bookshelf

ON STORY

Name: ON STORY
Author: Barbara Morgan
ISBN: 978-1-4773-1090-8

SCREENWRITERS AND FILMMAKERS ON THEIR ICONIC FILMS

edited by Barbara Morgan & Maya Perez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 4, 2016

An invaluable resource for film buffs and future storytellers interested in the creation of great Hollywood films over the...

bookshelf

Iconic Hollywood filmmakers speak candidly about narrative, their process, and juicy experiences from the industry.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event,” says moderator Jane Summer. “At no other event will you see a lineup like this one. Now let’s meet our real-life heroes.” She was speaking specifically about Ron Howard and the other talented writers, directors, and producers on her panel at the Austin Film Festival, but the same could be said for every chapter in this follow-up to On Story: Screenwriters and Their Craft (2013), offering even more curated highlights from the festival and its sister PBS series. The minds behind some of the most successful and well-crafted films of late-20th- and early-21st-century Hollywood cover a range of topics, from philosophical examinations of characters to the audience’s relation to a story. They also gladly offer pieces of showbiz mythology that film buffs crave: a pre–L.A. Confidential Brian Helgeland carrying unwanted scripts down Sunset Boulevard; Harold Ramis bought his first home with reviews of Animal House as collateral; Jonathan Demme nearly chose Laura Dern over Jodie Foster for the character of Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs. Insights into process will also enthrall budding writers—e.g., Thelma and Louise scribe Callie Khouri’s admission that she opened screenplay guru Syd Field’s book once and never looked at it again, which is surprising since Thelma is often considered a pinnacle of mainstream Hollywood three-act structure. Editors Morgan and Perez achieve these fresh revelations by choosing well-known projects and then pulling deeper, more fascinating observations from the creators. The results are impressive. However, for today’s worldly film students, the scope may seem limited, as it largely ignores the avant-garde and foreign cinema and features few discussions about the tastes and technologies currently rocking the industry. But for those interested in this specific milieu of Hollywood, there are few other examinations as personal, surprising, and well-executed.

An invaluable resource for film buffs and future storytellers interested in the creation of great Hollywood films over the last 40 years.

Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-4773-1090-8

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Univ. of Texas

Review Posted Online: July 30, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

bookshelf

NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

bookshelf

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

bookshelf

TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

bookshelf

An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.