Film: styles and genres Books

Book SynopsisSoftcover edition contains all-new hand-drawn cover artwork by HagCult! As featured in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, MovieMaker, SYFY, Fangoria, Yahoo's "It List", SFX, Mental Floss, Total Film, Mashable, and more!How did a low-budget British movie about Londoners battling zombies in a pub become a beloved global pop culture phenomenon?You’ve Got Red on You details the previously untold story of 2004’s Shaun of the Dead, the hilarious, terrifying horror-comedy whose fan base continues to grow and grow. After speaking with dozens of people involved in the creation of the film, author Clark Collis reveals how a group of friends overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to make a movie that would take bites out of both the UK and the US box office before ascending to the status of bona fide comedy classic.Featuring in-depth interviews with director Edgar Wright, producer Nira Park, and cast members Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Bill Nighy, Lucy Davis, and Coldplay singer Chris Martin, the book also boasts a treasure trove of storyboards, rare behind-the-scenes photos, and commentary from famous fans of the movie, including filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and Eli Roth, Walking Dead executive producer Greg Nicotero, and World War Z author Max Brooks.As Pegg’s zombie-fighting hero Shaun would say, “How’s that for a slice of fried gold?”Trade Review"Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, and more offer unique insights into the making of their 2004 zombie comedy classic, Shaun of the Dead. The 424-page book traces the film’s story, from late-night pub conversations about surviving the zombie apocalypse to an unexpected hit at Comic-Con 2004." — Rolling Stone"A sharply written, thorough, and loving tribute to a modern-day cinema classic." — Kirkus, starred review"You've Got Red on You is a must-buy." — Fangoria"Witty and deeply researched. What a wonderful, fun, fascinating read." — MovieMaker"An exemplary movie retrospective, one which combines an astonishing amount of research with a real flair for storytelling. 5/5 stars." — SFX"Just *look* at Clark Collis's stunning book on the making of Shaun Of The Dead. The red metallic page edging, the cover art, the inside... it's a thing of beauty. In other words: how's that for a slice of fried gold?" — Ali Plumb, BBC Radio 1"...almost 20 years later, Shaun of the Dead is a cult classic. Director Edgar Wright and actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost inform the bulk of the narrative with hilarious remembrances; Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth, and the late George A. Romero are quoted here too...resulting in a work [that will be] wildly entertaining to horror buffs." — Library Journal, starred review"A really entertaining read and, if you’re a fan of the film, very illuminating on the struggles to not only get it made, but also to have the film be taken seriously. If you’ve ever wanted to make a movie, you’ll learn a lot in You’ve Got Red on You.” — Shaun of the Dead co-writer/director Edgar Wright"So many relationships grow and expand over the course of Collis' book that readers will find themselves falling in love with Shaun of the Dead – to say nothing of Wright, Pegg, and Frost – all over again, twenty years on. 4/4 stars." — Starburst"[You've Got Red on You] gives unparalleled access to near everyone involved with the movie, plus sketches, script drafts, storyboards, and BTS photos aplenty." — Total Film"One of the best books of the year." — Buzz Magazine"If you’re a fan of Shaun of the Dead or a filmmaker influenced by the films of Wright this is essential reading. It is so good we read it twice before this review." — Screen Anarchy"One of the best [pop culture books this holiday season] is You’ve Got Red on You, Clark Collis’ breezy-yet-thorough look at 2004’s horror-comedy Shaun of the Dead…it instantly takes its place in the upper echelon of making-of books." — Josh Sewell, Times-Georgian"Shaun of the Dead is one of the most widely-discussed horror movies of the 2000s. Released on the heels of Wright’s latest film, Last Night in Soho, You’ve Got Red on You is the definitive account of how Shaun of the Dead came to be, featuring new interviews from the core creative trio, as well other key members of the cast and crew. Take this book with you the next time you book a table 'at the place that does all the fish.'" — Yahoo (the "It List")"Like a slap of a cricket bat to the face, Clark Collis’s terrific new book, You’ve Got Red on You, takes us on a deep dive into the making of Edgar Wright’s classic horror/comedy Shaun of the Dead. It’s a fantastic view into the effort, heartache and exultation of the filmmaker’s struggle to create a groundbreaking and gore-drenched film." — Phantasm writer/director Don Coscarelli"The intricately rendered and definitive story behind the creation of Edgar Wright’s cinematic rom-zom-com tour-de-gore’s that is Shaun of the Dead, recounted with affection by the one and only Clark Collis." — The Nun director Corin Hardy"If you are an Edgar Wright fan, especially if you are a Shaun of the Dead fan, check out Entertainment Weekly scribe Clark Collis' exhaustive (but not exhausting) new book, which takes you deep to the heart of everything Shaun! A fascinating deep dive into one of the best horror comedies of all time.” — director Mick Garris (Stephen King's The Stand / Tales from the Crypt)"Exhaustively researched and brimming with funny, fascinating stories I didn't know, this book is must read, not just for hardcore fans, but for anyone who's interested in the creative process." — author Melissa Maerz (Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused)"Rejoice Shaun of the Dead and film fans! You've Got Red on You is an in-depth, thoroughly enjoyable, and inspiring story of the making of the classic film. Collis expertly weaves interviews from cast and crew with other first hand accounts, starting before line one of the screenplay was written. I inhaled this book with a smile on my face. Now let's head down to the Winchester for a pint." — author Paul Tremblay (A Head Full of Ghosts / The Cabin at the End of the World)“I was a huge fan of Shaun of the Dead. It was my favourite movie of that year. Their jokes were like perfectly placed time bombs.” — Quentin Tarantino“We didn’t ever really want to parody zombie movies. We wanted to make a zombie movie.” — actor Simon Pegg"There were zombies getting off with each other. There were loads of zombie relationships. Two zombies got together on the pool table." — producer Nira Park“I heard it was a romantic-comedy with zombies, and I was like, well, that sounds sh*t.” — actor Rafe SpallTable of ContentsPrologue Chapter 1: Origins of the Dead Chapter 2: Best Friends of the Dead Chapter 3: Script of the Dead Chapter 4: Money of the Dead Chapter 5: Cast and Crew (and Zombies) of the Dead Chapter 6: Shoot of the Dead Chapter 7: Pub of the Dead Chapter 8: Return of the Shoot of the Dead Chapter 9: Release of the Dead Chapter 10: Release of the Dead 2 Chapter 11: Cornettos of the Dead Epilogue

