Amazon.com
This is essential reading for anyone interested in directing or acting. Judith Weston's brilliance is to recognize that directors, actors, writers, and technicians are involved in a process that is at essence a collaboration. In order for them to have the best shot at creating something true and meaningful, they must share a language and a method of exchange that fosters creative cooperation. Weston rightly sees the director as the central figure in inspiring the energy of a production's harmony. She advises the prospective director on every aspect of a stage or film production, showing how the director can draw the best performances possible from actors.
Book Description
Internationally-renowned directing coach Weston demonstrates what constitutes a good performance, what actors want from a director, what directors do wrong, script analysis and preparation, how actors work, and shares insights into the director/actor relationship.
Customer Reviews:
Buy this book now!.......2007-04-15
If you are even thinking that this book might be of some interest to you, I can assure you it will change the way you work -- all for the good. Weston has boiled down and focused the art of getting a performance in a clear and brilliant manner. What else can I say, why are you still reading this - buy it. Simple.
Simple techniques that WORK!.......2007-02-05
Judith Weston has outlined for the director (of any performance, not just film) quick and effective ways to communicate and elicit the performance you want... at the very least, you will get something different. I am an actress who has had the privilege of working with Judith and her directors. I have seen the process in action. I've used it. When someone has truly applied the techniques that this book recommends, it doesn't matter if the actors have just started, or if they're old pros, with vastly different methods, the performances are fresh. The performances change. The performances improve! READ THIS BOOK!
No other book on acting or directing comes close.......2006-10-18
This book isn't just for directors. It is an invaluable resource for actors as well. I've taught film and video acting for a number of years and never found a book that was worth having students read even part of. Until this one. Unlike most books on acting which focus on techniques that may work great on stage but are worse than disastrous on film, Judith Weston goes under the surface of acting and directing to the core of what a close-up camera needs to see. That, in a nutshell, is "lending the character your unconscious," so that absolutely nothing looks (or is) fake or "pretend." Even more importantly, she provides down-to-earth, extremely effective techniques for directors that support and demand genuine, affect-free performances. She discusses the creative process of the director at a level that is not idiosycratic or based on her personal "style" (as so many books for directors and actors do). Her advice is both common-sensical and deeply insightful, it's what every good director knows but often can't articulate consistently enough. Don't miss this book if you work in film or video, whether you are a director, actor, teacher, editor, DP, AD, or even a gaffer. After reading Weston, you will see every aspect of the actors performances more truly and clearly, and find yourself finding new ways to get the most out of every second on screen. One of those books that changes your life by telling you what you already knew more clearly than you ever thought it could be said, and giving you fresh new ways to put it into practical use. Highest recommendation.
the best book on directing actors.......2006-02-17
This book teaches the most important skill a director can possess: getting great performances from actors.
She breaks things down into logical bits and helps you avoid many common mistakes directors make, such as giving unplayable directions, giving too many directions, talking too much, etc.
She writes with wisdom, insight, and humor.
If you're a director or a wannabe director, do the world a favor and read this book so the world has better performances to watch.
This book is the best kept secret in show business. An even more valuable secret is her workshop, which she teaches regularly in L.A. as of this review (Spring 2006).
Great beginner book.......2005-10-14
I agree with Thor Vadir's review in that it did favor the actor more often than not. But that is ok as long as you are aware ahead of time.
As a very first time director, I read this book through 2x before my shoot. It is a 40 min short film with paid actors.
It was very helpful as a true newbie.
This, coupled with some experience under my belt, has given me a great start to my (hopeful) career.
Product Description
This is a Signed - Limited Edition book which comes with a 45 minute CD of Steve McQueen reviewing his scripts for the movie Tom Horn. This book covers Steve McQueen's final 3 1/2 years up to and including his untimely death from Cancer. Includes around 400 Color and Black & White Photos taken by Barbara McQueen.
Customer Reviews:
A Must for McQueen Fans.......2007-03-10
Wow, the photographs are beautiful and highly personal. It's like seeing a private photo album from this marriage. Plus the text is informative and revealing. I'm so glad this part of Steve's life is now so well documented.
It goes perfectly on my coffee table.
The Real Steve McQueen.......2007-03-10
Intimate, touching, insightful, sometimes hilarious passages into the life of The King of Cool, Steve McQueen. We live in such a visual, media oriented world that we tend to get preconceived notions of who movie stars are, based on what we see. The world saw Steve McQueen as the ultimate man- handsome, macho, cool, someone they could spend their hard-earned bucks on back in the day and get their money's worth at the theater. Barbara McQueen, his widow, saw the real Steve McQueen. She got to know Steve, the family man; Steve, the man who loved the great outdoors and his morning constitutional; Steve, the great mashed potato guru, airplane and motorcycle enthusiast. "The Last Mile" shows how little we all knew of his kindness and philanthropy; how little we knew of his yearning for happiness and how he ultimately found it. The photos in this book will enchant you, leave you wanting more. One of my favorites is one where Barbara embraces Steve from behind. That photo alone is worth the book to me. Beautiful model, handsome superstar, real people worn out from what life has dealt them. You can see it in their faces. It makes me sigh everytime I see it because there's not one person I know who hasn't been to that point and had nothing left but an embrace. You will love this book and you will want more. I guarantee you.
Steve McQueen: The Last Mile.......2007-03-10
This book takes you into the very intimate and private world of Steve McQueen between 1977 and 1980.
Consisting of approximately 150 color photos (most of which were taken by his wife Barbara McQueen) and accompanied by Barbara's recollections of their time together.
Unlike some other photobooks where you sense you are watching the star pose, this book shows you the absolutely unguarded and relaxed side of the man as he goes about his daily life, talking to friends, tinkering on his bikes, dozing in an armchair or washing down the pavement outside his airplane hanger.
These are the sort of photos you would usually never see of a movie star - Steve in the morning before he has showered, looking drowsily over a hot mug of coffee, househunting in Montana with Barbara, or lying asleep on the living room floor with his pet dog lying on top of him.
You really feel like you have stepped into Steve and Barbara's house, it is that personal.
The text accompaniment is also very entertaining and educational as Barbara shares her memories of how Steve wooed her, the initial problems he had to overcome in winning her parents approval of the relationship, his personal lessons to her on how to dismantle and rebuild a motorcycle (sadly unsuccessful) or a gun (successful), how he came to propose, and many other intimate and fun moments. Overall it takes you through their entire relationship and serves as something of an autobiography in itself.
