAY bestselling author Victoria Purman comes an engaging, clever story about women’s work—often unseen—during Australia’s golden years of radio broadcasting. Martha Berry is on the brink of fifty years old, unmarried, and one of an army of polite, invisible women who go to...

"What Do You Mean, Murder?" dives deep into the making of Clue and walks fans through the movie they know and love. From producer Debra Hill's original idea of Detective Parker bumbling around a mansion to Carrie Fisher's casting as Miss Scarlet, from Madeline Kahn's iconic "flames" ad-lib to the legendary deleted fourth ending, it's all here.

Peter Cowie's book chronicles the life and the sixty-year film and stage career of Ingmar Bergman as he wrestles of themes of love, sex, and betrayal with the figure of Death hovering overhead. Blending biographical information with critical comment, Cowie presents a man whose life and work were intimately fused.

Learning how to write a movie script is more than just figuring out the margins and hitting a few plot points along the way....

Gone are the days of Hollywood agents going home each night with a stack of unsolicited screenplays by unknown script writers in the hope of finding their next star screenwriting client. Unsolicited material (your script) just doesn’t get read. Script writing competitions are now the system that provides the reading and analysis formerly conducted by Hollywood agents, producers, and studio development executives. This audiobook won't teach you the finer points of writing or how to write a screenplay. It's only about one thing: How to win a screenplay competition.

In this time between worlds and time between stories, we stand poised between a potential dystopia and an unimaginably beautiful future. Only a new Story of Value as a context for our diversity can change the vector of history towards a possible utopia. Movies are often the channel through which the voice of culture discloses itself. Hidden in the public texts of culture is a movement towards a new human and a new humanity. Understanding the hidden text of She—woven into the fabric of our public stories—is a key part of this new Story of Value.

The history of the franchise starting with the various Stargate books in the '60s to Stargate, the movie; the three TV series Stargate SG1, Stargate Atlantis, and Stargate Universe; the Stargate Infinity animated show; and now the latest prequel from Stargate's very own streaming service, StargateCommand.co, titled Stargate Origins. And what's to come for a new Stargate series now that Amazon Studios has purchased the franchise.

"Why don't you come up and see me sometime?" Mae West invited and promptly captured the imagination of generations. Even today, years after her death, the actress and author is still regarded as the pop archetype of sexual wantonness and ribald humor. But who was this saucy starlet, a woman who was controversial enough to be jailed, pursued by film censors, and banned from the airwaves for the revolutionary content of her work, and yet would ascend to the status of film legend?

In this mixture of cultural and social history that is both scholarly and vastly entertaining, Eyman dispels the myths and gives us the missing chapter in the history of Hollywood, the ribbon of dreams by which America conquered the world.

Here is a gripping, behind-the-scenes look inside the classic suspense shocker Psycho - and the creative genius who revolutionized filmmaking. First released in 1960, Psycho altered the landscape of horror films forever. But just as compelling as the movie itself is the story behind it. Stephen Rebello brings to life the creation of one of Hollywood’s most iconic films, from the story of Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein, the real-life inspiration for the character of Norman Bates, to Hitchcock’s groundbreaking achievements in cinematography, sound, editing, and promotion.

Forget the boring textbooks. How to Speak K-Drama is a witty, stylish, and super-accessible cultural guide for the modern K-drama fan. Narrated by your new Korean best friend, Dami, this isn't a lecture—it's a fun, fascinating chat that turns your "Wait, what just happened?" moments into "Aha! Now I get it!" moments.

This is a short book, with just one goal - to teach you the simple principles you can use right now to design a powerful scene before you write it. If you've already written your novel, you can use these same principles to make each scene better.

The first major biography of one of Old Hollywood’s greatest directors. Sometime partner of the eccentric Howard Hughes, drinking buddy of William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway, an inveterate gambler and a notorious liar, Howard Hawks was the most modern of the great masters and one of the first directors to declare his independence from the major studios. He played Svengali to Lauren Bacall, Montgomery Clift, and others, but Hawks’s greatest creation may have been himself.

For 60 years, since the birth of United Artists, the studio landscape was unchanged. Then came Hollywood’s Circus Maximus---created by director Steven Spielberg, billionaire David Geffen, and Jeffrey Katzenberg, who gave the world The Lion King---an entertainment empire called DreamWorks.