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Book SynopsisAs featured in Fangoria, Movieweb, ComingSoon, Queerty, Rue Morgue, Yahoo News, Bloody Disgusting, and more!In 1983, Robert Hiltzik’s Sleepaway Camp was quickly disregarded by film reviewers. Variety called it a “tired version of teen oriented horror film formulas," The Philadelphia Enquirer "had more thrills untangling paper clips," and The Cincinnati Post branded it "more horrible than horrifying."But fans saw something different. Very different. 40 years since its release, the film’s unique blend of horror, tongue-in-cheek comedy, sexuality, and gender roles—along with an ending to end all endings, was seemingly ahead of its time. Sleepaway Camp is now discussed and debated more than when it was initially released.Longtime official Sleepaway Camp webmaster, writer, and filmmaker Jeff Hayes goes behind the scenes like never before, revealing the development and making of the film, its immediate aftermath, and the more than four decades of fandom since its release. This definitive Sleepaway Camp compendium includes interviews with much of the cast and crew (with many new exclusives), more than 75 production and memorabilia images (including previously unreleased on-set stills), and takes you backstage to the reunions, retro screenings, and convention events that have united fans and reignited interest in this beloved horror tale.Two sequels later, plus Hiltzik's retcon film Return to Sleepaway Camp, Sleepaway Camp continues to resonate in a big way with ’80s film buffs, global horror fans, and the LGBT community, all of whom enjoy their horror films…with a twist.Welcome to Sleepaway Camp. Meet you at the waterfront, after the social.Trade ReviewHoliday 2023 Gift Guide Mention: /Film."Jeff Hayes might be the absolute best person to write a book on this cult classic and the franchise it spawned...If you call yourself a Sleepaway Camp fan, you can’t live without this." — Rue MorgueTable of ContentsIntroduction1. Pre-Production2. Casting3. Production4. A Campy Environment5. Murder, Mayhem, Two Eds, and a Bill6. Revelations from the Big Climax7. Post-Production8. Frankie Vinci Interview9. Distribution/Release10. Cast and Crew Reactions11. Critics’ Reviews12. So Bad It’s Good, or Misunderstood?13. VHS Release and Cablecast14. Sleepaway Camp II and III15. The Website16. The First Big Break17. Searching for Felissa Rose18. Coming Soon: Sleepaway Camp on DVD19. Felissa’s Apartment and Interview20. Last-Minute DVD Arrangements and Commentary21. The Comeback Trail: The Sleepaway Camp Reunion22. Alamo Drafthouse / 200123. Flashback Weekend / 200224. Red Cross Box Set25. Return to Sleepaway Camp26. Sleepaway Camp Reunion 2 / 200927. Judy28. Later Releases29. Desiree Gould (Aunt Martha) / 1945-202130. A Critical Reevaluation31. Return to (the Actual) Camp Arawak / 202232. Gender and HomoeroticismFinal ThoughtsAcknowledgmentsImage CreditsAbout the Author

