Waltzing with Brando
Waltzing with Brando

Author: Bernard Judge

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780982622643

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Waltzing with Brandois the story of a young Los Angeles architect who found himself, quite unexpectedly, living on an unpopulated atoll in the South Pacific with his client, Marlon Brando. Bernard Judge recounts his life changing experience while discovering the culture of Polynesia and Tahiti in the early 70's, before mass tourism, electrification and the automobile changed everything. The book is filled with amusing anecdotes about his famous client. It exposes Marlon Brando the man, not the actor, his foibles and eccentricities and regales the reader with Brando's ridiculous exploits with women. It is also a narrative about Tetiaroa, Brandon's private atoll, about living in nature without despoiling the environment. Questions are asked. Should a hotel be built? What are the consequences? It tells of how Brando and his architect came to an understanding, an appreciation for the atoll's archeology, its ecology, and the interdependence of its marine life, sea birds and nesting turtle grounds. It is an unusual convergence of adventure, of reaching for a dream, and a compelling love story richly told and illustrated with beautiful historic photographs of the period.

The South Sea Island
The South Sea Island

Author: Frits Andersen

Publisher: Aarhus Universitetsforlag

Published: 2024-02-07

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 8775974460

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When the first European explorers ventured into the unknown Pacific Ocean, their minds were filled with tales of remote, paradisiacal islands. Hopeful ideas of noble savages, ecological balance, and immense riches gave them the courage to search for a new world – even when faced with the unimaginable. The South Sea Island – A Geography of Pleasure is a journey through the history of ideas and literature over three centuries of European and American narratives about islands, oceans, and archipelagos. Literary scholar Frits Andersen reads and analyses travel accounts, paintings, films, and novels from the 18th century up until the present day by visual artists and authors including Paul Gauguin, Herman Melville, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jules Verne, and Thor Heyerdahl. These readings, combined with Andersen’s eye for pleasure, sense, and longing, give rise to a novel literary history of the disappearing Pacific islands. At the same time, the book offers historical models that we can use today to enhance our understanding of, and find new answers to, global political and climate-related challenges. Frits Andersen is a professor of Comparative Literature at Aarhus University, Denmark. His previous works include The Dark Continent? Images of Africa in European Narratives about the Congo (2016). The Danish edition of this book, entitled Sydhavsøen. Nydelsens geografi received the Georg Brandes Prize.

Memoirs of A Professional Cad
Memoirs of A Professional Cad

Author: George Sanders

Publisher: Dean Street Press

Published: 2015-03-02

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 1910570052

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What might we dare to expect from an actor's autobiography, even one from a star as personable as George Sanders? In the case of Memoirs of a Professional Cad, we possibly get more than we deserve. George Sanders undoubtedly led a colourful, glamorous and even action-packed life, spanning the peak years of Hollywood's golden age. But the greatest joy of his memoirs is how funny they are, and how penetrating their author's wit. Endlessly quotable, every chapter shows that the sardonic charm and intelligence he lent to the silver screen were not merely implied. George's early childhood was spent in Tsarist Russia, before he was obliged to flee with his family to England on the eve of the Russian Revolution. He survived two English boarding schools before seeking adventure in Chile and Argentina where he sold cigarettes and kept a pet ostrich in his apartment. We can only be grateful that George was eventually asked to leave South America following a duel of honour (very nearly to the death), and was forced to take up acting for a living instead. Memoirs of A Professional Cad has much to say about Hollywood and the stars George Sanders worked with and befriended, not to mention the irrespressible Tsa Tsa Gabor who became his wife. But at heart it is less a conventional autobiography, and more a Machiavellian guide to life, and the art of living, from a man who knew a thing or two on the subject. So we are invited to share George's thought-provoking views on women, friendship, the pros and cons of therapy, ageing, possessions, and the necessity of contrasts ( Sanders' maxim: 'the more extreme the contrast, the fuller the life'). Previously out of print for many decades, Memoirs of A Professional Cad stands today as one of the classic Hollywood memoirs, from one of its most original, enduring and inimitable stars. This edition also features a new afterword by George Sanders' niece, Ulla Watson. 'Even when asking a hatcheck girl for his coat, he conveyed the impression of a malevolent cat fastidiously licking its chops over the prospect of a particularly toothsome mouse.' Salon

