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National Film Studies
America
 American Independent: Directory of World Cinema
John Berra
From the raw realism of John Cassavetes to the postmodern nightmares of David Lynch, the films that have emerged from the American independent sector represent a national cinema that has generated worldwide devotion and discussion. This book provides an insight into American Independent Cinema through reviews of significant titles and case studies of leading directors, alongside explorations of the cultural and industrial landscape of key genres. Softcover, 327 pp. $29.99.
 Declarations of Independence
John Berra
American independent cinema is a key cultural niche within the wider film industry and its success, since the early 1990s, proves that there is an audience for alternative media. This book offers an academic discussion of the genre and considers whether unique independent film can thrive or even survive in an industry of mass production and profit. Softcover, 224 pp. $35.95.
 Bowery to Broadway: The American Irish in Classic Hollywood Cinema
Christopher Shannon
In 1931, James Cagney's portrayal of the urban Irish-American gangster Tommy Powers set the standard for the Hollywood gangster, and helped launch a golden age of Irish-American cinema. At a time when the Depression caused many to rethink the American dream, films such as Manhattann Melodrama, San Francisco, The Irish in Us, Boys Town, The Bell's of St. Mary's, My Wild Irish Rose, and On the Waterfront, offered an alternative social vision. Christopher Shannon illuminates these under-examined films. Hardcover, 220 pp. $30.00.
 American Cinema of the 1920s: Themes and Variations
Lucy Fischer
The 1920s was the era in which cinema came into its own as a form of mass entertainment. It was during this period that film studios were transformed into major corporations and the star system was established. In then original essays, this anthology examines the film industry's continued growth and prosperity in the context of important themes of the 1920s. Softcover, 291 pp. $34.95.
 Hidden Talent: The Emergence of Hollywood Agents
Tom Kemper
In this first-ever history of Hollywood agents, Tom Kemper mines agency archives to present an insider's view on their tooth-and-claw rise to power during the studio era. Through case studies of key figures like Myron Selznick and Charles Feldman, we see that the agent's character and social relationships functioned within a business structure -- a good reputation and powerful connections were an agent's most precious assets. With wit and precision, Kemper locates Hollywood agents at the crossroads of talent and profit, and captures their central and enduring role in the burgeoning film industry. Softcover, 293 pp. $26.95.
 Fifty Key American Films
John White
Fifty Key American Films explores and contextualizes some of the most important films ever made in the United States. With case studies from the early years of cinema to the present day, this comprehensive Key Guide provides accessible analyses from a range of theoretical perspectives. Softcover, 262 pp. $35.50.
 Monsters: A Celebration of the Classics from Universal Studios
Jennifer Osborne
With today's fantasy and horror films ruling the box office--and special-edition DVDs available of Universal's masterpieces--Monsters is an invaluable guide for a new generation. It shows where the "creature feature" began, from the twenties silent classic The Phantom of the Opera to fifties favorite Creature from the Black Lagoon. Frightening and fun, this splendid volume is perfect for monster fans of any age. Hardcover, $39.95.
 Hollywood's Tennessee: The Williams Films and Postwar America
R. Barton Palmer & William Robert Bray
No American dramatist has had more plays adapted than Tennessee Williams, and few modern dramatists have witnessed as much controversy during the adaptation process. Placing his body of work within relevant contexts ranging from gender and sexuality to censorship, modernism, art cinema, and the Southern Renaissance, this book draws on rarely examined archival research to recast William's significance. Hardcover, 353 pp. $75.00.
 Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I. Breen and The Production Code Administration
Thomas Doherty
Cultural historian Thomas Doherty recounts the untold tale of the man who dictated "final cut" over more movies than anyone in the history of American cinema. Empowered by industry insiders and millions of like-minded Catholics, Joseph I. Breen oversaw the editing of A-list feature films, low-budget B movies, short subjects, previews of coming attractions, and even cartoons. Softcover, 427 pp. $28.50.
 Hollywood Undercover
Ian Halperin
Hollywood Undercover is a rollicking, name-dropping, often hilarious insider's chronicle by a man who accidentally became a movie star. Softcover, 235 pp. $21.95.
