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Star Wars vs. Star Trek: Could the Empire kick the Federation's ass? And other galaxy-shaking enigmas
by Matt ForbeckCould a Jedi knight use his light saber to deflect a beam from a phaser? Which aliens are cooler: the Cardassians or the Chazrach? Have any Federation ships ever made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs? And most important, in a fight between the Empire and the Federation, who would win?Ever since Princess Leia's starship hovered into sight on the silver screen, fans of Star Wars and Star Trek have been debating these questions. Now, side by side, they can line up aliens, technology, story points, weaponry, and heroes from the two great science fiction/fantasy stories of our age.For fans everywhere, this volume offers detailed information about both universes, as well as trivia, quizzes, quotes, and information drawn from these two iconic settings. So phasers on stun and light sabers at the ready! It's time for the duel to begin.
Star Wars: A New Hope
by George LucasLuke Skywalker challenged the stormtroopers of a distant galaxy on a daring mission -- where a Force of life became the power of death! Luke Skywalker was a twenty-year-old who lived and worked on his uncle's farm on the remote planet of Tatooine...and he was bored beyond belief. He yearned for adventures out among the stars -- adventures that would take him beyond the farthest galaxies to distant and alien worlds. But Luke got more than he bargained for when he intercepted a cryptic message from a beautiful princess held captive by a dark and powerful warlord. Luke didn't know who she was, but he knew he had to save her -- and soon, because time was running out. Armed only with courage and with the light saber that had been his father's, Luke was catapulted into the middle of the most savage space war ever... and he was headed straight for a desperate encounter on the enemy battle station known as the Death Star!
Star Wars: Book of Lists
by Cole HortonStar Wars: Book of Lists takes a fascinating look at the galaxy far, far away through trivia culled from both on-screen and off over the history of the franchise. More than a simple accounting of fan-favorite characters or biggest opening weekends, this book is a compendium of the most compelling facts about the saga and fandom summarized in 100 lists. Find out these fun facts and more with comprehensive lists covering everything you'd want to know about the characters, creatures, ships, planets, and more: Which character has been to the most planets?What are the deadliest creatures in the galaxy?Who shared the most memorable kisses?Which actors have voiced the most characters?What are some of the most surprising cameos?Compiling a galaxy's worth of trivia and information about the Star Wars Universe, Star Wars: Book of Lists is an entertainingly accessible trivia format for both hardcore fans and casual viewers.
Star Wars: Complete Locations
by DKPacked with more than 50 intricate full-color cross-section artwork and 3-D maps, this visual guide will take you into the incredible worlds and locations in the Star Wars galaxy. From the towering skyscrapers of Coruscant to the terrifying technology of the Death Star, Star Wars: Complete Locations lets you see in astonishing detail the numerous worlds, bases, cities, landscapes, and battle sites from the Star Wars movies. Discover the secrets of the Jedi Temple Complex and tour Maz's Castle on Takodana. Star Wars: Complete Locations is the definitive collection that takes you inside the world of the Star Wars saga. © AND ™ 2023 LUCASFILM LTD.
Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith -- The Illustrated Screenplay (Star Wars - Legends #No. 2)
by George LucasEPISODE III-THE ONE AND ONLY OFFICIAL SCREENPLAY, available exclusively in ebook format, including scenes that did not appear in the movie itself! This is the complete, final screenplay written by George Lucas, as brought to life before the cameras by a stellar cast of performers and an unparalleled team of special effects wizards. Enjoy a rare and fascinating director's-eye-view of all the action, all the legendary characters, and each of the exotic worlds from science fiction cinema's greatest saga, as it comes full circle. And thanks to the images from the final cut of the movie itself, you'll be able to visualize the adventure as it unfolded throughout the shooting of Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. For the total Star Wars fan and filmmaking enthusiast alike, this extraordinary ebook is an essential part of the Star Wars experience. Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: Traveler's Guide to Batuu (Star Wars)
by Cole HortonSet your course for the edge of the galaxy to the planet Batuu, where you’ll be immersed in the alluring offerings of a mysterious outpost and thriving port that is a haven for scoundrels, rogues, and smugglers.This is the official in-world guide to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the themed land at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida and the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, where you can live out your own Star Wars story, fly the Millennium Falcon, and explore a remote outpost full of surprises. Upon arrival to Batuu, you will have access to an authentic, in-world environment unlike anything you have ever experienced before! Whether living your adventure in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge or simply enjoying intergalactic armchair travel, immerse yourself in the pages of this one-of-a-kind Star Wars book to explore:Full-color photos, illustrations, and mapsOriginal content from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Walt Disney ImagineeringBackstories to characters and locations found in Black Spire Outpost This guide is written completely in-world, as if for a visitor from another part of the galaxy looking for recommendations on where to eat, shop, and sightsee while on a trip to this exciting location. An outstanding gift or self-purchase, this in-depth literary and visual companion will delight any Star Wars fan.Perfect for:Star Wars fans and families planning a trip, exploring Batuu, remembering a visit, or looking forward to the next oneDisney and Disney Parks’ fans of all ages
Star Wars: The Force Awakens The Visual Dictionary
by Pablo HidalgoExplore the characters, Droids™, aliens, and creatures of the latest chapter in the Star Wars™ saga in this definitive guide to Star Wars: The Force Awakens™.Written by Lucasfilm insider Pablo Hidalgo, Star Wars: The Force Awakens The Visual Dictionary offers an inside look into the film; and pop culture website i09 says the book "gives fascinating insight into the world behind the movie."Named a Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, the book's beautiful photography and authoritative text will also appeal to adult fans.Learn the names and explanations behind all the details of costumes, weapons, and accessories and discover the dark origins of Kylo Ren. Including three exclusive, specially-commissioned cutaway models produced by Industrial Light & Magic model maker John Goodson, Star Wars: The Force Awakens The Visual Dictionary is the perfect addition to any fan's bookshelf.© & TM 2016 LUCASFILM LTD. Used Under Authorization.
Star Wars: The Magic of Myth
by Mary S. HendersonStar Wars(r)has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions and millions of people like no other story of our time. This official companion volume to the landmark exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum explores the mythological roots of theStar Warssaga, a story that will continue to unfold into the next millenium. Written by the exhibit's curator and illustrated with hundreds of photographs, drawings and images,Star Wars(r): The Magic of Mythilluminates this modern tale of the ageless and mythic battle of good versus evil.
Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
by Adam Bray Cole Horton Tricia BarrCovering more than 2,500 characters, creatures, planets, vehicles, Droids™, weapons, technology, and more from the Star Wars™ universe, this visual tour is the ultimate compendium for the epic saga and beyond.Take a stunning visual tour of Star Wars with DK's comprehensive pictorial guide to the galaxy far, far away!From lightsabers to beasts to food and clothing, Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia is a virtual museum in a book. Explore beautiful galleries with more than 2,500 images, and discover facts about Star Wars culture, science, and geography.With a full history of the galactic politics, the Jedi Council, and the Empire, Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia walks fans through the entire timeline of Star Wars. See the blasters of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope™, look at the stormtroopers of Star Wars: The Force Awakens™, and study the geography of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story™.Each section of the book focuses on different topics to dedicate special attention and detail to every part of the universe, no matter how small. From the planets in the outer rim to Padmé's bridal wear, nothing is missed.A celebration of all things Star Wars, this compendium is the perfect addition to any fan's bookshelf.© & TM 2017 LUCASFILM LTD. Used Under Authorization.
Star Wars: Traveler's Guide to Batuu
by Cole Horton Eloc ThronoSet your course for the edge of the galaxy to the planet Batuu, where you&’ll be immersed in the alluring offerings of a mysterious outpost and thriving port that is a haven for scoundrels, rogues, and smugglers. Upon arrival, you will have access to an authentic, in-world environment unlike anything you have ever experienced before! This official guide to Batuu is written completely in-world, as if you are a visitor from another part of the galaxy looking for recommendations on where to eat, shop, and sightsee while on your trip to this exciting location. Highlighted features: Full-color photos, illustrations, and mapsOriginal content from Lucasfilm and Walt Disney ImagineeringBackstories to characters and locations found in Black Spire Outpost Whether living your adventure in Star Wars: Galaxy&’s Edge or simply being an armchair traveler, this in-depth literary companion will delight any fan of Star Wars.