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Book SynopsisWhen the film Clue came out in 1985, audiences were baffled. A movie based on a board game, with three different endings, and you had to pick which one to go see? Bad reviews compounded the problem, and instead of choosing one ending, most people stayed away entirely. Clue, outgrossed at the box office by films that had been released months earlier, quickly faded away. When it unceremoniously premiered on Showtime a year after its theatrical debut, there was no sign it was destined for anything other than obscurity, another flop bound to be forgotten. Instead, Gen Xers and millennials, raised on pop culture and cable TV in an era long before the streaming wars, discovered this zany farce about a group of six strangers locked in a remote house with a killer. The movie appealed to kids. The creepy mansion and eerie music contrasted with slapstick gags and double entendres, deflating the tension. Today, almost forty years later, Clue is the epitome of a cult classic, with midnight screenings, script readings for charity, cosplaying fans, and a stage play. “What Do You Mean, Murder?” dives deep into the making of Clue and walks fans through the movie they know and love.

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Book SynopsisMovies and memory intersect in this compelling and unconventional memoir from queer writer, film aficionado, and Jeopardy! contestant Charles Jensen.Splice of Life follows Jensen from his upbringing and struggles with sexual awareness in rural Wisconsin to his sexual liberation in college and, finally, to the complex relationships and bizarre coincidences of adulthood. Exploring what it means to be male and queer, each essay splices together Jensen's lived experiences with his analysis of a single film. Deftly woven, Splice of Life shows us how personal and cultural memory intertwine, as well as how the stories we watch can help us understand the stories we all tell about ourselves.

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Book Synopsis1 in 10 undergraduates in the US will study abroad. Extoled by students as personally transformative and celebrated in academia for fostering cross-cultural understanding, study abroad is also promoted by the US government as a form of cultural diplomacy and a bridge to future participation in the global marketplace. In Documenting the American Student Abroad, Kelly Hankin explores the documentary media cultures that shape these beliefs, drawing our attention to the broad range of stakeholders and documentary modes involved in defining the core values and practices of study abroad. From study abroad video contests and a F.B.I. produced docudrama about student espionage to reality television inspired educational documentaries and docudramas about Amanda Knox, Hankin shows how the institutional values of "global citizenship," "intercultural communication," and "cultural immersion" emerge in contradictory ways through their representation. By bringing study abroad and media studies into conversation with one another, Documenting the American Student Abroad: The Media Cultures of International Education offers a much needed humanist contribution to the field of international education, as well as a unique approach to the growing scholarship on the intersection of media and institutions. As study abroad practitioners and students increase their engagement with moving images and digital environments, the insights of media scholars are essential for helping the field understand how the mediation of study abroad rhetoric shapes rather than reflects the field's central institutional idealsTrade Review"Documenting the American Student Abroad is a cutting account of exactly how far off the study abroad industry is from forging a media culture, or what Hankin would call a collective visual grammar, that is ethically aligned with the many noble goals the educational field purports to promote. By placing study abroad practices under the scrutiny of analytical tools from media and cultural studies, Hankin renders the familiar unfamiliar: student-made youtube clips become avenues for fresh analysis of gender and race, and rote study abroad safety precautions become texts for questioning just how comfortable Americans really are with the ideals of global citizenship. For those with an interest in media studies, Documenting the American Student Abroad models the importance of close-reading visual texts as easily dismissed and as 'low brow' as an undergraduate's 'Vlog' sent home from abroad. For those concerned with improving the quality of international education, Hankin will provoke a full-on reckoning. Where institutions of study abroad typically see absence, Hankin finds voice. Where study abroad practitioners see accepted everyday communications strategies, Hankin finds troubling pedagogies and ideological presumptions that undermine the very premise of intercultural education. Documenting the American Student Abroad helps us to understand how it is that an educational practice that has been celebrated for an entire century as America's pathway to global redemption has ultimately done so little to shift some of the most stubborn imperialist ideals that underpin our nation's relationship to the world. "— Talya Zemach-Bersin, Education Studies Senior Capstone Coordinator and a Lecturer, Yale University The American Minute podcast: Kelly Hankin, University of Redlands – The Personal is Professional: The Study Abroad Video Contest— The American Minute podcast “This book offers an original and critical account of an influential domain of media practice—the “study abroad media culture” through which Americans learn about, experience, and document educational travel abroad. Through deft analysis of diverse types of travel media, including study abroad video contests, “homestay movies,” and student vlogs, Kelly Hankin traces how visions of the “globally engaged student” have emerged from a web of media histories, technologies, institutions, and stakeholders. Media, Hankin convincingly shows us, are central to understanding the fraught politics and transformative potential of international education.”— Katie Day Good, author of Bring The World to the Child: Technologies of Global Citizenship in American Education “Kelly Hankin’s wide-ranging and deftly argued analysis of the ‘study abroad gaze’ is a welcome addition to current debates about tourism, travel, and intercultural exchange. She expertly guides us through such diverse topics as theories of mediated travel, reality television and vlogs, the foreign homestay, and the risks and rewards of overseas experiences. The result is an innovative reading of how this formative, multi-layered educational experience for contemporary American students is continually reframed through film and television.”— Ben McCann, University of Adelaide, Australia "NAB Podcast: Kelly Hankin on Media Cultures of Study Abroad in Higher Education"— The New American Baccalaureate ProjectTable of ContentsContents Introduction: The Media Cultures of Study Abroad The Personal is Professional: First-Person Travelogues and The Study Abroad Video Contest Intercultural Communication Among “Intimate Strangers”: Reality Television and Documentary Study Abroad House Hunters International: Homestay Movies in the Digital Era Study Abroad’s Diversity Problem: Vlogs as Necessary Media Spy Kids: The Consequences of Global Citizenship in Game of Pawns Study Abroad and The Female Traveler in the “Amanda Knoxudramas” Acknowledgments Bibliography