All these photos are beautifully presented in a high gloss large coffee table book format.
Released with the first limited edition run of the book is a 45 minute audio CD of Steve verbally working through the script of the film "Tom Horn". It is fascinating to hear him talk about his vision of the film, rework the script and plan his character. You get a real sense of the epic film he wanted Tom Horn to be (but was denied due to the studio slashing the budget), and you realise just how insightful he was with film and acting. The amount of thought he puts into his role should forever dispel the notion that he just played himself on film.
Steve McQueen - The Last Mile is a very special book and no fans collection will be complete without it.
Fantastic!.......2007-03-10
A fantastic book on the last years of legend Steve McQueen! Great job by Barbara McQueen and Marshall Terrill! Touching moments! Great photos!
BITCH"EN.......2007-03-08
Just recieved "the Last Mile" in the mail. The photos and text are outstanding !! The book could have been twice as big. Great job Barbara and Marshall!!
Customer Reviews:
a very interesting book to page through.......2007-07-18
Kenneth Anger's hollywood babylon is the kind of book you can pick up and put down at any time.. I find it interesting to page through before or after I watch one of the older movies of hollywood's golden age.. I can't get enough of this sort of look into the dumpster of tinseltown.. the scandals and episodes that have been brushed under the carpet or just are no longer known about.. The list of characters that populate these pages are as colorful as they were glamorous.. and also at times hideous..
This is not very heavy reading but it is endlessly fascinating..
Thumbs down on the (myth-ridden) text, thumbs up on (some of) the pictures.......2007-07-12
What saves the sensationalistic - not to say trashy and in many places inaccurate - _Hollywood Babylon_ from being a total failure is the huge number of pictures, many shocking and some downright grisly (as in the picture of poor Thelma Todd lying done to death in her car), but mostly fascinating if sometimes nauseating (I'll talk about one of the worst offenders shortly). Which is a good thing, because frankly I want to take a bath every time I read the text to wash off the grime. We all know that Hollywood in its "Golden Age" was a long way removed from the image of saintly morality painted by its self-appointed guardians, the studio moguls - very many of whom had guilty secrets among them - chief among them, but Kenneth Anger seems to take a little too much delight in the sordidity and scandal for my own taste. What makes it worse is that he passes on a number of urban legends rather than do the boring work of get at the truth.
One of the most objectionable myths he fosters in this book, in my view, is the story that Jayne Mansfield was decapitated in the auto accident that took her life in 1967. This is simply not true. There is a ghastly photo in circulation on the web - I won't link to it but those who really want to know can Google for it - that makes it clear that her injuries, while fatal, did not result in the removal of her head. What you see on the car's crumpled hood in that photo (that Anger claims was Mansfield's noggin) is actually her wig. (And did we really need to see that photo of her dead Chihuahua? Ugh.)
If people want a really good book on Hollywood scandals, I strongly suggest they go find James Robert Parish's well-researched, evenhanded, brightly-written _The Hollywood Book of Scandal_ instead. (And that book doesn't contain any photos likely to make you lose your lunch, either!)
Juicy delicious!.......2007-05-19
If you think today's stars are misbehaved, wait til you read this! I couldn't put it down and read it in few days. Anger's style of writing is witty, sarcastic, and will compltely put you back into another era. The book focuses mainly on early, pre-code Hollywood up until Jayne Mansfield's death in 1967. There are so many juicy stories and even morbid details in this book, and tons of awesome pictures. (Although be warned- picture of Jayne Mansfield's car crash and dead dog are depressing and bloody). Includes everyone who was ever anyone- Clara Bow, Carole Landis, Carole Lombard, Marilyn Monroe, Valentino, Novarro, Judy Garland (who died on the toilet), Gary Cooper, William Randolph Hurst, Jayne Mansfield, Charlie Chaplin, etc. etc. etc. All the old legends are in here. Completely worth the price. I just wish there was a newer version.
great book and wonderful gossip.......2007-02-18
if your the type that is intrigued by anna nichole , michael jackson, brittney spears and paris hilton then get this book these people were the real hollywood deal the stars from the 20s 30s and 40s make todays stars seem like cub scouts. this book has it all sex , glamor , drugs all the stuff that will make you not put this book down . you couldnt make this stuff up if you tried .
VERY ENTERTAINING.......2007-01-12
I love reading the trash & gossip about the stars and this book provided it all. It was hard to put down and I was sorry when I finished it.
Great reading!
Book Description
Acclaimed director Judith Weston offers a deeply creative exploration on how to access and stimulate the filmmaker's most precious assets: instincts, imagination, and intuition.
Customer Reviews:
An essential and inspiring asset for all directors.......2007-08-04
Judith's book is simply an invaluable resource for anyone aspiring to direct actors. Her methods and approach to educing subtext within script are wholly applicable and comprehensive. Her insights in communicating with actors are truly inspiring and offer directors a genuine path to forge an honest, true and creative relationship. Regardless of genre, this book is an essential asset for all directors who wish to be true to their craft. Highly recommended.
Denis McArdle
Couldn't relate.......2007-04-17
The author is a higher regarded teacher of acting and directing actors, but I found the material in this book, and her other book, inaccessable. I'm certain she knows what she is talking about, but I just couldn't get into the material, which seems to be written in a stream of consciousness manner. It lacks the meat I was looking for.
It just doesn't get any better.......2006-12-16
Well, Judith Weston has done it again. This book covers even more ground than her first book. If you're interested in directing - or better yet if you are a director - then for goodness' sake, get this book.
If you wonder why her books get all these glowing reviews, it's because she helps unlock what is THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILL in directing: working with actors. Not just on a moment-by-moment basis, but in shaping your film overall as well.
And she does it in practical, concrete ways, with lots of examples. Also, the rehearsal techniques she discusses can be used in a few minutes in between takes while they're setting up lighting.
She also covers script analysis, which sounds more academic and technical than it is. It's what any good director already does on some level, but helps you do it better.
If this book were required reading for every working director, then the movies you see would be a whole lot better.
A JACUZZI FOR FILM LOVERS.......2006-12-05
If you liked DIRECTING ACTORS you will love THE FILM DIRECTOR's INTUITION.
