The Ultimate Book About “2001: A Space Odyssey”

Posted on April 21, 2014 at 8:00 am

Fifty years after Stanley Kubrick began work on “2001: A Space Odyssey,” the ultimate behind-the-scenes story will be out next month in a limited edition $750 four-volume history by Piers Bizony, an expert on both Kubrick and space exploration.

Made in exclusive collaboration with the Kubrick estate and Warner Bros., this copiously illustrated work features hundreds of unique 2oo1-related documents, concept artworks, and superb behind-the-scenes photographs from the Kubrick Archives—most of which have never been published before—as well as exclusive correspondence and personal testimony from Kubrick’s co-screenwriter Arthur C. Clarke.

The four volumes include:Film stills, new behind the scenes interviews with lead actors, senior production designers, and key special-effects experts, a facsimile of the original screenplay and 1965 production notes, a box cover painted by Wayne Haag, and “a small comic surprise.”

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Picture Lock: Women in Cinema, from the Bechdel Test to the Manic Pixie Dream Girl

Posted on March 26, 2014 at 3:58 pm

Many thanks to Kevin Sampson for including me in the Picture Lock Women’s History Month special, a panel discussion about the state of women in film, on and off screen.  And many thanks to my fellow panelists, casting director Kimberly Skyrme, actress/singer Tia Dae, producer Erin Essenmacher.

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Where Did That Movie Catchphrase Come From?

Posted on March 21, 2014 at 8:00 am

Flavorwire has a great collection of movie catchphrases with the stories behind them.  A surprising number come from the actors improvising on the spot.  Some were in the script and credit goes to the screenwriter.  And one of the most surprising comes from a historical character.  Can you guess which is which?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjMQbzBhTb4

 

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Some Surprising Facts about “The Wizard of Oz”

Posted on September 18, 2013 at 8:00 am

The 3D release of “The Wizard of Oz” inspired Susan Wloszczyna to write about some surprising facts, updates, and behind the scenes information about the film. Does that “Wherefore art thou, Romeo?” voice in “If I Only Had a Heart” sound familiar? I would never have guessed who that was. What simple trick was used to make it seem that the Wicked Witch’s head was shrinking as she melts? I would never have guessed that one, either. Take a look — and then take the family to see “The Wizard of Oz 3D” this weekend.

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A New Book About Roger Corman: Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen, and Candy Stripe Nurses

Posted on September 10, 2013 at 3:59 pm

cormanThe most successful movie producer of all time is Roger Corman because every single one of his movies made money. Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen, and Candy Stripe Nurses: Roger Corman, King of the B Movie, released today, is the story of Corman, the self-proclaimed king of the B movie. No one would consider his films works of art, but he gave hungry and ambitious actors and directors their first opportunities to make movies.  As told by Corman himself and graduates of “The Corman Film School,” including Peter Bogdanovich, James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert De Niro, and Martin Scorsese, this comprehensive oral history takes readers behind the scenes of more than six decades of American cinema, as now-legendary directors and actors candidly unspool recollections of working with Corman, continually one-upping one another with tales of the years before their big breaks.

If you want to know more, read Corman’s autobiography: How I Made A Hundred Movies In Hollywood And Never Lost A Dime.  And watch his movies, including Candy Stripe Nurses, Private Duty Nurses, Night Call Nurses, Young NursesAttack of the Crab Monsters, War of the Satellites, and Not of This Earth.  Plus, this classic:

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