Tom Cruise: Anatomy of an Actor


Book Description

The Anatomy of an Actor series takes ten roles by a single actor, each studied in a dedicated chapter, and identifies the key elements that made the performances exceptional - carefully examining the actor's craft for both a professional audience and movie fans alike. Tom Cruise (born 1962), first cast by Francis Ford Coppola in The Outsiders (1983), gained international notoriety in the mid-1980s thanks to Tony Scott's Top Gun (1986). One of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood, Cruise has oriented his career to blockbusters, starring in Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds (2005) and the Mission: Impossible series (1996, 2000, 2006, 2011) An accessible text combines both a narrative and analytical dimension and is illustrated by 300 film stills, set photographs and film sequences.




Al Pacino


Book Description

The first illustrated series to analyse the craft of exceptional actors




Tom Cruise


Book Description

Andrew Morton uncovers the true story of the biggest celebrity of our age. Everyone knows Tom Cruise—or at least what he wants us to know. We know that the man behind the smile overcame a tough childhood to star in astonishing array of blockbusters: Top Gun, Rain Man, Born on the Fourth of July, A Few Good Men, Jerry Maguire, several Mission: Impossible movies, and more. We know he has taken artistic chances, too, earning him three Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. But beyond that, the picture becomes a bit less clear... We know that Tom is a devoted follower of the Church of Scientology. We know that, despite persistent rumors about his sexuality, he has been married to Mimi Rogers, Nicole Kidman, and Katie Holmes. But it was not until he jumped on Oprah's couch to proclaim his love for Katie and denounced Brooke Shields for turning to the "Nazi science" of psychiatry that we began to realize how much we did not know about the charming, hardworking star. For all the headlines and the rumors, the real Tom Cruise has remained surprisingly hidden—until now.




Meryl Streep: Anatomy of an Actor


Book Description

One of the most talented actresses of her generation, Meryl Streep provides a high benchmark by which others are measured. In films such as The Deer Hunter (1978), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Mamma Mia (2008), and The Iron Lady (2010), Streep has astounded audiences with her ability to fully inhabit characters. She has received 17 Academy Award nominations and 27 Golden Globe nominations – more nominations than any other actor in the history of either award. Meryl Streep: Anatomy of an Actor is a new addition to Cahiers du Cinema, a fascinating series from the world–renowned cinema magazine. The book focuses on ten key performances, exploring the unparalleled career of Meryl Streep through narrative and analytical text accompanied by 300 images, including film stills and set photographs, as well as film sequences, script notes, and more. This thoughtful and lively examination of Streep’s craft will appeal to film professionals and casual movie fans alike.




Marlon Brando


Book Description

A beautiful new, highly illustrated, and elegantly designed series, Anatomy of an Actor explores the world's most established and favourite actors, and the characters they have played.




Robert De Niro: Anatomy of an Actor


Book Description

"The finest book on De Niro yet." – The Film Stage Best known for gangster films, Robert De Niro (b.1943) has led a rich and varied career that encompasses crime movies, musicals, comedies, period pieces and action flicks. His breakout role in Martin Scorcese?s Mean Streets (1973) sparked a decades-long collaboration with the director that included Taxi Driver in 1976 and The King of Comedy in 1983. Oscar winner for Best Actor in Raging Bull (1980), he was awarded the prestigious role of jury president at Cannes in 2011. Anatomy of an Actor titles are comprehensive studies on the craft of the world’s greatest actors, through the analysis of ten of their most iconic roles. The authors examine why and how these famous actors have become some of the most respected and influential in the film world. Each title is divided into ten chapters, each one dedicated to a specific role, and is fully documented with film stills, set photographs, and film sequences. This innovative and beautiful series on actors is accessible to enthusiastic moviegoers as well as serious cinephiles, fans and those who want to become actors.