Star: The Life and Wild Times of Warren Beatty
by Peter BiskindIn this compulsively readable and constantly surprising book, Peter Biskind, the author of the film classics Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and Down and Dirty Pictures, writes the most intimate, revealing, and balanced biography ever of Hollywood legend Warren Beatty. Famously a playboy, Beatty has also been one of the most ambitious and successful stars in Hollywood. Several Beatty films have passed the test of time, from Bonnie and Clyde to Shampoo, Heaven Can Wait, Reds (for which he won the best director Oscar), Bugsy, and Bulworth. Few filmgoers realize that along with Orson Welles, Beatty is the only person ever nominated for four Academy Awards for a single film -- and unlike Welles, Beatty did it twice. Biskind shows how Beatty used star power, commercial success, savvy, and charm to bend Hollywood moguls to his will. Beatty's private life has been the subject of gossip for decades, and Star confirms his status as Hollywood's leading man in the bedroom, describing his affairs with Joan Collins, Natalie Wood, Leslie Caron and Madonna, among many others. Biskind explains how Beatty exercised unique control, often hiring screenwriters out of his own pocket, producing, directing, and acting in his own films. He was arguably one of the most successful and creative figures in Hollywood during the second half of the twentieth century, and in this fascinating biography, Warren Beatty comes to life -- complete with excesses and achievements -- as never before.
Stardom and the Aesthetics of Neorealism: Ingrid Bergman in Rossellini's Italy (Routledge Advances in Film Studies #15)
by Ora GelleyIn this exciting new book, Gelley considers the collaboration between Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman in light of the neorealist aesthetic. This study re-examines the director's postwar works in relation to the contemporary discussion on Italian national identity: rather than marking a radical break with the director's early neorealist successes, Rossellini's films with Bergman in fact extend the boundaries of neorealism and challenge the standard reading of its basic tenets, especially the relationship between character and setting. Gelley reassesses the relationship between European postwar and American cinema, looking at how the image of the Hollywood star was translated and transformed when it was imported into Rossellini's Italy. Rossellini's insertion of the Hollywood star into the native landscape had a significant influence on the director's approach to the neorealist aesthetic. His filming of the encounter between Bergman and the Italian landscape involves not only a re-interpretation and transformation of the Hollywood star persona, but also a challenge to the idealized notion of an authentic Italian national collective free of foreign influence. The disruption of Bergman's character into the Italian landscape became one means whereby the director was able to explore the ambivalence inherent in any attempt to construct a national identity.
Stardom in Contemporary Hindi Cinema: Celebrity and Fame in Globalized Times
by Aysha Iqbal Viswamohan Clare M. WilkinsonIn this book, film scholars, anthropologists, and critics discuss star-making in the contemporary Hindi-language film industry in India, also known as “Bollywood.” Drawing on theories of stardom, globalization, transnationalism, gender, and new media studies, the chapters explore contemporary Hindi film celebrity. With the rise of social media and India’s increased engagement in the global economy, Hindi film stars are forging their identities not just through their on-screen images and magazine and advertising appearances, but also through an array of media platforms, product endorsements, setting fashion trends, and involvement in social causes. Focusing on some of the best-known Indian stars since the late 1990s, the book discusses the multiplying avenues for forging a star identity, the strategies industry outsiders adopt to become stars, and the contradictions and conflicts that such star-making produces. It addresses questions such as: What traits of contemporary stars have contributed most to longevity and success in the industry? How has filmmaking technology and practice altered the nature of stardom? How has the manufacture of celebrity altered with the recent appearance of commodity culture in India and the rise of a hyper-connected global economy? By doing so, it describes a distinct moment in India and in the world in which stars and stardom are drawn more closely than ever into the vital events of global culture. Hindi films and their stars are part of the national and global entertainment circuits that are bigger and more competitive than ever. As such, this is a timely book creates opportunities for examining stardom in other industries and provides fruitful