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SPIKE, MIKE, SLACKERS AND DYKES

Name: SPIKE, MIKE, SLACKERS AND DYKES
Author: John Pierson
ISBN: 0-7868-6189-4

A GUIDED TOUR THROUGH A DECADE OF AMERICAN CINEMA

by John Pierson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 25, 1996

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An insider's nuts-and-bolts dissection of the gritty machinery of independent film financing and distribution. The modern ``indie'' film movement was born in 1984 with Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise, which proved with the force of a revelation that an important, good-looking movie could be made for less than $100,000. Directors began to compete over who would do the most with the lowest budget, with Richard Rodriguez's $7,000 El Mariachi the bargain-basement winner. But no film that makes it to the local multiplex really costs so little. El Mariachi, for example, required more than $100,000 just for reworking the sound. The lowball budgets were just to get the film ``in the can,'' so that it could be shown to someone like John Pierson. While Pierson has produced a few films, the niche he carved for himself was providing finishing money for films and then, as a ``producer's rep,'' finding a distributor—crucial if a film is ever to have a theatrical run and get proper publicity. Over the last ten years, from Roger and Me to The Thin Blue Line and Slacker, there were few independent films he wasn't somehow involved with. In Hollywood terms the money at stake was chump change—less than might be spent on Demi Moore's entourage—but the 15-plus films Pierson helped were, almost without exception, quirky, provocative, utterly original, and could never have been made in Hollywood. With a swashbuckler's zest, Pierson recounts his various deals and machinations (usefully documented by budgets and deal memos) as he fought to get the filmmakers—and himself—the best possible deal. He also takes pains to note that most independent films are never distributed, languishing instead in the uncinematic darkness of the director's basement—$20,000 worth of celluloid playing only to the plaudits of dust. While the specialized nature of the material will probably limit its general appeal, this book should be required reading for all would-be filmmakers.

Pub Date: Jan. 25, 1996

ISBN: 0-7868-6189-4

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Hyperion

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1995

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.