Think of it this way: If DIRECTING ACTORS is like a nice, hot, bubble bath; then THE FILM DIRECTOR's INTUITION is like a luxurious jacuzzi you want to stay in all day and all night, soaking each molecule of your being into each of its pages.
I cried with so many quotes and revelations Judith shares with us in this book.
And, as usual, her words and knowledge and her love for the craft and actors inspired me so much!
A must read for all film lovers. Filmmakers or not!
Best book on directing other than her other one!.......2006-10-18
This book is an extraordinary, essential tutorial and rumination on the philosophy and practice of directing film actors. The only reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is that it essentially repeats the same thing her previous book (Directing Actors) said, albeit in new ways and with new depth. Read "Directing Actors" first, then I won't have to convince you to buy this one. You will know that every word from Judith Weston is solid gold, and not to be missed. Highly recommended, even if you have already read Directing Actors, as she really does go further and deeper here and presents a number of new insights and techniques that you won't want to miss.
As the subtitle suggests, her focus here is largely on script analysis and rehearsal. Of course that was a lot of her focus in the previous book, too, and she does cover many of the essentials of directing and acting here as well. I do think the book could have been half as long and been better--she tends to take ten words to say what could have been said in four. But what words! If you direct or act in film or television, there is no excuse for not owning this book. Nobody in print can "get you there" better than Judith Weston, and you are sure to gain usable ideas and genuine insights again and again as you read this. I have taught film and video acting for years, and only wish I'd had this book and her other one when I started! If you want fake, affected performances and constant conflict with your actors, no reading necessary. If you're looking for solid ways to work with actors to give life-changing performances, read this. Now.
Average customer rating:
- Pass the sick bag, Mabel
- Inspiring Audrey style
- the pictures are wonderful, the writing horrible
- The photos are superb, AND...
- A perfect book about a perfect lady
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Audrey Style
Pamela Clarke Keogh , and
Hubert de Givenchy
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
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Similar Items:
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How to Be Lovely: The Audrey Hepburn Way of Life
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Jackie Style
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Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit: A Son Remembers
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Things a Woman Should Know about Style
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The Audrey Hepburn Treasures
ASIN: 0060193298 |
Amazon.com
In 1953, When Audrey Hepburn burst onto the screen in Roman Holiday, she forever changed the international ideal of elegance, grace, and beauty. Suddenly, glamour and even sexiness seemed attainable for women everywhere; Audrey was uncommonly beautiful, but she was real--hers was a look anyone could aim for, but few could pull off as effortlessly or effectively. By mixing a few classic elements of "Audrey style"--the little black dress, ballet flats with slim capri pants, bold hats and sunglasses--suburban housewives became more Hollywood than Hoboken in an instant.
Here author Pamela Clarke Keogh introduces us to the woman behind the clothes, using words from friends, fellow actors, and designers who dressed her to paint a picture of a truly remarkable woman. A humanitarian, artist, friend, and above all, survivor, Audrey inspired women and men alike to approach life with spirit, grace, and simplicity. The nearly 100 color and black-and-white photographs, paired with original sketches from such fashion luminaries as Givenchy, Manolo Blahnik, and Vera Wang, show that Audrey was much more than a beautiful, well-dressed personality; her courage and individuality come shining through in every page. --Leah Ball
Book Description
Everyone, it seems, is a fan of Audrey's. She was Gigi, a princess, Holly Golightly, a nun, Maid Marian, even an angel. And we believed her in every role. But Audrey Hepburn was also one of the most admired and emulated women of the twentieth century, who encouraged women to discover and highlight their own strength. By example, she not only changed the way women dress--she forever altered the way they viewed themselves.
But Audrey Hepburn's beauty was more than skin deep. "You know the Audrey you saw onscreen? Audrey was like that in real life, only a million times better," says designer Jeffrey Banks. For the first time, this style biography reveals the details--fashion and otherwise--that contributed so greatly to Audrey's appeal. Drawing on original interviews with Hubert de Givenchy, Gregory Peck, Nancy Reagan, Doris Brynner, and Audrey Wilder, as well as reminiscences of professional friends like Steven Spielberg, Ralph Lauren, noted Hollywood photographer Bob Willoughby, Steven Meisel, and Kevyn Aucoin, Audrey Style brings the Audrey her family and friends loved to life.
With more than ninety color and black-and-white photographs, many of which have never before been published, and original designer sketches from Edith Head, Hubert de Givenchy, Vera Wang, Manolo Blahnik, Alexander McQueen, and others, Audrey Style gives measure to the grace, humor, intelligence, generosity, and inimitable fashion sense that was Audrey Hepburn.
Customer Reviews:
Pass the sick bag, Mabel.......2007-06-22
Even though I'm definitely an AH fan, I thought that the author went overboard with praise for Miss Hepburn's personal qualities. No doubt AH herself would be embarassed to read all this fawning and adulation.
This book attempts to combine into one an AH biography and an analysis of her fashion style. Unfortunately, both fall short. The only worthwhile text was the introduction by Hubert de Givenchy.
Inspiring Audrey style.......2005-11-16
I think Audrey Hepburn will be eternally remembered not only as one of the kindest and most generous women that has ever volunteered for Unicef, but to us women as a timeless, most graceful role model of style. She's the perfect embodiment of the adagio that in elegance less is more. Her streamlined, understated style that yet made one of the biggest statements in fashion history continues to be an inspiration to us women of the 21st century despite the forty years that separate us from "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Clarke Keogh's book captures Audrey's spirit like no other. It is beautifully illustrated and there are contributions from Hubert de Givenchy, Ralph Lauren or Gregory Peck, among other people who generously share with us souvenirs of this angel of grace that they had the chance to meet in person. Her wardrobe and makeup are meticulously reviewed and this book will prove an invaluable tool and source of inspiration for all those women who want to bring more elegance and refinement into their lives. One of the best assets in your style bookcase and one that you will gladly pass down to generations of graceful women to come.
the pictures are wonderful, the writing horrible.......2005-10-16
If they reprinted this without any words, it would get 5 stars.
Random examples of the writing:
"'Oh, they were fated to meet,' says Connie, curiously choosing the exact same words used to describe Audrey's friendship with Givenchy." (Like OMG! Someone said Audrey was _fated_ to meet Givenchy! And someone else said she was _fated_ to meet another person!)
"... she intones with the well-bred vowels of a Farmington girl, with some of her old boss, Diana Vreeland, thrown in for emphasis."