cross-cultural perspectives on star identities today."Grounded in rigorous scholarship as well as a palpable love of Hindi cinema, this collection of 19 essays on a dizzying array of contemporary Hindi film stars makes for an informative, thought-provoking, illuminating, and most of all, a joyful read. Pushing boundaries of not only global Star Studies but also film theory as a whole, this de-colonised and de-colonising volume is a must read for film scholars, students and cinephiles!" Dr. Sunny Singh, Senior Lecturer - Creative Writing and English Literature, Sir John Cass School of Art, Architecture & Design, London Metropolitan University “A wide-ranging overview of Hindi cinema’s filmi firmament today, focussing on its most intriguing and brightest-burning stars. The variety of approaches to stardom and celebrity by both established and upcoming scholars reveals a web of interconnecting stories and concerns that provide fascinating new insights into the workings of today's Hindi film industry, while shining fresh light on contemporary India and the world we live in.” Professor Rosie Thomas, Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (CREAM), College of Design, Creative and Digital Industries, University of Westminster
Stardust Lost: The Triumph, Tragedy, and Mishugas of the Yiddish Theater in America
by Stefan KanferInStardust Lost, Stefan Kanfer brings the colorful Yiddish stage roaring back to life. Born of ancient traditions stretching back to the drama of the Old Testament, the Yiddish theater was a vibrant part of the immigrant experience. Kanfer invokes the energy, belief, and purechutzpahit took to establish and run the thriving, influential theaters. He reveals the nightly drama and comedy that played out behind the scenes as well as onstage, and introduces all the players--actors, divas, playwrights, directors, and producers--who made it possible. A richly evocative chronicle of its brief but dazzling existence in America, this is both an elegy for and a tribute to Yiddish theater--lost, but not forgotten.
Stardust and Shadows: Canadians in Early Hollywood
by Charles Foster"You’ll like Louis Mayer," Mary Pickford told Charles Foster in 1943. "He is from Canada, too." As Foster was soon to discover, Mayer was not alone: a great many of those who helped shape Hollywood into the movie capital of the world were Canadian. Stardust and Shadows brings together the stories of 18 Canadians who were celebrities during Hollywood’s formative years. Most of those profiled were known to Foster, and stories they told him about Hollywood’s early days, enhanced by many years of research and interviews with other living performers and directors from the silent movie era, reveal a never-before-seen look at what the movie industry was really like in those early days. This is Canadian history that has never been told, and many of the startling stories and secrets of Hollywood’s past are revealed here for the first time. Celebrities profiled: May Irwin, Al and Charles Christie, Joe and Sam De Grasse, Marie Dressler, Allan Dwan, Florence La Badie, Florence Lawrence, Del Lord, Louis B. Mayer, Sidney Olcott, Jack Pickford, Mary Pickford, Marie Prevost, Mack Sennett, Douglas Shearer, Norma Shearer.
Stardust: Cinematic Archives at the End of the World
by Hannah GoodwinAn exploration of the fundamental bond between cinema and the cosmos The advent of cinema occurred alongside pivotal developments in astronomy and astrophysics, including Albert Einstein&’s theories of relativity, all of which dramatically altered our conception of time and provided new means of envisioning the limits of our world. Tracing the many aesthetic, philosophical, and technological parallels between these fields, Stardust explores how cinema has routinely looked toward the cosmos to reflect our collective anxiety about a universe without us. Employing a &“cosmocinematic gaze,&” Hannah Goodwin uses the metaphorical frameworks from astronomy to posit new understandings of cinematic time and underscore the role of light in generating archives for an uncertain future. Surveying a broad range of works, including silent-era educational films, avant-garde experimental works, and contemporary blockbusters, she carves out a distinctive area of film analysis that extends its reach far beyond mainstream science fiction to explore films that reckon with a future in which humans are absent. This expansive study details the shared affinities between cinema and the stars in order to demonstrate how filmmakers have used cosmic imagery and themes to respond to the twentieth century&’s moments of existential dread, from World War I to the atomic age to our current moment of environmental collapse. As our outlook on the future continues to change, Stardust illuminates the promise of cinema to bear witness to humanity&’s fragile existence within the vast expanse of the universe.
