Entertainment & Performing Arts

Kenan Thompson is Saturday Night Live’s longest-ever-serving cast member and a star of such pioneering sketches as “Black Jeopardy” and is hugely beloved thanks to a tidal wave of nostalgic fans who grew up on early 2000s classics All That, Good Burger, and Kenan & Kel on Nickelodeon....

The beloved star of Friends takes us behind the scenes of the hit sitcom and his struggles with addiction in this candid memoir.

Comedian Trevor Noah offers listeners a glimpse into his childhood during apartheid in South Africa in this award-winning memoir.

In the mid-70s, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up....

Before Liz Lemon, before Weekend Update, before Sarah Palin, Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: A recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV....

Wildflower is a portrait of Drew Barrymore's life in stories as she looks back on the adventures, challenges, and incredible experiences of her earlier years....

From a massively successful stand-up comedian and co-host of chart-topping podcasts “2 Bears 1 Cave” and “Your Mom’s House,” hilarious real-life stories of parenting, celebrity encounters, youthful mistakes, misanthropy, and so much more....

Since his first performance at the legendary New York nightclub “Catch a Rising Star” as a 21-year-old college student in fall of 1975, Jerry Seinfeld has written his own material and saved everything....

A wryly funny and surprisingly moving account of an extraordinary life lived almost entirely in the public eye....

A five-time Moth GrandSLAM winner and bestselling novelist shows how to tell a great story - and why doing so matters....

Go behind-the-scenes with Duane "Dog" Chapman, star of the hit reality show Dog the Bounty Hunter and two-time New York Times bestselling author, as he shares new stories about his faith in Jesus, family, and the discovery of God's grace at work throughout his life.

Beneath the streets of London there is another London. A subterranean labyrinth of sewers and abandoned tube stations. A somewhere that is Neverwhere....

A memoir of leadership and success: The executive chairman of Disney, Time’s 2019 businessperson of the year, shares the ideas and values he embraced during his 15 years as CEO while reinventing one of the world’s most beloved companies....

The long-awaited first work of nonfiction from the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: a deliriously entertaining, wickedly intelligent cinema book as unique and creative as anything by Quentin Tarantino....

The Perfect Story will help you take your stories and make them perfect. Learn how to take any story and make it perfect--from storytelling expert Karen Eber, whose TED Talk on the subject has nearly two million views....

Filled with empowering, easy-to-follow tips for crafting stories that forge lasting bonds with friends, family, and colleagues alike, this book will help you connect authentically with the world around you and unleash the power of story in your life.

From actor Cary Elwes, who played the iconic role of Westley in The Princess Bride, comes a first-person account and behind-the-scenes look at the making of the cult classic film....

How do master storytellers compel us? There have been many attempts to understand what makes a good story, but few have used a scientific approach....

Surely You Can’t Be Serious is the first-ever oral history of the making of Airplane! by the creators, and of the beginnings of the ZAZ trio (Zucker, Abrahams, Zucker) – charting the rise of their comedy troupe Kentucky Fried Theater in Madison, Wisconsin all the way to premiere night....

Rich in vivid detail and character, and steeped in the glamour and grit of professional ballet, The Swans of Harlem is the forgotten story of a pioneering group of five Black ballerinas and their fifty-year sisterhood, a legacy erased from history—until now....

This heartfelt and wry career memoir from the director of Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall, About Last Night, and Glory gives a dishy, behind-the-scenes look at working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood....

At 95, the legendary Mel Brooks continues to set the standard for comedy across television, film, and the stage. Now, for the first time, this EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner shares his story in his own words....

Robin Williams was a singularly innovative and beloved entertainer. He often came across as a man possessed, holding forth on culture and politics while mixing in personal revelations....

Robert McKee's screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress, and putting major screenwriting careers back on track....

In Catching the Big Fish, internationally acclaimed filmmaker David Lynch provides a rare window into his methods as an artist and his personal working style....

Crafting a list of the top ten Korean dramas of all time presents a rich tapestry of storytelling, character development, and cultural impact. These dramas have resonated with audiences for their compelling narratives, memorable performances, and emotional depth. Let's delve into each one.

The sad truth: It takes me 8 back to back shots of 100 proof alcohol to get drunk, and my buzzing is the average persons alcohol poison. A 750 ml bottle a day (Fifth) and I didn't start drinking until I was 30 years old, I'm 42 now. How? Why? As I write this hiding in a 4X8 shed in the middle of the desert in New Mexico, I wonder myself. There is no lessons to be learned from this book, no preaching, no teaching. I'm drinking whiskey as I'm typing this. So to all my fellow Unapologetic Alcoholics, enjoy, and have a drink on me.