Pamela Clarke Keogh comes off like an untalented high school student in a creative writing class. You know the sort, under the impression that bludgeoning the reader with random vignettes and a morass of clauses is "descriptive."
And don't get me started on the over-the-top hagiographic nature of this book. Look, I love Audrey as much as the next person. Probably more. But how many quotes like "and she couldn't have been sweeter! So gracious! Beyond gracious! Heavenly!" do we need? There's such a thing as praising so much it becomes meaningless.
The photos are superb, AND..........2005-01-10
It's putting the quirky details together that makes this book more revealing than the standard saccharin drenched puff piece.
For example, Hepburn is quoted as saying that she wears a size 8 1/2 shoe, while the author clearly states later in the book that Hepburn wore a size ten.
Her mother's quotes, if accurate, provide convincing evidence that the Baroness Von Heemstra was more than a little jealous of her far more beautiful daughter.
The author's claim that Audrey "didn't eat during times of stress" directly contradicts close friends Audrey Wilder and Doris Brynner, who claimed that Hepburn loved to eat. As for her staying so thin due to malnutrition that "permanently altered her metabolism", this is unlikely. According to the author, Hepburn speaks of gaining twenty pounds early in her career. Other bios confirm this. Perhaps in later years Hepburn simply watched what she ate.
According to the author, Hepburn washed her hair every four or five days. She SMOKED. Whew, draw your OWN conclusions about that one!
I've found Robert Wolders a bit creepy ever since I read about him in "Queenie", a superb biography of Merle Oberon. From Merle to Audrey to Shirlee Fonda; this guy clearly has a THING for wealthy, older glamour girls. He's always described as an actor/businessman. Hmmmmmmm.
An additional strength of this book is its focus on her personal fashion philosophy--not just her association with Givenchy.
Audrey Hepburn is my absolute favorite and always will be. She had many lessons to teach; not only about beauty and elegance, but also about tolerance, grace and kindness. No star of today can compare.
PS-I'm just tucking into the Barry Paris book, which is FAR more in depth. I recommend following Audrey Style with this one if you haven't already read it.
A perfect book about a perfect lady.......2004-06-08
I really like this book-it really shows what an absolutely beautiful lady she was-she certainly was very sensual and sexy.She knew how to project herself without going overboard-
the lady had class and it really showed.There aren't any actresses like Audrey anymore-I really miss her.
I highly recommend getting this book.
Book Description
Popular cult author and show business insider James Parish exposes the scandals that rocked Tinseltown
Nothing intrigues the public more than a good, juicy scandal. Add a famous Hollywood star or two to the mix and the nation is hooked. The Hollywood Book of Scandals provides the full account of 32 big, provocative scandals—complete with all the sexy, scintillating, and often shocking details. Written by veteran show business chronicler James Robert Parish, this book dishes the full dirt on:
- Bob Crane’s mysterious death
- Elizabeth Taylor’s seduction of Eddie Fisher
- Robert Mitchum’s arrest for drug possession
- Judy Garland’s public meltdown
- Errol Flynn’s trial for statutory rape
- Winona Ryder’s shoplifting trial
More than 100 black-and-white celebrity photos offer readers a close-up look at the leading players in these sordid dramas.
Customer Reviews:
Those who like this book really like it, those who don't really hate it.......2007-07-12
There's not much space, it seems, for in-betweens, but place me firmly in the "like" camp, especially since I've talked up this book favorably in reviews of several other Hollywood-gossip books here on Amazon. I will say I'm also in Parish's corner. I haven't read a _bad_ book from him yet, IMO. His "Hollywood Book Of..." series specializes in relatively short, punchy articles that are well-researched (certainly in comparison to some other books in this genre), evenhanded and crisply written. While the photos are not always anything special (his series on actresses features much better selections of pictures), they're also usually well-chosen and a lot less sensationalistic than, say, _Hollywood Babylon's_ selections.
Another reviewer questioned why Cary Grant's rooming with Randolph Scott should even be considered a scandal in 2007, which misses the point. It's not that it's not scandalous now, in 2007; the point is how it was regarded _back then_. If Parish doesn't make it clear in that particular instance, he generally does elsewhere in the book (for instance, in his analysis of the Fatty Arbuckle scandal, where it was clear both at the time and now that Arbuckle was a railroaded, innocent man; in fact, Parish explodes the myth of Virginia Rappe's innocence and demonstrates that key (false) testimony was given by a friend of Rappe's who had an axe of her own to grind).
No book is perfect, though, and my own quibble is that Parish covers some material that's already been gone over in other books in the present series, while leaving out other material that clearly deserves inclusion. Specifically, I'm thinking of his section on the Woody Allen-Mia Farrow breakup, which was already discussed at length in "The Hollywood Book of Breakups". The space devoted to that rehash could have been used, instead, to talk about - for instance - the David Begelman check-forgery scandal (where actor Robert Stack discovered his name signed to a check he didn't draw or cash, which was ultimately traced to then-studio head Begelman).
All in all, though, I have no hesitation in recommending this book.
Poor book, badly disjointed, rehashing scandals most people already know about.......2007-03-24
I found this book to be very disjointed, badly organized, and even poorly written. The list of "scandals" is the same old list of tired stories, innuendo, and might-have-beens that every movie fan and scandal fan likely knows about already. Worse, some of the occurrences Parish lists aren't really even scandals - the fact that Robert Blake was tried for his wife's murder may be a scandal, but in 2007 is the fact that Cary Grant shared a house with a fellow male star even slightly scandalous? The only scandal is in those who judged him, one way or the other.
In addition, this book could have benefited from thorough copy editing and fact-checking. There are many minor and major factual errors and, in addition, many typos and grammatical errors.
I don't recommend this book.
I read this book before because it was WRITTEN before..........2006-09-04
If you have read the Hollywood Babylon books, then there is really no need to read this one. It is a rehash of what was in those books.
The only reason you might want to read this one is to save yourself reading the other two or maybe you have no clue at all about these scandals and want to catch up.
I found the book hard to follow in general. Overall I can't tell if this was a repeat by intention or what. I like John Robert Parish too, so this is no slam on him. I just don't get the point, but he isn't the first guy to so something over.
The Hollywood Book of Scandals.......2006-07-29
The scandals themselves were interesting however I found the book hard to read. Some of the information was repetitive from chapter to chapter and it was not well written. I was looking for something that I could just pick up an read a story at a time and this was not the book for that.