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Book Synopsis1 in 10 undergraduates in the US will study abroad. Extoled by students as personally transformative and celebrated in academia for fostering cross-cultural understanding, study abroad is also promoted by the US government as a form of cultural diplomacy and a bridge to future participation in the global marketplace. In Documenting the American Student Abroad, Kelly Hankin explores the documentary media cultures that shape these beliefs, drawing our attention to the broad range of stakeholders and documentary modes involved in defining the core values and practices of study abroad. From study abroad video contests and a F.B.I. produced docudrama about student espionage to reality television inspired educational documentaries and docudramas about Amanda Knox, Hankin shows how the institutional values of "global citizenship," "intercultural communication," and "cultural immersion" emerge in contradictory ways through their representation. By bringing study abroad and media studies into conversation with one another, Documenting the American Student Abroad: The Media Cultures of International Education offers a much needed humanist contribution to the field of international education, as well as a unique approach to the growing scholarship on the intersection of media and institutions. As study abroad practitioners and students increase their engagement with moving images and digital environments, the insights of media scholars are essential for helping the field understand how the mediation of study abroad rhetoric shapes rather than reflects the field's central institutional idealsTrade Review"Documenting the American Student Abroad is a cutting account of exactly how far off the study abroad industry is from forging a media culture, or what Hankin would call a collective visual grammar, that is ethically aligned with the many noble goals the educational field purports to promote. By placing study abroad practices under the scrutiny of analytical tools from media and cultural studies, Hankin renders the familiar unfamiliar: student-made youtube clips become avenues for fresh analysis of gender and race, and rote study abroad safety precautions become texts for questioning just how comfortable Americans really are with the ideals of global citizenship. For those with an interest in media studies, Documenting the American Student Abroad models the importance of close-reading visual texts as easily dismissed and as 'low brow' as an undergraduate's 'Vlog' sent home from abroad. For those concerned with improving the quality of international education, Hankin will provoke a full-on reckoning. Where institutions of study abroad typically see absence, Hankin finds voice. Where study abroad practitioners see accepted everyday communications strategies, Hankin finds troubling pedagogies and ideological presumptions that undermine the very premise of intercultural education. Documenting the American Student Abroad helps us to understand how it is that an educational practice that has been celebrated for an entire century as America's pathway to global redemption has ultimately done so little to shift some of the most stubborn imperialist ideals that underpin our nation's relationship to the world. "— Talya Zemach-Bersin, Education Studies Senior Capstone Coordinator and a Lecturer, Yale University The American Minute podcast: Kelly Hankin, University of Redlands – The Personal is Professional: The Study Abroad Video Contest— The American Minute podcast “This book offers an original and critical account of an influential domain of media practice—the “study abroad media culture” through which Americans learn about, experience, and document educational travel abroad. Through deft analysis of diverse types of travel media, including study abroad video contests, “homestay movies,” and student vlogs, Kelly Hankin traces how visions of the “globally engaged student” have emerged from a web of media histories, technologies, institutions, and stakeholders. Media, Hankin convincingly shows us, are central to understanding the fraught politics and transformative potential of international education.”— Katie Day Good, author of Bring The World to the Child: Technologies of Global Citizenship in American Education “Kelly Hankin’s wide-ranging and deftly argued analysis of the ‘study abroad gaze’ is a welcome addition to current debates about tourism, travel, and intercultural exchange. She expertly guides us through such diverse topics as theories of mediated travel, reality television and vlogs, the foreign homestay, and the risks and rewards of overseas experiences. The result is an innovative reading of how this formative, multi-layered educational experience for contemporary American students is continually reframed through film and television.”— Ben McCann, University of Adelaide, Australia "NAB Podcast: Kelly Hankin on Media Cultures of Study Abroad in Higher Education"— The New American Baccalaureate ProjectTable of ContentsContents Introduction: The Media Cultures of Study Abroad The Personal is Professional: First-Person Travelogues and The Study Abroad Video Contest Intercultural Communication Among “Intimate Strangers”: Reality Television and Documentary Study Abroad House Hunters International: Homestay Movies in the Digital Era Study Abroad’s Diversity Problem: Vlogs as Necessary Media Spy Kids: The Consequences of Global Citizenship in Game of Pawns Study Abroad and The Female Traveler in the “Amanda Knoxudramas” Acknowledgments Bibliography

