This revised and greatly expanded edition of a well-established reference book presents 5105 feature length (four reels or more) Western films, from the early silent era to the present. More than 900 new entries are in this edition. Each entry has film title, release company and year, running time, color indication, cast listing, plot synopsis, and a brief critical review and other details. Not only are Hollywood productions included, but the volume also looks at Westerns made abroad as well as frontier epics, north woods adventures and nature related productions. Many of the films combine genres, such as horror and science fiction Westerns. The volume includes a list of cowboys and their horses and a screen names cross reference. There are more than 100 photographs.
The Actor's Business Plan is a self-directed practical guide for actors graduating from formal training programs, as well as for those already in the business whose careers need to move ahead more successfully. Using the familiar language of acting training, the book offers a method for the achievement of dreams through a five-year life and career plan giving positive steps to develop a happy life as an actor and as a person. It assists performers to flourish using the same kind of business/career planning that is a necessary part of life for entrepreneurs and business people. This introduction to the acting industry provides essential knowledge not only for how the business actually works, but also describes what casting directors, agents, and managers do, demystifies the role of unions, discusses how much things cost, and offers advice on branding and marketing strategies. It differs from other such handbooks in that it addresses the everyday issues of life, money, and jobs that so frequently destroy an actor's career before it is even begun. While addressing NYC and LA, the guide also gives a regional breakdown for those actors who may wish to begin careers or to settle in other cities. It is loaded with personal stories, and interviews with actors, casting directors, and agents from throughout the US. The Actor's Business Plan is the answer to the common complaint by students that they were not taught how to negotiate the show business world while at school. It is the perfect antidote for this problem and can easily fit into a ten or a thirteen-week class syllabus. Offering support as a personal career coach, empowering the actor to take concrete steps towards their life and career dreams, The Actor's Business Plan: A Career Guide for the Acting Life is a must-have book for actors who are determined to be a part of the professional world .
To win a screen role, an actor must learn to contend with an on-camera audition. Understanding how to make the crucial adjustments to one’s craft that this kind of audition requires is vital to the career of any screen actor. Auditioning On Camera sets out the key elements of a successful on-camera audition and explains how to put them into practice. Joseph Hacker draws on 35 years of acting experience to guide the reader through the screen auditioning process with an engaging and undaunting approach. Key elements examined include: textual analysis knowing where to look dealing with nerves on-camera interviews using the environment retaining the camera’s focus The book also features point-by-point chapter summaries, as well as a glossary of acting and technical terms, and is a comprehensive and enlightening resource for screen actors of all levels.
Flickering Empire tells the fascinating yet little-known story of how Chicago served as the unlikely capital of American film production in the years before the rise of Hollywood (1907–1913). As entertaining as it is informative, Flickering Empire straddles the worlds of academic and popular nonfiction in its vivid illustration of the rise and fall of the major Chicago movie studios in the mid-silent era (principally Essanay and Selig Polyscope). Colorful, larger-than-life historical figures, including Thomas Edison, Charlie Chaplin, Oscar Micheaux, and Orson Welles, are major players in the narrative—in addition to important though forgotten industry titans, such as "Colonel" William Selig, George Spoor, and Gilbert "Broncho Billy" Anderson.
Theater veteran and acting teacher Joanna Merlin has written the definitive guide to auditioning for stage and screen, bringing to it a valuable dual perspective. She has spent her career on both sides of the auditioning process, both as an award-winning casting director who has worked with Harold Prince, Bernard Bertolucci, and James Ivory, and as an accomplished actor herself. In this highly informative and accessible book, Merlin provides everything the actor needs to achieve self-confidence and artistic honesty–from the most basic practical tips to an in-depth framework for preparing a part. Filled with advice from the most esteemed people in the business, such as James Lapine, Nora Ephron, and Stephen Sondheim, and charged with tremendous wisdom and compassion, this indispensable resource will arm the reader to face an actor's greatest challenge: getting the part.