Debbie Davis could only like this book........2006-06-24
Only a short bus rider like Debbie davis could love this book.This book is the second book in a row this parish character wrote and its boring an old news from the old tabloids.Unless you have lived under the dirt there is nothing new here. Just an obvious attempt to make money. This has been done much better by better writers like Bob Thomas and James bacon and Earl Wilson!!!!- Note- one reviwer wrote Don Johnston of Beach Boys wrote I write the songs. His name is Bruce dear.
Book Description
After turning his lifelong obsession with famous girls on film into the Internet phenomenon known as MrSkin.com, the Skinmeister General has now compiled his expert knowledge and skinsationally witty way with a phrase into an authoritative, uproarious book that you'll never tire of flipping through---single-handedly, of course!Mr. Skin's Skincyclopedia compiles exhaustive information on more than two-thousand starlets and the films in which you can witness them free of clothing. Every actress bio contains a complete list of movies in which she's appeared naked, as well as the specific body parts that are exposed. In addition, Mr. Skin picks each star's Skinfining Moment--- the single skinematic high point that defines her carnal career.The Skincyclopedia also comes packed with top-ten lists, revealing quotes from the bare beauties themselves, and a host of rare, eye-popping photos---all delivered in Mr. Skin's signature puntastic style. Spanning nearly a century of cinematic history, the Skincyclopedia unveils the silver screen's naked truth from the silent era to the blockbuster to the straight-to-DVD age of today, along the way revealing the answers to questions such as: Did Marcia from The Brady Bunch ever bust out her Brady bumps? Can you name the 1990 flick that features Jennifer Connelly sunbathing nude? Is it Farrah's right or left Fawcett that takes flight in Saturn 3? What are the Top Ten Most Leztastic Girl-Girl Scenes of all time? Which twentysomething Hollywood honey once declared, "My boobs are fine---they go with my body"? How many Academy Award--winning actresses have displayed their Golden Globes on film? Got "furburgerage"? These and countless other fleshly film facts get laid bare in Mr. Skin's Skincyclopedia0, the definitive guidebook for the "movie buff" in all of us!
Customer Reviews:
Skin is In!!!.......2007-05-29
From cover to cover this book is full of usefull knowledge. You can search by actress, movie, or tv show. I purchased this book for my brothers birthday. I even had to buy my own copy.
Decent book, but the website is incredible!.......2006-04-10
This book is decent enough, but not the Skincyclopedia it claims to be. As others have said, it is not kept up to date, and doesn't have complete listings including times. Mr. Skin's website, however, is the absolute ultimate! For simple reference, it's absolutely free and complete resource constantly updated. For a fee, it will give you film clips and still photos of all the scenes mentioned!
So, this is a very basic reference, but the website is the ultimate guide.
Walt D in LV
NOT WHAT I EXPECTED!.......2006-03-20
THOUGHT IT WOULD BE PICTURES BUT IT WAS JUST A SOURCE OF WHERE TO FIND THE FILMS AND PICTURES AND SO ON.
worthwhile actress resource.......2006-03-02
If you ever wanted to know, this is the book to find out.
Easy to read,concise resource.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!.......2005-11-19
Not sure where to start and I don't want to write to see how i write. Mr. Skin must be getting commissions on the orders readers make per his recos. He and his group don't see "naked" with the same criteria. Some descriptions are understated, most are overstated.
Average customer rating:
- Only "Some" of her
- "Is Being Remembered a Kind of Antidote to Death?"
- I want to hang out with Isabella Rossellini
- european grace
- An enjoyable piece of film history
|
Some of Me
Isabella Rossellini
Manufacturer: Random House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Similar Items:
-
Isabella Rossellini: Looking At Me: On Pictures and Photographs
-
In the Name of the Father, The Daughter, And The Holy Sprirts: Remembering Roberto Rossellini
ASIN: 0679452524
Release Date: 1997-06-02 |
Amazon.com
Some of Me is full of magic realism, moral elegance, and monstres sacrés. Though Isabella Rossellini deliberately chooses to reveal only bits of herself in her anecdotal new memoir, what amazing aspects they are. The photos tell part of the story: alongside Vogue covers and sumptuous magazine spreads, there are odder images--Ingrid Bergman in a balaclava; Rossellini sprawled on a chair with her potbellied pig and dog sprawled on her, all three looking equally pensive.
But, oh, the prose! More provocative than ten tell-alls stacked together, Some of Me is an analyst's treasure trove and a reader's delight. There is something for everyone. Those interested in Rossellini's rise and fall as the Lancôme model will find indignant if good-humored fodder--she warns some to skip ahead "if you can't stand boring." But even those of us who wish we didn't know all those supermodels' names will find this section intriguing. Rossellini also provides some intriguing insights into her often bizarre film roles. There are, though, more bravura sections in this memoir. Who knew that Rossellini still communes with her dead parents? The author prints some of their debates verbatim, though she has already warned: "It's a habit of mine to embellish and color events until I lose sight of what really happened." Rossellini also takes on more upsetting memories such as the painful treatment she underwent for scoliosis and the thoughtless questions people ask about her adopted child. At one point, she remarks, "True elegance is for me the manifestation of an independent mind." Some of Me is a truly elegant manifestation.
Book Description
She writes of her mother, Ingrid Bergman: "Second to acting, Mother loved cleaning, which is not to say she loved even that above me. I'm sure she loved me more than cleaning, but what made her happiest was combining the two."
She writes of her father, Roberto Rossellini: "My father was a Jewish mother ... When we were children (there were seven of us) one of our favorite games was throwing ourselves into Daddy's body. Lying on his side, he pretended to be the sow and we were the piglets."
She writes about her famous nude scene in David Lynch's
Blue Velvet, and of posing for such world-renowned photographers as Richard Avedon, Bruce Weber, and Steven Meisel. About being fired as the face of Lancome because she dared to become forty, and about the two years of scoliosis that blighted her adolescence. She talks -- candidly but discreetly -- about the men in her life: her ex-husband Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, and Gary Oldman. And she conducts intimate and extended dialogues with her beloved dead parents.
This book is utterly original, human, and provocative. Like the author herself.