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Book SynopsisStar Wars may have started out as a film about a Manichean battle between good and evil, but as countless filmmakers, novelists, animators, fan artists and even cosplayers have taken the opportunity to play in the fictional world George Lucas created, it has expanded into something far greater, resulting in a richly layered and diverse Star Wars multiverse. Drawing from a full range of Star Wars media, including comics, children’s books, fan films, and television shows like Clone Wars and The Mandalorian, Carmelo Esterrich explores how these stories set in a galaxy far far away reflect issues that hit closer to home. He examines what they have to say about political oppression, authoritarianism, colonialism, discrimination, xenophobia, and perpetual war. Yet he also investigates subtler ways in which the personal is political within the multiverse, including its articulations of gender and sexuality, its cultural hierarchies of language use, and its complex relationships between humans, droids and myriad species. This book demonstrates that the Star Wars multiverse is not just a stage for thrilling interstellar battles, but also an exciting space for interpretation and discovery.Trade ReviewE2K: Eager to Know podcast, "Seriously Star Wars" episode interview with Carmelo Esterrich— Eager to Know podcast (e2K) "Things are never as simple as they seem. While the stories of Star Wars span multiple media forms, the universes of the franchise are vast and uncharted. In this insightful volume, Carmelo Esterrich mines the unique and multifaceted Star Wars multiverse in all its complexities, delving deeply into discussions of diversity, war, fandom, and gender across the galaxy. Whether discussing the Canon and the Legend, the Fan and the Creator, or the human and the alien (and the droid!), Esterrich proves that the force is strong with Star Wars. Don’t be a nerf herder – get this book now!" — Paul Booth, author of Board Games as Media "Alumnus authors book, a 'conversation starter,' about all things Star Wars"— Penn State News "Associate Professor Carmelo Esterrich to publish Star Wars Multiverse in 2021"— Columbia College ChicagoTable of ContentsPreface: Seriously, Star Wars 1 Navigating a Multiverse: Watching, Reading, Wearing Star Wars 2 Humans and Creatures + Droids: Hierarchies of Life 3 Imperial Desires: War, Order, Colonialism 4 Beyond Princesses and Flyboys: Gender and Sexuality in Star Wars Conclusion: Star Wars, Seriously Acknowledgments Further Reading Works Cited Filmography Index

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Book SynopsisStar Wars may have started out as a film about a Manichean battle between good and evil, but as countless filmmakers, novelists, animators, fan artists and even cosplayers have taken the opportunity to play in the fictional world George Lucas created, it has expanded into something far greater, resulting in a richly layered and diverse Star Wars multiverse. Drawing from a full range of Star Wars media, including comics, children’s books, fan films, and television shows like Clone Wars and The Mandalorian, Carmelo Esterrich explores how these stories set in a galaxy far far away reflect issues that hit closer to home. He examines what they have to say about political oppression, authoritarianism, colonialism, discrimination, xenophobia, and perpetual war. Yet he also investigates subtler ways in which the personal is political within the multiverse, including its articulations of gender and sexuality, its cultural hierarchies of language use, and its complex relationships between humans, droids and myriad species. This book demonstrates that the Star Wars multiverse is not just a stage for thrilling interstellar battles, but also an exciting space for interpretation and discovery.Trade ReviewE2K: Eager to Know podcast, "Seriously Star Wars" episode interview with Carmelo Esterrich— Eager to Know podcast (e2K) "Things are never as simple as they seem. While the stories of Star Wars span multiple media forms, the universes of the franchise are vast and uncharted. In this insightful volume, Carmelo Esterrich mines the unique and multifaceted Star Wars multiverse in all its complexities, delving deeply into discussions of diversity, war, fandom, and gender across the galaxy. Whether discussing the Canon and the Legend, the Fan and the Creator, or the human and the alien (and the droid!), Esterrich proves that the force is strong with Star Wars. Don’t be a nerf herder – get this book now!" — Paul Booth, author of Board Games as Media "Alumnus authors book, a 'conversation starter,' about all things Star Wars"— Penn State News "Associate Professor Carmelo Esterrich to publish Star Wars Multiverse in 2021"— Columbia College ChicagoTable of ContentsPreface: Seriously, Star Wars 1 Navigating a Multiverse: Watching, Reading, Wearing Star Wars 2 Humans and Creatures + Droids: Hierarchies of Life 3 Imperial Desires: War, Order, Colonialism 4 Beyond Princesses and Flyboys: Gender and Sexuality in Star Wars Conclusion: Star Wars, Seriously Acknowledgments Further Reading Works Cited Filmography Index