Based on 20 years in the industry as an actor, producer, writer and director, Know Small Parts is real life advice from someone who's lived it. The Foreword is written by Academy and Golden Globe Award winner Richard Dreyfuss and the book contains behind-the-scenes stories of Quentin Tarantino, Leonardo DiCaprio, Shirley MacLaine, David Carradine and Tony Scott, among many others. This clear-eyed, realistic step-by-step guide offers wisdom on breaking down a scene, standing out at an audition, talking to celebrities, how to work without representation, developing marketing materials, landing commercials, creating your own momentum, what to do when it all goes wrong, working outside Los Angeles, surviving rejection, how to get clothing for the red carpet and much, much more. With information for beginners and pros alike, it's not just invaluable insight for actors looking to mark their mark in the industry, it's great advice for anyone looking to take control of their destiny. Filled with specific examples from movies and television, the book also reveals personal, often funny, stories from the author's own journey through successes and blunders turning minutes into moments and moments into a career. "She is a role model... and a true leading lady. Enjoy what she has to say and see if you can see yourself in her journey." Kevin Costner (Academy and Golden Globe Award Winner) "She's nailed the daily life of an actor in LA about as perfectly detailed as it gets." Richard Dreyfuss (Academy and Golden Globe Award Winner) "She has literally figured out a way to bottle lightning. I'm sure that her observations and guidance will be invaluable to the actor who is looking to make his or her mark in the film world and to build a career, moment by moment." Lou Diamond Phillips (Golden Globe Nominee) "She knows what a director wants and what an editor needs to tell the story. She's the real deal." Dennis Christopher (Golden Globe Nominee) "Laura has strength, courage and the conviction and - pardon my French but, the balls - to hold on to her place in this business. Read her book and you'll find out how." Joanna Cassidy (Golden Globe Winner) "After 30 years in casting....I feel like Laura was sitting on my shoulder all these years. She has expertly explained key notes for an actor to know and understand pursuing their career. An Actor is in "SHOW" and 'BUSINESS." This book helps the Know How!" Victoria Burrows (Casting Director: Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, Cast Away) "Laura Cayouette is a working actress that also has a happy, well-balanced life. Figuring out how she manages this feat is certainly worth a read." Reginald Hudlin (Producer: Django Unchained; Director: Boomerang) "I write off most of these books. But this one I can't. It stands far above most giving smart, logical, realistic and poignant advice." George W. Perkins (Executive Producer: Desperate Housewives, 3-time Emmy Nominee) "Laura's smart, sensible and no nonsense step by step approach to achieving a career as an actor is certain to be the new bible for everyone yearning to break into the biz." Adam Rifkin (Writer/Director. Showtime's Reality Show, Detroit Rock City, Mousehunt) "A must read gift for actors. Laura Cayouette, a successful actor and renowned journalist thoroughly lays out a path to artistic fulfillment and success. Bravo! The Dude Abides." Jeff "The Dude" Dowd (Producer, movie marketing maven) "A clear eyed, detailed, no nonsense guide to the often mysterious world of TV/Film auditioning and performing. Laura's experience as an actor and producer gives her a 360 view of the process which she shares in the voice of your audition guru; she's been to the mountain and returned with all the wisdom you'll ever need." Alicia Ruskin (Agency Partner: Kazarian/Spencer/Ruskin & Assoc.)
Celebrate the centurys' finest movies in The Rough Guide to 21st Century Cinema, a lavishly illustrated homage to the world's best movies of this new era of cinema. The best 101 films: a run down of the finest films of the millenium from Hollywood blockbusters to indie gems. The hottest stars: features on the up and coming actors and actresses who have made a mark. The winning genres: best-in-class features on drama, comedy, horror, sci-fi, animation, documentary, superhero movies and all the genre-mash ups in between. The unsung heroes: the finest talent behind the camera, including directors, cinematographers, set designers and special effects specialists. The Rough Guide to 21st Century Cinema is the essential companion to movies of the moment. Now available in ePub format.