Customer Reviews:
Only "Some" of her.......2004-07-06
Isabella Rossellini lays bare some of her life in "Some of Me," an autobiography that reads like a prism -- it splits her life into many images, while never really forming a whole. It's an intriguing read, with plenty of interesting details about a unique life, but somehow Rossellini never quite bares her soul.
Rosselini writes about her childhood in Italy, with movie icon Ingrid Bergman as a mother, and revolutionary filmmaker Roberto Rossellini as a father. She reluctantly entered acting -- and almost stopped forever when her first film was a flop -- and became a Lancôme cosmetics model, only to be fired for her age. She tells of her son's adoption, her battle with scoliosis, her failed marriage to Martin Scorsese, and the background of her vast mixed family.
"Some of Me" is less like an autobiography than snapshots of Rossellini's life. It's non-linear, darting from adulthood to childhood to adolescence with no order. She doesn't explain much about her husbands and lovers, but explains plenty about the wet nurse who cared for her and her twin sister as babies.
Rossellini gives the feeling of being at peace with the world -- she's gotten past her initial heartbreaks and problems. Some strong emotions -- grief at her mother's loss, anger at Lancôme's attitude towards her -- seep through. But Rossellini never really bares her deeper emotions or her soul. This book is like having a deep conversation with her: you will hear about her life, but won't be able to really get down and deep.
Despite that, Rosselini has a bright style, full of melancholy and humor. She relates conversations with her now-dead parents, talks about pelting the paparazzi with rocks, and Audrey Hepburn's dirty fingernails. She lets readers see another side of Ingrid Bergman -- a loving neat-freak, who calmly tells her daughter that she's acquainted with the F-word.
"Some of Me" is an apt title -- it gives us part of the picture, and leaves you feeling that parts of it are still hidden. Isabella Rossellini's book is engaging, but somehow feels unsatisfying.
"Is Being Remembered a Kind of Antidote to Death?".......2002-08-21
I don't usually run up and get a book autographed by the author. But person at the luncheon was mesmerizing. I sat there and thought about her mother Ingrid Bergman, her trials and tribulations, her remarkable beauty, her astonishing talent, and her warmth and genuineness. It was a wonderful and heartwarming 2 hours. I think everyone felt they had met a friend. The book? It covers the waterfront, written in crisp, clear, engaging style. Honest, memorable, including her unforgettable encounters with Anna Magnani, Katharine Hepburn, Martin Scorsese (ex-husband), Gary Oldman. Film, modeling, Television, businesswoman, human being. "Is being remembered a kind of antidote to death? Is fame a sor of eternity? A remedy to the sadness of the end? Does having a famous mother, whoisstill seen every day on TV smiling, crying, walking, talkin, maker her death different, less definitive than other deaths?" This book will last!
I want to hang out with Isabella Rossellini.......2001-11-28
My mom and I have this barometer of how personable a celebrity seems. If they seem like someone we'd get along with, we say he/she could "live on our street". I liked Isabella so much, she could be my next-door neighbour! (I'm even pretty sure she wouldn't mind that I just called her by her first name!)
I loved this book! It's funny and real, and Ms. Rossellini comes across so charmingly, flaws and all. It's not a linear autobiography--it skips about from her childhood to early adulthood willy-nilly, and doesn't strictly stick to reporting things that happened in her life. She gives a lot of insight into her own personal philosophy that somehow gives the book a much more friendly, conversational tone than the typical memoir. If I had to have a complaint, I'd wish that she were a little more gossipy about her famous husbands/boyfriends, but that's just not her style.
european grace.......2001-04-26
Isabella was fired from Lancome because the American market isn't open to the idea of 40 year old representing their products. In France, 50 year old Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve (ahh Deneuve...) have both been equal symbols of sex and obsession for decades. In America it is quite different. Isabella knew that going into the contract with Lancome. She knew that one day she would have to be replaced by younger and slimmer Uma Thurmans of the World. Perhaps it isn't fair but that's how the american market operates (oh c'mon beauty, youth and sex sells). I found her analysis on the subjec almost phony. But the real reason I read the book is that I find both her parents Bergman and Rossellinia true exemple of pure European grace. I, therefore, certainly appreciated the antecdotes and memories.
An enjoyable piece of film history.......2000-10-14
This book is an enjoyable read. Isabella Rossellini has a knack for a clever turn of phrase and she guides the reader through a witty recollection of her life. If you're looking for scandal or hot gossip, you're going to be sadly disappointed. Rossellini has chosen to write a breezy look at her complicated, and often controversial, life. She is Ingrid Bergman's daughter; Americans don't know her father. Her mother inspires awe in the hearts of Americans. In the minds of most American audiences, her father is simply the lover who caused Bergman's ruin in the '50s. Rossellini had some idea of her parents' scandalous relationship, but she was sheltered from most of it because she lived in Italy. Any discussion of Rossellini's life must begin with an examination of her parents and their effect upon their daughter. Bergman was an actress first, and a mother second. She valued her career more than her life as a mother. Rossellini does not portray her mother as a monster, or a lunatic who brandishes wire hangers at every turn. Ingrid Bergman is a complicated woman whose love of film and acting infused her entire life. She loved her children -- and she did not mistreat them -- but her first love was her acting career. As a daughter, Rossellini resented her mother's devoting to her career but she never questioned it. She never questioned her father's relationship with her mother, who was married at the time that she became involved with Roberto Rossellini. A major scandal ensued. Bergman exiled herself in Italy for many years. Upon her return to America in 1958, she won an Academy Award for her performance in Anastasia. Rossellini never explores her mother's feelings about being forced to leave America because of the scandal, nor do we get a full portrait of their marriage. Rossellini was not an attractive man, and it must have been his mind and his artistry that attracted Bergman to him. Writing about Rossellini's mother is unavoidable. Isabella Rossellini is the daughter of a famous actress. Her mother was the repository of the audience's dreams and ambitions. They wanted to be her, look like her, talk like her. It is now Isabella's turn to be that repository of dreams. Isabella Rossellini undertook this role when she became the exclusive model/spokeswoman for Lancome cosmetics. The campaigns were an enormous success, and profit margins for Lancome went up considerably. Rossellini was often known more for her Lancome ads than her film career. Lancome was not a company that prided itself on tact and personal warmth. When the company perceived Rossellini as too old, they tried to force her to resign so that they would not experience a public relations nightmare. Isabella refused to resign and the company terminated her employment. The company obviously underestimated the public, which was outraged that Rossellini had been fired. The company eventually hired Juliette Binoche, who looks suspiciously like Rossellini, for other Lancome ads. Rossellini simply reports these events; she does not make judgments about the people involved. She states the facts as she sees them, which brings up another interesting point about this book. Isabella Rossellini intentionally lies throughout large chunks of this book. She revels in her deceptions, as when she says that she gave birth to two children when she actually adopted her son. She is a natural storyteller and she weaves an interesting portrait of an actress struggling to define her own identity. One such defining moment was the film, Blue Velvet. Rossellini portrayed a brutalized torch singer in David Lynch's bizarro cinematic concoction. In one scene, she emerges from the bushes completely naked, bruised, and beaten. During the filming of this difficult scene, fans lined up with picnic baskets and chairs to watch Rossellini film the scene. Rossellini went to Lynch, and asked him to remove the people from the location, as she did not believe they should watch this difficult scene. David Lynch did nothing. She performed the scene in front of the crowd, and afterward, the audience left. They could not handle the difficult nature of the scene. Lynch's refusal to protect Rossellini's privacy as an actress makes his forays in cinematic misogyny completely
understandable. Rossellini's relationship with Lynch is not understandable. She does not detail the relationship but it is difficult to fathom why an intelligent woman would become involved with such a loony schmuck. Her marriage to Martin Scorsese also does not come under much scrutiny except for an affair with another man that produced her daughter. I wanted to know why she linked herself to men that create films which are so openly hostile. Rossellini does not provide me with that kind of analysis, but what she has provided is a wonderful, light trifle of a read. Immensely readable, it is evidence that Rossellini is more than just her mother's daughter.