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Book SynopsisA definitive and surprising exploration of the history of Black horror films, after the rising success of Get Out, Candyman, and Lovecraft Country from creators behind the acclaimed documentary, Horror Noire.The Black Guy Dies First explores the Black journey in modern horror cinema, from the fodder epitomized by Spider Baby to the Oscar-​winning cinematic heights of Get Out and beyond. This eye-opening book delves into the themes, tropes, and traits that have come to characterize Black roles in horror since 1968, a year in which race made national headlines in iconic moments from the enactment of the 1968 Civil Rights Act and Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in April. This timely book is a must-read for cinema and horror fans alike.

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Book SynopsisThe behind-the-scenes story of the iconic funnymen who ruled '80s Hollywood—Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Eddie Murphy—and the beloved films that made them stars, including Animal House, Caddyshack, and GhostbustersNAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NEW YORK“An enjoyable romp that vividly captures the manic ups and downs of the remarkable group of funny folk who gave us a golden age of small and big screen comedy, from SNL to Groundhog Day.”—Peter Biskind, author of Easy Riders, Raging BullsWild and Crazy Guys opens in 1978 with Chevy Chase and Bill Murray taking bad-tempered swings at each other backstage at Saturday Night Live, and closes 21 years later with the two doing a skit in the same venue, poking fun at each other, their illustrious careers, triumphs and prat falls. In between, Nick de Semlyen takes us on a trip through the tumultuous '80s, delving behind the scenes of movies such as National Lampoon's Vacation, Beverly Hills Cop, The Blues Brothers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and dozens more. Chronicling the off-screen, larger-than-life antics of Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, Dan Aykroyd, Eddie Murphy, John Belushi, John Candy, and Rick Moranis, it's got drugs, sex, punch-ups, webbed toes, and Bill Murray being pushed into a swimming pool by Hunter S. Thompson while tied to a lawn chair. What's not to like?Based on candid interviews from many of the stars themselves, as well as those in their immediate orbit, including directors John Landis, Carl Reiner, and Amy Heckerling, Wild and Crazy Guys is a fantastic insider account of the friendships, feuds, triumphs, and disasters experienced by these beloved comedians. Hilarious and revealing, it is both a hidden history of the most fertile period ever for screen comedy and a celebration of some of the most popular films of all time.Praise for Wild and Crazy Guys“Eminently readable . . . Children of the 1980s, take note: this is a fond, engrossing look back at the making of movies that became cultural touchstones.”—Booklist (starred review) “Nick de Semlyen smartly charts the pinballing career paths of the stars of this new comic wave. . . . His punchy, nonstop narrative . . . tells a [story] where art and commerce smash hard against each other, sometimes causing destruction, but sometimes making sparks fly.”—The Sunday Times (UK)

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Book SynopsisTerry Gilliam’s 12 Monkeys (1995) was a commercial and critical success, but it is Gilliam’s least understood film, even on the basic plot level. Aside from recognizable debts to specific films such as La Jetée (1962) and Dr. Strangelove (1964), 12 Monkeys plays with a number of genres: apocalypse and postapocalypse movies, sci-fi, nuclear noir, and what is becoming known as “geek dystopia.” This volume in the Constellations series examines Gilliam’s film—and briefly the TV series based on it—in the context of post-apocalypse movies and with an eye to the film’s major themes, including mental illness, conspiracy theories, the impossibility of human closeness, and the nature of reality. It is the first to read 12 Monkeys’s portrayal of time travel in light of Einstein’s ideas about time and to ask what answers these ideas suggest to the film’s most basic philosophical predicament: the problem of free will versus determinism.Trade Review'One of the most admirable aspects of this book is Kord’s clear, engaging writing. This book is not only insightful but also a pleasure simply to read for the vividness and elegance of its prose. Kord is adept at communicating complex scholarly ideas in understandable language... This book makes an important contribution to Gilliam scholarship and should be read by anyone interested in the study of his films, but it is also eminently readable by a general audience.'Dominick Grace, SFRA Review