I Am Sorry to Think I Have Raised a Timid Son
I Am Sorry to Think I Have Raised a Timid Son

Author: Kent Russell

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2016-02-09

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0804170444

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With a chirp, a smirk, and a nod, Kent Russell crisscrosses the country, seeking immersive experiences and revelations on society’s ragged edge. He pitches a tent among the Insane Clown Posse’s fans, known as Juggalos, treks to the end of the continent to find out how a legendary hockey enforcer is preparing for his own death, and explores the Amish obsession with baseball as well as his own obsession with horror, blood, and guts. Between these reports from the world at large, Russell introduces us to his raging and inimitable forebears—above all, his large-living, volatile, hard-as-nails dad. I Am Sorry to Think I Have Raised a Timid Son is a haunting and howling portrait of America—and American manhood—and the introduction of a ferociously brilliant new voice navigating the junctures between savagery and civilization within himself.

The Leaving
The Leaving

Author: Tara Altebrando

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2016-06-07

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 1619638045

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Six were taken. Eleven years later, five come back--with no idea of where they've been. A riveting mystery for fans of We Were Liars. Eleven years ago, six kindergartners went missing without a trace. After all that time, the people left behind moved on, or tried to. Until today. Today five of those kids return. They're sixteen, and they are . . . fine. Scarlett comes home and finds a mom she barely recognizes, and doesn't really recognize the person she's supposed to be, either. But she thinks she remembers Lucas. Lucas remembers Scarlett, too, except they're entirely unable to recall where they've been or what happened to them. Neither of them remember the sixth victim, Max--the only one who hasn't come back. Which leaves Max's sister, Avery, wanting answers. She wants to find her brother--dead or alive--and isn't buying this whole memory-loss story. But as details of the disappearance begin to unfold, no one is prepared for the truth. This unforgettable novel--with its rich characters, high stakes, and plot twists--will leave readers breathless.

One Shot the Making of the Deer Hunter
One Shot the Making of the Deer Hunter

Author: Jay Glennie

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781637328729

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A behind?the?scenes? look at the making of the Oscar winning film. 'One Shot' the making of The Deer Hunter is written by Jay Glennie, with unparalleled access to the Robert De Niro Archives.The large format book takes a comprehensive look at the landmark British film. Released to celebrate the film winning the most coveted of movie awards, the Best Picture Oscar in 1979 'One Shot' includes exclusive interviews with cast & crew (including Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Chris Walken, John Savage and many more), EMI Film producers, Universal Studio executives and a loving foreword from Jeff Bridges for his friend, director Michael Cimino.Featuring stunning on?location images, many of which have never been published before, this book is the definitive account of the unlikely and often difficult journey from page to screen of Michael Cimino's iconic film. A controversial film about a controversial war 'One Shot' details how Cimino took the playing the of Russian Roulette as a metaphor of the US involvement in Vietnam and in turn gave us one of cinemas greatest anti?war films ever. Glennie examines how with Cimino at the helm the film, initially contracted to have a running time of two hours, became a three hour and four minute epic, resulting in the budget doubling from $7 million to $14.5 million and the departure of two producers.From Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Chris Walken, famed cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and their colleagues on the film we gain an understanding of the pressures and pleasures of shooting a film on location with a director who is determined to fulfil his vision.