Book Description
A master actor who's appeared in an enormous number of films, starring with everyone from Nicholson to Kermit the Frog, Michael Caine is uniquely qualified to provide his view of making movies. This new revised and expanded edition features great photos throughout, with chapters on: Preparation, In Front of the Camera - Before You Shoot, The Take, Characters, Directors, On Being a Star, and much more. "Remarkable material ... A treasure ... I'm not going to be looking at performances quite the same way ... FASCINATING!" - Gene Siskel
Customer Reviews:
listen to what the man says..........2007-03-06
acting is acting and if you can act onstage, you can act on-camera, probaly true but still before you make your move to the silver screen, read this book...Michael Cain reveals insider secrets, tips and straight forward talk about acting from a grand master..what a gem of a book for anyone interested in film...
Nothing but net..........2006-11-10
This book is short and sweet, right to the point and actually pretty fun to read. Michael Caine knows what he's doing (ridiculously obvious comment of the day) and he gives a lot of great tips to actors and filmmakers alive. I am a director and I've read dozens of books on directing and there are things in this slim volume that I have never seen anywhere else.
Spot On.......2006-11-02
Michael Caine's awareness of what makes screen acting different than the stage, and his ability to perform with that awareness and then share it with others is a gift to all actors, as well as those who want to understand what makes an actor great and a movie superb or a bomb. There is nothing better for acting on screen.
a good tool for filmmakers and film actors.......2006-06-01
Caine provides a succinct account of where he's been and what he's learned in the world behind the camera. Tips are thrown at the actor as we visit Caine's memories and experiences in film. There were only a few pieces of knowledge I was able to pull from the text in the end, and in that sense I feel a little shortchanged. But the book was an interesting and easy read, and should be read by anyone whose experience behind the camera has been very minimal or independent.
Main theme: If you want to act and entertain OTHER PEOPLE, don't treat people like [...].
Michael Kane - Acting for Film.......2005-07-29
This is important for actors. I own the video and the book and purchased another copy of the book for a gift for a friend.
Average customer rating:
- Seen the Movies? Meet the Man.
- A Definitive Biography
- Well documented Bogart bio
- EXCELLENT - TOOK YEARS OF WORK BY TWO PEOPLE.
- Great Book About The Greatest Actor
|
Bogart
A. M. Sperber , and
Eric Lax
Manufacturer: William Morrow & Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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By Myself and Then Some
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Bogart: In Search of My Father
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Burt Lancaster: An American Life
ASIN: 0688075398 |
Amazon.com
It's the season of battling Bogarts: two biographies, each worthwhile for different reasons. If you want a leisurely, formidably well-documented account of Humphrey Bogart's legendary screen career and four marriages (including a happy final one to Lauren Bacall), this is it. A. M. Sperber conducted some 200 interviews with people who knew the actor before his death in 1994; Eric Lax draws on her seven years of research to create a nuanced, in-depth, elegantly written portrait of the man recently dubbed Hollywood's greatest star by Premiere magazine.
Book Description
He was a top box-office draw in his day, an Oscar-winning actor, a principled man of rare conviction, and -- long after his death -- a cult figure revered by moviegoers who weren't even born while he was making his movies. But over the years, Humphrey Bogart has remained an enigma, despite what we have learned of him from wife Lauren Bacall's own fond memories and from the various biographies that have appeared over the years since his death in 1957.
With
Bogart, this wonderful enigma is brought under the light as never before. Although authors Ann M. Sperber and Eric Lax never met,
Bogart is a unique collaboration, combining the strengths of two prize-winning biographers. Sperber, the author of the New York Times best-selling Pulitzer-Prize finalist
Murrow: His Life and Times (1986), spent seven years before her death in 1994 amassing a vast archive of original research on the life and times of Humphrey Bogart, including more than 200 interviews she conducted with people who had known and worked with him, including Katharine Hepburn and John Huston. Eric Lax, whose
Woody Allen was a national bestseller in 1991, took over the project after Sperber's death and spent two years completing it. The result is the definitive portrait of the actor who merged his screen anti-heroism with his own staunch personal integrity in a manner new to Hollywood, fashioning a persona as timely today, forty years after his death, as it was during his own life.
Customer Reviews:
Seen the Movies? Meet the Man........2006-12-10
The definitive bio of one of Filmdom's Gods.
You will learn alot about the man as actor, and human being, and about Hollywood in the Golden Age here.
Fantastic!
A Definitive Biography.......2006-07-18
Bogart is the definitive biography of Humphrey Bogart. A. M. Sperber, who also wrote a marvelous book about Edward R. Murrow, has done painstaking research that included over 200 interviews. I have previously read the short biography of Bogart by Joe Hyams and Lauren Bacall's autobiography, which helped to gauge some of the information in this book. A. M. Sperber died before she could complete this book so it was completed by Eric Lax.