Enter the world of director and producer Don Mischer, who has notched a lifetime of history-making moments with Beyoncé and Baryshnikov, Willie Nelson and Muhammad Ali, Olympic flames, inaugurations, and Prince in the rain.

Updated for 2020 and beyond! A lot has changed since the original edition of Street Smarts in 2012, so this covers everything new, from fake news & bias to dealing with social media, and more. Of course some things never change, so the original text is included as well.Whether you're still in college, just starting out, looking for that next job, simply trying to navigate the minefield of office politics, or want to be a better broadcast journalist, you'll find advice to help you avoid the mistakes that can derail your career... and tips to help you enhance it.Because you don't need to be ...

Because sometimes, we just need to cry. Make Me Cry, Please is an essay by James J. Caterino, the author of Reviews and Essays, 50 Films, My Encounter with the Partridge Family, sort of, The Girl Out of Time, What If, The Address Book, and much more.

At the height of the Civil Rights movement, Lydia Abarca was a Black prima ballerina with a major international dance company—the Dance Theatre of Harlem, a troupe of women and men who became each other’s chosen family. She performed in some of ballet’s most iconic works with other trailblazing ballerinas, including the young women who became her closest friends—founding Dance Theatre of Harlem members Gayle McKinney-Griffith and Sheila Rohan, as well as first-generation dancers Karlya Shelton and Marcia Sells. The Swans of Harlem is a riveting account of these five accomplished women.

The book draws on history and sociology, and more personally on the author's early career as a professional cellist, as well as on his later work as a city planner and social thinker. It traces the evolution of performing spaces in the city; the emergence of actors, musicians, and dancers as independent artists; the inequality between performer and spectator; the uneasy relations between artistic creation and social and religious ritual; the uses and abuses of acting by politicians. The Janus-faced art of performing is both destructive and civilizing.

This book is an invaluable and inspirational material for the film, television and theater professional. It helps directors, actors, writers, designers, producers and executives tap into their imagination and instincts, in turn helping them create the films they’ve always dreamed of creating.

"The World of Bob Newhart" offers a delightful exploration into the comedic universe of one of America's most iconic entertainers. With his signature dry wit and understated charm, Bob Newhart invites audiences on a journey through the everyday absurdities and eccentric characters that populate his comedic landscape.

"According to Bob Newhart" offers a captivating glimpse into the comedic genius and profound insights of one of America's most beloved comedians. With his trademark deadpan delivery and keen observational humor, Bob Newhart invites audiences into his world, weaving together a tapestry of wit, wisdom, and laughter.

Gerard Hoffnung at the Oxford Union, Dec 4th 1958 presents an unforgettable evening of wit, whimsy, and musical merriment courtesy of the beloved humorist and musician, Gerard Hoffnung. Taking center stage at the prestigious Oxford Union on December 4th, 1958, Hoffnung charmed and delighted audiences with his unique blend of comedic brilliance and musical talent.

Harlem 1969; it's the height of the Civil Rights era and the community is still reeling from the assassination of Martin Luther King. Arthur Mitchell, the first Black principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, takes his protest to the stage and establishes the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Here begins the story of the five extraordinary women at the heart of this book. This is a book about ballet, the enduring allure of ballet for young girls, and about how these pioneers broke into a world that was closed to them and changed ideas of what a classical dancer could be.

Continuing the series begun three years prior, David Keyes publishes his sixth anthology of writing from the Cinemaphile blog. Contained in this new book is 91 essays penned during the 2016 calendar year, including a larger selection of current releases.

On a chilly Monday morning in 1935, a young maid opened the garage door of a Southern California seaside villa onto a grim scene. Her employer, a popular motion picture comedienne, lay dead in the front seat of her expensive automobile. Within hours, the news of Thelma Todd’s death was making headlines throughout the nation. Was it murder, suicide, or accident? Cast against the background of Hollywood and Los Angeles, the film industry and the growing metropolis, her death baffled both the public and the investigating authorities. After numerous attempts to solve the mystery over the last...

"Heartbeat Dance" creates an exquisite tapestry of life's intricate dance. It depicts Emily and Mark's journey as each step, and misstep brings them closer to an unthinkable harmony that neither could have imagined before they met. Change provides them with their dance floor, challenging their musical accompaniment. Together, they dance - not always in perfect unison, but always united. At the core of their movements and within the unpredictable twists and turns of life, a symphony of love begins to unfold - an unexpected yet tender melody that fills their hearts with an unforgettable ...