Stargazing Under Suburban Skies: A Star-Hopper's Guide (The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series)
by Malcolm Zack Andrew Gannon John McRobertsAnyone interested in astronomy battles with the conveniences of modern living – street lights, advertising and security lighting, tall buildings, and even the occasional tree. More than 85% of the population now lives in crowded and light-polluted towns and cities. This book is for those who live in or near towns and cities and own relatively modest equipment, although observers with larger instruments will still find many of the target objects of interest. The book encourages the use of star-hopping techniques to find objects in the night sky.Included is a list of 100 popular deep sky objects, ranked according to how difficult they are to find. Each object is described and has companion star-hopping charts, images and sometimes sketches. As a result, readers can gain a sense of their own backyard view from Earth. There is also a top 30 list of lunar objects, a section on planetary observing, annotated lists of popular astronomy apps and software, and tips on how to make the most of your location.Stargazing Under Suburban Skies: A Star-Hopper’s Guide is the essential companion to what can be seen and how, regardless of the obstacles.
Stargazing: Photographs of the Night Sky from the Archives of NASA
by Nirmala NatarajThis collection of photographs illuminates the darkness of space in a whole new way. Images from the archives of NASA reveal the night sky's most extraordinary phenomena, from the radiant aurora borealis to awe-inspiring lunar eclipses. Science geeks, photography fans, and stargazers will pore over this earth's eye view of the cosmos. Each breathtaking photo is paired with an informative caption about the scientific phenomena it reveals and the technology used to capture it. Featuring a preface by Bill Nye, this ebook will rekindle the wonder of looking up at the stars.
Starmaker: David O. Selznick and the Production of Stars in the Hollywood Studio System
by Milan HainDavid O. Selznick (1902–1965) was one of the most prominent film producers of the Hollywood studio era, responsible for such artistic and commercial triumphs as King Kong, David Copperfield, Anna Karenina, A Star Is Born, Gone with the Wind, Rebecca, Spellbound, and The Third Man. However, film production was not his only domain. Starting in the late 1930s, he built an impressive stable of stars within his own independent company, including Ingrid Bergman, Vivien Leigh, Joan Fontaine, Jennifer Jones, and Gregory Peck. In Starmaker: David O. Selznick and the Production of Stars in the Hollywood Studio System, author Milan Hain reveals the mechanisms by which Selznick and his collaborators discovered and promoted new stars and describes how these personalities were marketed, whether for financial gain or symbolic recognition and prestige. Using a wide range of archival materials, the book significantly complements and reshapes our understanding of Selznick’s celebrated career by focusing on heretofore neglected aspects of his creative and business activities. It also sheds light on the US film industry during the Golden Age of Hollywood studios and in the postwar period when the established order began to break down. By structuring the book around Selznick and his role as a starmaker, Hain demonstrates that star production and development in the Hollywood studio system was a highly organized and systematic activity, though the respective strategies and procedures were often hidden from the public eye.
Starmaker: Life As a Hollywood Publicist with Farrah, The Rat Pack and 600 More Stars Who Fired Me
by Jay BernsteinThis memoir by the legendary publicist offers &“an intimate glimpse into the best and the worst of the golden age of Hollywood&” (Stacy Keach, Golden Globe Award–nominated actor). Jay Bernstein, an entertainment industry fixture who helped launch the careers of celebrities including Farrah Fawcett and Suzanne Somers, was famed for his sense of showmanship, his outrageous style, and the publicity stunts he engineered to get attention for his clients. Starmaker tells his story, from his childhood in Oklahoma City and his first job in a Hollywood mailroom to the ownership of his own public relations firm and his work as a television producer. In addition to a behind-the-scenes look at several generations of show business and hard-hitting insights about how the industry changed over the decades, Bernstein also describes the relationships he had with stars and his notorious techniques, such as paying women to throw hotel keys at Tom Jones, having Entertainment Tonight host Mary Hart&’s legs insured for one million dollars, and getting married underwater for an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. With the wisdom of experience and a sense of humor, this autobiography shares the intimate details of a fascinating Hollywood life.