Impossible Owls


Book Description

The acclaimed journalist’s New York Times–bestselling essay collection: “hilarious, nimble, and thoroughly illuminating” (Colson Whitehead, author of The Underground Railroad). In this highly anticipated debut collection, Brian Phillips demonstrates why he’s one of the most iconoclastic journalists of the digital age, beloved for his ambitious, off-kilter, meticulously reported essays that read like novels. The eight essays assembled here—five from Phillips’s Grantland and MTV days, and three new pieces—go beyond simply chronicling some of the modern world’s most uncanny, unbelievable, and spectacular oddities. They explore the interconnectedness of the globalized world, the consequences of history, the power of myth, and the ways people attempt to find meaning. Phillips searches for tigers in India, and uncovers a multigenerational mystery involving an oil tycoon and his niece turned stepdaughter turned wife in the Oklahoma town where he grew up. Dogged and self-aware, Phillips is an exhilarating guide to the confusion and wonder of the world today. If John Jeremiah Sullivan’s Pulphead was the last great collection of New Journalism from the print era, Impossible Owls is the first of the digital age.




Late, Late at Night


Book Description

Features four bonus videos! Watch Rick discuss the events that have shaped his life; step inside his recording studio to hear him discuss his music, his acting career, coming to America, and his love of dogs; and watch Rick's “What’s Victoria’s Secret?” music video and his unplugged version of “I Get Excited.” In a searingly candid memoir which he authored himself, Grammy Award-winning pop icon Rick Springfield pulls back the curtain on his image as a bright, shiny, happy performer to share the startling story of his rise and fall and rise in music, film, and television and his lifelong battle with depression. In the 1980s, singer-songwriter and actor Rick Springfield seemed to have it all: a megahit single in “Jessie’s Girl,” sold-out concert tours, follow-up hits that sold more than 17 million albums and became the pop soundtrack for an entire generation, and 12 million daily viewers who avidly tuned in to General Hospital to swoon over his portrayal of the handsome Dr. Noah Drake. Yet lurking behind his success as a pop star and soap opera heartthrob and his unstoppable drive was a moody, somber, and dark soul, one filled with depression and insecurity. In Late, Late at Night, the memoir his millions of fans have been waiting for, Rick takes readers inside the highs and lows of his extraordinary life. By turns winningly funny and heartbreakingly sad, every page resonates with Rick’s witty, wry, self-deprecating, brutally honest voice. On one level, he reveals the inside story of his ride to the top of the entertainment world. On a second, deeper level, he recounts with unsparing candor the forces that have driven his life, including his longtime battle with depression and thoughts of suicide, the shattering death of his father, and his decision to drop out at the absolute peak of fame. Having finally found a more stable equilibrium, Rick’s story is ultimately a positive one, deeply informed by his passion for creative expression through his music, a deep love of his wife of twenty-six years and their two sons, and his life-long quest for spiritual peace.




Acting as a Business, Fifth Edition


Book Description

The essential handbook for actors—a modern classic—in a newly updated edition. Since its original publication, Acting as a Business has earned a reputation as an indispensable tool for working and aspiring actors. Avoiding the usual advice about persistence and luck, Brian O’Neil provides clear-cut guidelines that will give actors a solid knowledge of the business behind their art. It’s packed with practical information—on everything from what to say in a cover letter to where to stand when performing in an agent’s office—including: -- Tactics for getting an agent, including preparing for the interview -- How to research who will be casting what—and whether there is a role for you—well in advance -- Examples of correspondence to agents and casting directors for both beginning and advanced professionals -- A detailed analysis of the current trend of paying to meet industry personnel -- How to communicate effectively with an agent or personal manager -- Creative ways to use the internet and social media O’Neil has updated Acting as a Business to keep up with the latest show-business trends, making this fifth edition a reference no actor should be without




FAME-ISH


Book Description

A debut collection of hilarious essays and endearing missteps on the road to becoming fame-ish—now in paperback! It’s not easy being kind of famous. Fortune. Younger men. Exclusive invites. Being mistaken for different actresses who are slightly prettier and more famous than you. It’s all part of the gig, and Mary Lynn Rajskub is a pro. Hilarious and self-deprecating, FAME-ISH is Mary Lynn Rajskub’s debut collection of riotously funny essays. Smart, satirical, and relatable, this book gives new meaning to the word icon as Mary Lynn navigates the entertainment world against the backdrop of her own quirky idiosyncrasies. She describes what it’s like to make out with Tom Cruise, be a waitress at Denny’s, and find your life’s purpose in 300 indecipherable, not-easy-steps—all in a day’s work. Mary Lynn is honest about her experiences with bisexuality, her college years as a slug, and the bright lights of stardom, ultimately giving the people what they want: an endearing, hilarious look at what it’s like to almost make a name for yourself in Hollywood.