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Book SynopsisFew filmmakers could even attempt the fearlessness of Andrei Tarkovsky’s cinema and his most ambitious work, Stalker (1977), is arguably the most thoughtful science-fiction film ever made. Stalker parallels its speculative elements with a harrowing narrative of human fragility and philosophy. It is as much a movie about the complexity of its characters as it is the mysteriousness of its labyrinthine landscape, the ambiguous Zone and its heart, the Room of Desire. It is at once a darkly nihilistic film, ominous and threatening, and yet also profoundly hopeful and at its core a story of true faith. This book attempts to unravel the film’s complexities, from its difficult production and through its many cinematic elements: its composition and cinematography, the many philosophies it engages with, its poetic and literary influences, along with the cultural and historical landscapes that cultivated it, and the enormity of its influence across the following generations. Stalker challenges us to engage with film in a different way: a poetic cinema that asks much more of you as a viewer than most. Most of all, to explore why this film—even forty years since its original release—still affects us as an audience as profoundly as ever.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the contrasting forms neo-noir has taken on screen, asking what prompts our continued interest in tales of criminality and moral uncertainty. Neo-noir plots are both familiar and diverse, found in a host of media formats today, and now span the globe. Yet despite its apparent prevalence—and increased academic attention—many core questions remain unanswered. What has propelled noir’s appeal, half a century on after its supposed decline? What has led film-makers and series-creators to rework given tropes? What debates continue to divide critics? And why are we, as viewers, so drawn to stories that often show us at our worst? Referencing a range of films and series, citing critical work in the field—while also challenging many of the assumptions made—this book sets out to advance our understanding of a subject that has fascinated audiences and academics alike. Theories relating to gender identity and neo-noir’s tricky generic status are discussed, together with an evaluation of differing comic inflections and socio-political concerns, concluding that, although neo-noir is capable of being both progressive and reactionary, it also mobilises potentially radical questions about who we are and what we might be capable of.Table of Contents1. Introduction: in pursuit of the neo-noir.- 2. Crime, corruption and social critique: a thematic overview of noir.- 3. Conflict and crisis: masculinity and noir.- 4. Fear and fantasy: women in noir.- 5. Noir by any other name?: generic confusion and diffusion.- 6. A lighter shade of noir: differing uses of comedy.- 7. Fatalism vs free will: nihilism and noir.

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Book SynopsisThis book brings genre back to the forefront of the current transmedia trend. Genres are perhaps the most innately transmedial of media constructs, formed as they are from all kinds of industrial, technological and discursive phenomena. Yet, few have considered how genre works in a multiplatform context. This book does precisely that, making a uniquely transmedial contribution to the study of genre in the age of media convergence. The book interrogates how industrial, technological and participatory transformations of digital platforms and emerging technologies reshape workings of genre. The authors consider franchises such as Star Wars, streaming platforms such as Netflix, catch-up services such as ITV Hub, creative technologies such as virtual reality, and beyond. In setting the stage for the revival of genre theory in contemporary transmedia scholarship, this book pushes forward understandings of multiplatform media and the emerging form and function of genre across contemporary culture.Table of Contents1 Introduction or: Why We Still Need Genre PART I: Media Conglomerates 2 Transmedia Superhero: Marvel, Genre Divergence and Captain America 3 Transmedia Western: Lucasfilm, Genre Linking and The Mandalorian PART II: Digital Platforms 4 Transmedia Horror: Netflix, Genre Empowerment and Stranger Things 5 Transmedia Docudrama: ITV Hub, Genre Democratisation and Quiz 6 Transmedia Comedy: BBC Three, Genre Distribution and Pls Like 7 Transmedia Fantasy-JRPG: Kickstarter, Genre Leveraging and Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes PART III: Emerging Technologies 8 Transmedia War: Virtual Reality, Genre Embodiment and The Day the World Changed 9 Transmedia Science Fiction: Deepfake Technology, Genre Fictioning and Reminiscence 10 Conclusion: Towards a Conceptual Framework of Transmedia Genre

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Book SynopsisThis open access book deals with the role of written texts in an increasingly diverse and dynamic society, bringing together a series of studies anchored in the Scandinavian research tradition of sakprosa, which roughly translates as ‘subject-oriented prose’ or ‘professional communication’. The authors examine the written text’s capacity to transcend contextual boundaries, as a crucial factor in the importance of capturing and maintaining content as a manageable entity. The chapters each deal with a text type that manages complex content in a specialized way, including genre shifting in CSR reports, discourse networks in modern digital culture, digital and social media crisis communication, and epistemic positions in non-fiction. This book is relevant to fields such as text research, professional/digital communication, discourse analysis and literacy studies, and may also be of interest to disciplines such as history, rhetoric, organization studies, media studies/journalism, and linguistics. Table of ContentsChapter 1: A discourse of things. Nordic perspectives on texts negotiating issues that matter in professional communicationChapter 2: Texts complying with societal pressures - Changing genres in Finnish companies’ CSR reportingChapter 3: Subject-oriented prose in digital discourse networks: digital media as a socio-material condition for access and circulationChapter 4: Crisis communication on social media: Informalization in the hour-by-hour struggle for informationChapter 5: Sheep, watchdogs and wolves as epistemic positions: How a master’s programme in non-fiction writing produced and reflected an epistemic practice for the field of sakprosa in Norway.Chapter 6: Postscript: The Power and Potential of the Concept Sakprosa (CPS) A guided tour through five topoi.