Starring Madame Modjeska: On Tour in Poland and America
by Beth HolmgrenThe &“important . . . meticulously researched&” prize-winning biography of the pre-eminent Polish star of the nineteenth century global stage (CosmopolinReview.com). In reintroducing &“a little-remembered actress to a new American audience&” biographer Beth Holgram delivers a revelatory portrait of Helena Modjeska—from unparalleled European success to her reign as the most acclaimed, and most recognized female celebrity in the late nineteenth-century United States. In 1876, Poland&’s leading actress, Helena Modrzejewska, accompanied by her husband, the self-stylized Count Bozente, emigrated to southern California to give up her career and establish a utopian commune. In light of its failings, it hardly fulfilled the real dreams of Madame Helena. Within a year, she changed her surname to Modjeska, and made her American debut at San Francisco&’s California Theatre. Godmother to Ethel Barrymore, and sharing the Shakespearian stage with such luminaries as Otis Skinner, Edwin Booth, and Maurice Barrymore, Helena Modjeska became the leading star in the United States, where she reigned for the next thirty years. In this &“Impressive . . . achievement,&” Holmgren traces Modjeska&’s fabulous life and career from her illegitimate birth in Krakow, to her successive reinventions of herself as a trans-continental diva, and finally to her enduring legacy (Women&’s Review of Books). All in all, Starring Madame Modjeska &“makes for great drama&” (NewPages.com).
Starring Tom Cruise (Contemporary Approaches to Film and Media Series)
by Alex Wade Sean Redmond Brenda R. Weber Patrick O'Neill Glen Donnar Sorcha Ní Fhlainn Ruth O'Donnell Tara Lomax Defne Tüzün Sasha T. Goldberg Loraine Haywood Carlos Menéndez-Otero Linda Wight Adam Daniel Justin Owen Rawlins Associate Professor Michael DeAngelisStarring Tom Cruise examines how Tom Cruise’s star image moves across genres and forms as a type of commercial product that offers viewers certain pleasures and expectations. Cruise reads as an action hero and romantic lead yet finds himself in homoerotic and homosocial relationships that unsettle and undermine these heterosexual scripts. In this volume, editor Sean Redmond shows how important star studies is not just to understanding the ideological, commercial, and cultural significance of one star but to seeing how masculinity, ethnicity, sexuality, and commodity relations function in contemporary society. The volume is divided into three parts. Part 1 explores the ways that Cruise’s star image and performances are built on a desiring gaze, nearly always complicated by perverse narrative arcs and liminal character relationships. This section also explores the complex and contradictory ways he embodies masculinity and heterosexuality. Part 2 places Cruise within the codes and conventions of genre filmmaking and the way they intersect with the star vehicle. Cruise becomes monomythical, heroic, authentic, and romantic, and at the same time, he struggles to hold these formulas and ideologies together. Part 3 views Cruise as both an ageless totemic figure of masculinity who does his own stunts, as well as an aging star—his body both the conduit for eternally youthful masculinity and a signifier of that which must ultimately fail. These readings are connected to wider discursive issues concerning his private and public life, including the familial/patriarchal roles he takes on. Scholars writing for this collection approach the Cruise star image through various vectors and frames, which are revelatory in nature. As such, they not only demonstrate the very best traditions of close "star" textual analysis but also move the approach to the star forward. Students, scholars, and readers of film, media, and celebrity studies will enjoy this deep dive into a complex Hollywood figure.
