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"EXTRA" WORK FOR BRAIN SURGEONS

Name: "EXTRA" WORK FOR BRAIN SURGEONS
Author: Angela Bertolino
ISBN: 1-893899-24-1

HOLLYWOOD OS DIRECTORY, 24TH EDITION

by Angela Bertolino ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2006

Authoritative and useful, if flippant and cluttered.

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An exhaustive directory for the aspiring background actor.

Angela Bertolino, the current CEO of Hollywood Operating System, and Carla Lewis founded the company in 1997, as an outgrowth of their experiences finding work as film extras. The 24th edition of the HOS Directory is nothing if not comprehensive. Along with instructing extras on how to react during an earthquake on a film set, it includes chapters on professional codes of behavior; membership requirements and pay scales for the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA); actors’ legal rights and responsibilities. It also includes a lengthy list of casting companies, with contact information and inside "scoops." The directory also makes note of specific agencies’ pet peeves–photos of poor quality, for example–often quoting agents directly: One warns actors not to send candy in the mail. The editors also include a section called "Fabulous Other," which lists companies that are too idiosyncratic, too incommunicative, or too shady for inclusion with the reputable, recommended companies. Listings here are entertaining, often because included companies fill such a quirky niche–an agency called Carbon Copies Management, for instance, only manages twins under the age of 18. The overall tone is light and lively, though the informal style occasionally becomes irritating, especially when the writers strive to be hip. A typical example is a standard disclaimer that prefaces the listing of agencies. Labeled as a "Dumb Disclaimer," the chapter then proceeds with, "Now that we got that crap out of the way.” In addition to this superfluous chatter, the text’s font is often difficult to read, as are the dizzying number of graphics, charts and lists. Nevertheless, this is an indispensable resource for anyone looking for work as an extra.

Authoritative and useful, if flippant and cluttered.

Pub Date: March 10, 2006

ISBN: 1-893899-24-1

Page Count: -

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 27, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

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

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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

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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

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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.