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Book SynopsisChapter 1.- Introduction.-Chapter 2.- Essay Cinema and Technological Innovation.-Chapter 3.- Interactivity and Dialogical Exchange in Chris Marker's Immemory and Ouvroir.-Chapter 4.-Jean-Luc Godard, Intertextuality, and Digital Remix Culture.-Chapter 5.-Capturing the Domestic Space in an Era of Ubiquitous Digital Media: Chantal Akerman's No Home Movie.-Chapter 6.-Simulation, Gameplay, and the Non-Indexical Image in Harun Farocki's Serious Games I-IV and Parallel I-IV.-Chapter 7.-Conclusion: Essaying the Future.-Index.

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Book SynopsisThe book is based on amateur films, shot by the architect Ernest Weissmann (1903-1985) with a Pathé Motocamera in the years 1929-1933 at, among other places, the Atelier Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. These films capture moments from Le Corbusier's life that have never been seen before. It also documents his friendships with Pierre Jeanneret, Lluis Sert, Charlotte Perriand, Norman Rice, Kunio Maekawa, Sigfried Giedion and others. Across six chapters, the book shows impressive stills from these films and places them in the respective historical and personal context of Le Corbusier in introductory texts. Two introductions are devoted to the history of these pioneering amateur films and to Ernest Weissmann's life and his life-long relationship with Le Corbusier. A documentary treasure trove on the life of Le Corbusier Featuring 80 previously unpublished film stills Available as softcover (9783035627282), hardcover (9783035627299) and limited special edition with three photographic prints (9783035627305)

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Book SynopsisThe book is based on amateur films, shot by the architect Ernest Weissmann (1903-1985) with a Pathé Motocamera in the years 1929-1933 at, among other places, the Atelier Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. These films capture moments from Le Corbusier's life that have never been seen before. It also documents his friendships with Pierre Jeanneret, Lluis Sert, Charlotte Perriand, Norman Rice, Kunio Maekawa, Sigfried Giedion and others. Across six chapters, the book shows impressive stills from these films and places them in the respective historical and personal context of Le Corbusier in introductory texts. Two introductions are devoted to the history of these pioneering amateur films and to Ernest Weissmann's life and his life-long relationship with Le Corbusier. A documentary treasure trove on the life of Le Corbusier Featuring 80 previously unpublished film stills Available as softcover (9783035627282), hardcover (9783035627299) and limited special edition with three photographic prints (9783035627305)

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Book SynopsisDieses Buch setzt sich mit der viel diskutierten HBO-Serie Westworld auseinander. Aus multidisziplinären Perspektiven fragen die Autor*innen danach, wie die Science-Fiction/Western-Serie als Erzählung funktioniert und dabei Aspekte des Posthumanismus, Fragen künstlicher Intelligenz und das Verhältnis von Mensch und Maschine problematisiert.Table of ContentsEinführung: Westworld, Maschinen/menschen und das amerikanische ‚Qualitätsfernsehen‘.- Westworld und die Frage nach der Menschwerdung in Erinnerungsschleifen.- Dolores und Maeve: eine erste Annäherung an die Bildung von Maschinen zu besseren Übermenschen.- Westworld: die Musikalische DNA des Posthumanismus.- Westworld an der Schnittstelle von Narrativ und Spiel.- Wozu braucht Westworld den Weste(r)n?- Unterhaltung als Hedonismus und Eudaimonie – und Westworld als ihre Dekonstruktion.

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Book SynopsisDer Sammelband bringt verschiedene Zugänge und Kontexte zu Twin Peaks zusammen und greift dabei auch die besonderen produktions- und rezeptionsästhetischen Spezifika der Serie auf. Das Spektrum der Beiträge umfasst ganz unterschiedliche Themenbereiche: Genremix, Transaktualität, komplexe narrative Strukturen, Traum und Traumhaftigkeit, Geschlechts- und Identitätskonzepte, extremer Fankult, visuelle Ästhetik, akustische Dimensionen, postmoderne Verweiskultur und nicht zuletzt die Frage danach, welche anderen Quality TV-Serien durch Twin Peaks erst möglich wurden.Table of ContentsEinleitung(en).- Zeichen.- Welten.- Referenzen.- Anhang.

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Book SynopsisDead phones, chaos in hospitals, looming nuclear meltdowns: For years, experts all over the world have been warning of a widespread power blackout-and the devastating consequences for society as a whole. However, just as before the COVID-19 pandemic, politicians and the public are hardly aware of the far-reaching risks: A blackout would catch us almost completely unprepared.As for other (supposedly improbable) disruptive events, disaster movies and sci-fi series have long shown what would happen if modern society were to lose its lifeblood. Denis Newiak looks into those filmic fictions for answers to pressing questions: How can we prepare ourselves for the dramatic consequences of such a crisis? And can the collapse of modernity still be stopped?

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