 80 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards
Robert Osborne
With an entertaining text and star-studded photographs, this expanded and updated edition is the only official history of the Academy Awards, presenting the story of the Oscar from its banquet beginnings at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to the 80th awards ceremony, held at the 3,401-seat Kodak Theatre. Combining Hollywood insider Robert Osborne's cogent observations and the Academy's exceptional historical and photographic archives, this book is unrivaled in illustration, accuracy, and completeness. Softcover, 439 pp. $75.00.
 All
About Oscar: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards
Emanuel Levy
A book for all film lovers! All About Oscar covers 75
years and builds on Emanuel Levy's well-known work on the Academy
Awards. Ever wonder how Oscar got its name? Who has been nominated
the most times without winning? Why more than a billion people worldwide
watch every year? Here are the answers! Softcover, 400 pp. $25.95.
 Hollywood: Dreams Made Real: Irving Thalberg and the Rise of MGM
Mark A. Viera
Ben-Hur, Flesh and the Devil, Tarzan the Ape Man, Grand Hotel, Mutiny on the Bounty, A Night at the Opera, The Good Earth -- all of these classic films have one man in common: Irving Thalberg. Running Universal studios at the age of twenty and cofounding MGM at twenty-four, he was the quintessential movie mogul, producing hundreds of films and launching dozens of careers. In this fascinating volume, acclaimed film historian Mark A. Viera tells the story of Thalberg's short but prolific life and confirms his role as the prime architect of the Hollywood studio system. Hardcover, 240 pp. $55.00.
 You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story
Richard Schickel
You must remember this is the companion to Richard Schickel's five-hour television documentary commemorating the 85th anniversary of Warner Bros. Studios. The story of Warner Bros. is entwined with America's place in the 20th century, and here, for the first time, that story is told with incisive depth and candor. Hardcover, 480 pp. $53.50.
 The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History
Jim Piazza & Gail Kinn
You are invited to share eighty years of stars and statues, directors and presenters,
all the winners and losers, and all the glamour and gossip that is Oscar. Get
the full story and all the facts: memorable images, behind-the-scenes and on-camera
anecdotes, and unabridged lists by year and category of every nominee that has
ever heard his or her name called on the brightest night in Hollywood. Softcover,
359 pp. $31.50.
 American Movie Critics: An anthology from the silents to now
Edited by Philip Lopate
American Movie Critics, now published in an expanded edition, is an
anthology of unparalleled scope that charts the rise of movies as art,
industry, and mass entertainment. Softcover, 760 pp. $19.95.
 The Devil's Guide to Hollywood
Joe Eszterhas
The Devil's Guide to Hollywood distills everything one of Hollywood's most accomplished screenwriters knows about the business, from writing advice to negotiation tricks, from the wisdom of past players to the feuds of current ones. Eszterhas dispenses advice as only he can: with his tongue planted firmly in cheek and a certain finger extended good-naturedly towards the sky. His tips on how to survive in Hollywood are based on his own rugged, real-life experiences, and are not just useful but vastly entertaining as well. Softcover, 397 pp. $17.25.
 Boffo!
Peter Bart
In Boffo! Hollywood's ultimate insider unveils the secrets behind history's biggest blockbusters, proving that sometimes you've got to look back to go forward. Twenty-seven hits from film, television, and theatre are presented here - from The Lord of the Rings to the granddaddy of all blockbusters, The Birth of a Nation - each offering a provocative question and fascinating lesson for today's would-be hitmaker. Softcover, 325 pp. $21.95.
 Hollywood Be Thy Name: African American Religion Film, 1929-1949
Judith Weisenfeld
From the earliest years of sound film in America, Hollywood studios and independent producers of "race films" for black audiences created stories featuing African American religious practices. Judith Weisenfeld explores how these cinematic representations reflected and contributed to complicated discourses about race, the social and moral requirements of American citizenship, and the very nature of American identity. Softcover, 341 pp. $32.95.
 America First
Mandy Merck
At a time when the expanded projection of US political, military, economic and cultural power draws intensified global concern, understanding how that country understands itself seems more important than ever. America First, a collection of new critical essays tackles this old problem by examining some of the hundreds of US films that announce themselves as titularly "American." Softcover, 313 pp. $38.95.