Starry, Starry Heist
by Karen BrinerMax Rose-Rodriguez has more important things to do than finishing sixth grade—like stopping the biggest art heist the universe has ever known.Sixth-grader Max has it rough between tormentors at school and his sick—ever-worsening—mom at home. But then DZ, a strange, tuxedoed man with one shoe, appears to Max from the future and divulges that Max&’s mother&’s fate is somehow entwined with that of Vincent van Gogh&’s The Starry Night. It&’s suddenly clear to Max that any problems he already had on his plate have just gotten bigger.DZ explains to Max that someone is after The Starry Night. . . and the thief is not bound by the usual laws of time and space.&“I have questions,&” Max tells DZ. But DZ can&’t offer too many specifics. What he can provide Max is a cryptic to-do list:Read The Future Time Traveler&’s Guide to the PastConsider the puffinsBeware the Wretch with obsidian eyes.Befriend Vincent van GoghAlthough he&’s skeptical, Max tries his very best. After all, he&’ll do anything to help his mom. But he soon discovers that The Future Time Traveler&’s Guide to the Past has never been published. And he&’s not exactly sure where he&’s going to find puffins in LA, let alone consider them. He has no idea what a Wretch is. And . . . befriend Vincent van Gogh? DZ is asking the impossible. Then, one afternoon at the library, Max spots her: Turquoise-haired Maybe Wells, dressed in blue from head to toe, spattered in paint, carrying a skateboard, and sporting a beautiful tattoo of puffins on her right shoulder. Max considers those puffins. And suddenly, achieving the impossible doesn&’t seem so farfetched anymore.In this quirky, clever, and arrestingly heartfelt adventure through time, readers will find themselves cheering for the underdog at every turn—whether that underdog is Max, Maybe, a picnic hippo named Thelma, or a certain post-impressionist who, in 1889, painted his most famous work under a twinkling night sky in Arles.
Stars and Silhouettes: The History of the Cameo Role in Hollywood (Contemporary Approaches to Film and Media Series)
by Joceline AndersenStars and Silhouettes: The History of the Cameo Role in Hollywood traces the history of the cameo as it emerged in twentieth-century cinema. Although the cameo has existed in film culture for over a century, Joceline Andersen explains that this role cannot be strictly defined because it exists as a constellation of interactions between duration and recognition, dependent on who is watching and when. Even audiences of the twenty-first century who are inundated by the lives of movie stars and habituated to images of their personal friends on screens continue to find cameos surprising and engaging. Cameos reveal the links between our obsession with celebrity and our desire to participate in the powerful cultural industries within contemporary society. Chapter 1 begins with the cameo’s precedents in visual culture and the portrait in particular—from the Vitagraph executives in the 1910s to the emergence of actors as movie stars shortly after. Chapter 2 explores the fan-centric desire for behind-the-scenes visions of Hollywood that accounted for the success of cameo-laden, Hollywood-set films that autocratic studios used to make their glamorous line-up of stars as visible as possible. Chapter 3 traces the development of the cameo in comedy, where cameos began to show not only glimpses of celebrities at their best but also of celebrities at their worst. Chapter 4 examines how the television guest spot became an important way for stars and studios to market both their films and stars from other media in trades that reflected an increasingly integrated mediascape. In Chapter 5, Andersen examines auteur cameos and the cameo as a sign of authorship. Director cameos reaffirm the fan’s interest in the film not just as a stage for actors but as a forum for the visibility of the director. Cameos create a participatory space for viewers, where recognizing those singled out among extras and small roles allows fans to demonstrate their knowledge. Stars and Silhouettes belongs on the shelf of every scholar, student, and reader interested in film history and star studies.
Stars and Spies: The story of Intelligence Operations…
by Christopher Andrew Julius GreenA vastly entertaining and unique history of the interaction between spying and showbiz, from the Elizabethan age to the Cold War and beyond.'A treasure trove of human ingenuity' The TimesWritten by two experts in their fields, Stars and Spies is the first history of the extraordinary connections between the intelligence services and show business.We travel back to the golden age of theatre and intelligence in the reign of Elizabeth I. We meet the writers, actors and entertainers drawn into espionage in the Restoration, the Ancien Régime and Civil War America. And we witness the entry of spying into mainstream popular culture throughout the twentieth century and beyond - from the adventures of James Bond to the thrillers of John le Carré and long-running TV series such as The Americans.'Thoroughly entertaining' Spectator'Perfect...read as you settle into James Bond on Christmas afternoon.' Daily Telegraph