Marriage of a Thousand Lies
Marriage of a Thousand Lies

Author: SJ Sindu

Publisher: Soho Press

Published: 2017-06-13

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1616957913

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“What a gorgeous, heartbreaking novel.”—Roxane Gay ​​ A necessary and exciting addition to both the Sri Lankan-American and LGBTQ canons, SJ Sindu's debut novel offers a moving and sharply rendered​ exploration of friendship, family, love, and loss. Lucky and her husband, Krishna, are gay. They present an illusion of marital bliss to their conservative Sri Lankan–American families, while each dates on the side. It’s not ideal, but for Lucky, it seems to be working. She goes out dancing, she drinks a bit, she makes ends meet by doing digital art on commission. But when Lucky’s grandmother has a nasty fall, Lucky returns to her childhood home and unexpectedly reconnects with her former best friend and first lover, Nisha, who is preparing for her own arranged wedding with a man she’s never met. As the connection between the two women is rekindled, Lucky tries to save Nisha from entering a marriage based on a lie. But does Nisha really want to be saved? And after a decade’s worth of lying, can Lucky break free of her own circumstances and build a new life? Is she willing to walk away from all that she values about her parents and community to live in a new truth? As Lucky—an outsider no matter what choices she makes—is pushed to the breaking point, Marriage of a Thousand Lies offers a vivid exploration of a life lived at a complex intersection of race, sexuality, and nationality. The result is a profoundly American debut novel shot through with humor and loss, a story of love, family, and the truths that define us all.

Conversations with Mani Ratnam
Conversations with Mani Ratnam

Author: Baradwaj Rangan

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2013-12-10

Total Pages: 391

ISBN-13: 8184756909

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Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan is among Time’s ‘100 Best Movies Ever’; and Roja launched A.R. Rahman. This book, unique to Indian cinema, illuminates the genius of the man behind these and eighteen other masterly films. For the first time ever, Mani Ratnam opens up here, to Baradwaj Rangan, about his art, as well as his life before films. In these freewheeling conversations—candid, witty, pensive, and sometimes combative—many aspects of his films are explored. Ratnam elaborates in a personal vein on his choice of themes, from the knottiness in urban relationships (Agni Natchatiram) to the rents in the national fabric (Bombay); his directing of children (Anjali); his artful use of songs; his innovative use of lighting; as also his making of films in Hindi and other languages. There are fond recollections of collaborations with stalwarts like Balu Mahendra, P.C. Sreeram, Thotta Tharrani and Gulzar, among many others. And delectable behind-the-scenes stories—from the contrasting working styles of the legendary composer Ilaiyaraaja and Rahman to the unexpected dimensions Kamal Haasan brought to the filming of Nayakan to what Raavan was like when originally conceived. In short, like Mani Ratnam’s films, Conversations surprises, entertains and stimulates. With Rangan’s personal and impassioned introduction setting the Tamil and national context of the films, and with posters, script pages and numerous stills, this book is a sumptuous treat for serious lovers of cinema as well as the casual moviegoer looking for a peek behind the process.

Paul Thomas Anderson: Masterworks
Paul Thomas Anderson: Masterworks

Author: Adam Nayman

Publisher: Abrams

Published: 2020-10-20

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 168335916X

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An illustrated mid-career monograph exploring the 30-year creative journey of the 8-time Academy Award–nominated writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson has been described as "one of American film's modern masters" and "the foremost filmmaking talent of his generation." Anderson's ï¬?lms have received 25 Academy Award nominations, and he has worked closely with many of the most accomplished actors of our time, including Lesley Ann Manville, Julianne Moore, Daniel Day-Lewis, Joaquin Phoenix, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. In Paul Thomas Anderson: Masterworks, Anderson’s entire career—from Hard Eight (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), Magnolia (1999), Punch Drunk Love (2002), There Will Be Blood (2007), The Master (2012), Inherent Vice (2014), and Phantom Thread (2017) to his music videos for Radiohead to his early short ï¬?lms—is examined in illustrated detail for the ï¬?rst time. Anderson’s influences, his style, and the recurring themes of alienation, reinvention, ambition, and destiny that course through his movies are analyzed and supplemented by ï¬?rsthand interviews with Anderson’s closest collaborators—including producer JoAnne Sellar, actor Vicky Krieps, and composer Jonny Greenwood—and illuminated by ï¬?lm stills, archival photos, original illustrations, and an appropriately psychedelic design aesthetic. Masterworks is a tribute to the dreamers, drifters, and evil dentists who populate his world.