This is the kind of book that is difficult to put down; a well written book that moves along giving a non-judgmental view of its famous subject. What I came away with was a much broader portrait of Humphrey Bogart and the realization of how unhappy he was. An interesting revelation was that despite his success as an actor there was some regret that he not become a writer. An aspect of Bogart's life that I wish was better covered was his personal likes and dislikes. As in Lauren Bacall's autobiography, this book revealed that he was very fond of Bach and Debussy and the music of both composers was played at his funeral. This was certainly different from his tough guy image! So, although I learned a great deal about his battles with Jack Warner and Mayo and his passionate defense of the First Amendment, it is a portrait lacking a spark of life.
The book goes into detail about his childhood and his parents, who were both drug addicts and near alcoholics. As the book progresses, one can vividly see how his parents affected Humphrey Bogart's personality, making him introverted but also instilling in him the qualities of a gentleman and the Victorian ideal of doing what must be done. The book presents a balanced viewpoint of Bogart's good and bad traits, including his belligerent needling that he seems to make a change in this character during the 1950's.
One minor item that I found to be incorrect was the report in the book that the Bogart dog Harvey had to be put to sleep. Lauren Bacall said in her autobiography that Harvey died at the veterinarian's office shortly after she visited him of a heart attack. Otherwise, this is an impressive book that anyone who has an interest in Humphrey Bogart will want to read.
Well documented Bogart bio.......2005-10-12
Several years ago, the American Film Institute, Entertainment Weekly, and Premiere magazine all named Humphrey Bogart the greatest film star of all time, a selection few film buffs would argue with. Like John Wayne and Cary Grant, Bogart was larger than life, yet, unlike them, he was also down in the dirt with the rest of us. An average guy in many ways, the characters he played beat the odds, but only after enormous effort and struggle.
A.M. Sperber's generally excellent biography shows that Bogart the icon and Bogart the man shared many similar traits. Though the son of a wealthy doctor and his artist wife, there was a dark side to Bogart's outwardly pampered life. His mother was distant, his father was addicted to morphine, and the young boy and his sisters, one of whom suffered from mental illness, were abused by the servants. Bogart was an academic failure with little hope for success until distinguishing himself on Broadway with his classic portrayal of Duke Mantee in "The Petrified Forest."
But even when Hollywood beckoned, life didn't get easier for the insecure actor. While James Cagney, George Raft, Paul Muni, and Edward G. Robinson were "stars" who got the best roles Warner Bros. had to offer, Bogart was taken for granted, a mere contract player who played supporting roles in the important projects, and spent years buried in a series of undistinguished B flicks churned out on the Hollywood assembly line. Well paid, especially by Depression era standards, he nonetheless struggled to support his ailing sisters and to pay off his late father's debts.
Today, it's hard to believe his employers took so long to recognize the charisma and talent that Bogart would bring to "High Sierra" and "The Maltese Falcon," both of which were intended for that great non-entity George Raft. "Casablanca," of course, made Bogart the biggest star on the Warner lot, and Sperber shoots down the myth that both Raft and Ronald Reagan were initially considered for the role of Hollywood's ultimate romantic hero. For once, a role was tailor-made for Bogart, and the legend was born.
Bogart's early life isn't covered as thoroughly as hoped, but that's not a surprise since most of those who could provide insight into the future superstar had died long before Sperber began her book. But the career is well documented, and the man behind the myth emerges as a flesh and blood figure, a fiercely intelligent and generally admirable one, on every page.
Brian W. Fairbanks
EXCELLENT - TOOK YEARS OF WORK BY TWO PEOPLE........2002-03-13
No question, by the time you finish this book, you are whirling with knowledge of Humphrey Bogart, whom no one can ever really know because he was so complex with a mixture of his shadow and light side that it seems he was the most confused of all about himself. One thing is certain: He had a great, great talent, and his films are as much loved today as when he was in his prime.
Several things are left out of the book, and I wonder why. One is the fact that Mr. Lax states that Bogart's sister was a great financial responsibility for him as she was in a private sanitarium for mental illness. In 1955 Frances Bogart Rose was a patient in the Metropolitan State Hospital (for the mentally ill) at Norwalk, California. She was allowed occasional visits to the Bogart home, but her return was always a concern because of the heavy drinking at Bogart's home and its effects on her. Perhaps it was at an earlier time that she was in a private sanitarium, but Mr. Lax gives the reader the impression it was for life. Since Bogart, who died in 1957, left her no bequest in his will (in spite of leaving small bequests to the household cook and his secretary), one can assume he knew she in some way would be cared for during her lifetime
Another issue not covered is Bogart's involvement with women during his mariage to Bacall, which even Bacall speaks of in her autobiography, stating she did not find out about some of the women until after Bogart's death (perhaps the best documented claim is about the young lady who cut his children's hair, a total opposite from Ms. Bacall). Yet the author points out Ms. Bacall's attractions (and in the case of Adlai Stevenson, she obviously had fallen in love). As Bacall states in her book, she did not have an actual affair because she knew that Bogart would leave her if she did. This is not to say they did not love each other deeply. Perhaps if she had not rejected another great love of his life, his yaught and sailing, and snooted the crew, preferring instead to attend Hollywood parties, the time and experiences they could have shared there would have resulted in a more close-knit bond. On the other hand, she was only twenty when she married him, and the fact that she lived with such a complex and difficult man until his death says something for her.
This book packs you with a wallop because it is so well written, very well researched and documented, the photos are great. Remember, he was an extremely heavy drinker and all his activities were lived under a cloud of alcohol or the affects of alcohol, even his greatest preformances. A gentleman and a boor. crude and erudite. kind and cruel. But talented, talented, talented!
Great Book About The Greatest Actor.......2000-04-26
If you go by the poll by the American Film Institute[...],Humphrey Bogart was the greatest actor EVER, numero uno. Iwholeheartedly agree, having seen just about all of his movies overthe years. I used to catch some of them on the Late Show(or even Late Late Show)while babysitting back in high school days, then over the years I've started collecting his films. Bogie was a very complex, highly intelligent man-considering he hated school, he was one smart, tough cookie(sorry-couldn't resist). Expertly researched and detailed, the book is chock full of photos & filmography info at the end. Of the Bogart biographies out there, this one stands out from all the rest. Highly recommended.
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