 Hollywood Politics and Society
Mark Wheeler
This book concludes with a look at the politics of show business, addressing
links between Hollywood and political activism, and films such as The
Candidate and Bulworth that have themselves engaged with the
political process. Wheeler considers the irony that despite the fact
that Hollywood is perceived as a bastion of liberalism the two most
famous actors-turned-politicians have been Ronald Reagan and Arnold
Schwarzenegger. Softcover, 188 pp. $36.95.
 Hollywood and War : The Film Reader
J. David Slocum
This film reader broadens the reader's understanding of the longstanding
and pivotal relationship between war and cinema by bringing together
key theoretical texts from a range of critical perspectives. Contributors
explore how the images, narratives, and myths of war cinema have influenced,
and, in turn, been influenced by, American social, political, and economic
development since the late nineteenth century. Softcover, 372 pp. $38.95.
 A
Star Is Found
Janet Hirschenson & Jane Jenkins
Taking us from the first casting call through head shots, auditions, meetings,
and desperate searches to fill a part, A Star Is Found gives
readers behind-the scenes access to the machinery of star-making. Recounting
their remarkable shared career that started at Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope
studio, the authors tell the funny and fascinating stories of discovering and
casting then-unknown stars like Julia Roberts, Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio,
John Cusack, Matt Damon, Winona Ryder, Jennifer Connelly, Brendan Fraser, Virginia
Madsen, Joaquin Phoenix, Meg Ryan, and Benicio Del Toro, as well as share insights
about the many famous directors for whom they've worked. Softcover, 307 pp. $18.95.
 Silent
Traces: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Charlie Chaplin
John Bengston
Explore the traces of early Hollywood hidden within Charlie Chaplin's timeless
films. This stunning work of cinematic archeology combines Chaplin's movie images
with archival photographs, vintage maps, and scores of then-and-now comparison
photographs to conjure up the silent movie era from an entirely new perspective.
Softcover, 300 pp. $33.95.
 How
I Broke into Hollywood: Success Stories from the Trenches
Pablo F. Fenjves & Rocky Lang
How I Broke into Hollywood shares the voices of nearly
fifty Hollywood survivors as they revisit the highs and lows of their
careers in their own words, dishing dirt and imparting the wisdom
they gained along the way. We learn what drew them to the industry
and what made them stay, what inspired and appalled them, and what
secrets propelled them to professional stardom. Softcover, 422 pp.
$19.95.
 Disney
War
James B. Stewart
Disney War is the breathtaking, dramatic inside story
of what drove America's best-known entertainment company to civil war,
told by one of our most acclaimed writers and reporters. Initiating when
Roy Disney abruptly resigned in November 2003 and declared war on chairman
and chief executive Michael Eisner, this epic story -- with its sudden
twists, vivid, larger-than-life characters, and thrilling climax -- will
galvanize Hollywood insiders and general readers alike. Hardcover, 572pp.
$43.50.
 The
Most Typical Avant-Garde
History and Geography of Minor Cinemas in Los Angeles
David E. James
Los Angeles has nourished a dazzling array of independent cinemas: avant-garde
and art cinemas, ethnic and industrial films, pornography, documentaries,
and works from many other far-flung corners of film culture. David E.
James brilliantly analyzes scores of off-beat movies as he reconfigures
Los Angeles, rather than New York, as the true center of avant-garde
cinema in the United States. Softcover, 548 pp. $41.95.
 American
History and Contemporary Hollywood Film
Trevor McCrisken & Andrew Pepper
Hollywood has always been fascinated by America's past, but never more so than
in the past fifteen years. Bringing exciting new perspectives to how and why
Hollywood has sought to repicture American history, this book offers analysis
of more than twenty mainstream contemporary films, including The Patriot, Amistad,
Glory, Ride with the Devil, Cold Mountain, Saving
Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line, Pearl Harbor, U-571, Platoon, Born
on the Fourth of July, Heaven and Earth, JFK, Nixon, Malcolm
X, Ali, Black Hawk Down , and Three
Kings. Softcover, 227 pp. $34.50.
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