Director Biography

Best known for his horror/sci-fi/fantasy films including Phantasm, The Beastmaster, Bubba Ho-tep, and John Dies at the End, now Don Coscarelli’s taking you on a white-knuckle ride through the rough and tumble world of indie film. This memoir fits an entire film school education into a single audiobook. It’s loaded with behind-the-scenes stories and will prove indispensable for fans of Coscarelli’s movies, aspiring filmmakers, and anyone who loves a story of an underdog who prevails while not betraying what he believes.

Jess Oppenheimer, "the brains" behind I Love Lucy, weaves this wonderfully entertaining tale of how his life experiences led him to create the iconic sitcom. Packed with humorous behind-the-scenes stories of stars like Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, William Frawley, Jack Benny, Douglas Fairbanks, and Fred Astaire.

Over the course of her sixty-five-year career, the longest of any female filmmaker, Agnes Varda (1928-2019) wrote and directed some of the most acclaimed films of her era. She helped to define the French New Wave, inspired an entire generation of filmmakers, and was recognized with major awards at the Cannes, Berlin, and Venice Film Festivals, as well as an honorary Oscar at the Academy Awards. In this lively biography, Carrie Rickey explores the "complicated passions" that informed Varda's charmed life and indelible work.

Throughout his five-decade career, film director Abel Ferrara—now in his seventies—has been one of cinema’s most provocative and critically revered figures. Since beginning as an independent filmmaker in Manhattan in the early 1970s—before “indie films” were a genre—and refining his craft as a director for the TV show Miami Vice, he has directed more than thirty feature films, most notably the cult classics Bad Lieutenant, King of New York, and Dangerous Game.

The first book ever written about FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover by a member of his personal staff - his former assistant, Paul Letersky - offers unprecedented insight into an American legend.

Alfred Hitchcock: A Complete Guide to the Life, Films, and Legacy of the Master of Suspense is the definitive introduction to one of cinema’s most influential directors. From his beginnings in silent film to his Hollywood masterpieces like Psycho, Rear Window, and Vertigo, Hitchcock redefined the thriller and transformed how audiences experience suspense. This comprehensive guide takes readers through Hitchcock’s entire career with clarity and depth. Inside, you’ll discover his early British films, his groundbreaking innovations in visual storytelling, his collaborations with ...

The enigmatic and elusive filmmaker Stanley Kubrick has not been treated to a full-length biography in over twenty years. Stanley Kubrick: An Odyssey fills that gap. This definitive book is based on access to the latest research, especially Kubrick's archive at the University of the Arts, London, as well as other private papers plus new interviews with family members and those who worked with him. It offers comprehensive and in-depth coverage of Kubrick's personal, private, public, and working life.

THE MAN WHO MADE THE WORLD AFRAID TO LOOK AWAY Behind every masterpiece of suspense lies a secret… and behind Alfred Hitchcock lay a shadow that refused to die. For over half a century, Alfred Hitchcock ruled Hollywood with his camera, his silence, and his genius. But behind the calm, droll smile and polished English wit was a man haunted by fear, driven by obsession, and consumed by the need to control everything—and everyone—around him. The Shadow Behind the Camera: The Untold Story of Alfred Hitchcock pulls back the curtain on the most shocking, little-known truths of cinema’s ...

Billy Wilder: A Complete Guide to the Life, Films, and Legacy of Hollywood’s Master Storyteller is the definitive resource for anyone who loves classic cinema and wants to understand one of its greatest creative minds. From noir masterpieces like Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard to beloved comedies like Some Like It Hot and The Apartment, Billy Wilder’s career spanned nearly five decades and reshaped the possibilities of film. This comprehensive book explores his remarkable journey from his beginnings in Vienna and Berlin to his rise as an Academy Award–winning director in ...

It is my personal memoir of everything I learned while assisting my mentor, Brian De Palma, which prepared me for my own successful career as a director on over 50 movies, including Elvira’s Haunted Hills and the De Palma-esque thriller Acting on Impulse starring Nancy Allen (Carrie, Home Movies, Dressed to Kill, Blow Out). It is also a coming out story of my transition from a 19-year-old closeted teenager raised in the conservative South, to marrying a woman, and then finally becoming an openly-gay adult in New York City.

Legendary sitcom director James Burrows has spent five decades making America laugh. Here listeners will find never-revealed stories behind the casting of the dozens of great sitcoms he directed, as well as details as to how these memorable shows were created, how they got on the air, and how the cast and crew continued to develop and grow. Burrows also examines his own challenges, career victories, and defeats, and provides advice for aspiring directors, writers, and actors.

On March 17, 2005, Spamalot debuted on Broadway to rapturous reviews for its star-studded creative team, including creators Eric Idle and John Du Prez, director Mike Nichols, and stars Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce, Sara Ramirez, Tim Curry, and more. But long before the show was the toast of Broadway and the winner of three Tony Awards, it was an idea threatening to fizzle before it could find its way into existence. Now, Eric Idle shares original journal entries and raw email exchanges, revealing the sometimes bumpy, always entertaining, path to the show’s unforgettable run.

De danske jøder flygtede over hals og hoved i oktober 1943 og måtte de forlade deres hjem, ejendele, formue, arbejde, virksomheder osv. uden varsel. Bogen følger en række familiers skæbne og fortæller den hidtil ukendte historie om jødernes hjemkomst. Hvad skete der, mens de var væk, og hvordan blev de taget imod, da de vendte hjem i 1945? Af danskerne som medmennesker og af den danske stat. Det er fortællingen om, at Danmark også her var et særtilfælde under Holocaust, men også en rystende historie om svigt og misbrug.

Orson Welles: The Complete Guide to His Life and Films is an in-depth exploration of one of cinema’s greatest and most complex figures. From his meteoric rise with Citizen Kane to his legendary battles with Hollywood studios, Welles’s career was as dramatic as the films he created. This book offers readers a comprehensive journey through his early life, groundbreaking theater and radio years, his Hollywood triumphs and struggles, his European masterpieces, and his enduring influence on generations of filmmakers. Inside, you’ll discover: The bold early experiments of the Mercury ...

Stanley Kubrick: The Complete Guide to the Films, Themes, and Legacy of a Visionary Director is your ultimate deep dive into one of the most influential filmmakers in cinema history. From the haunting corridors of The Shining to the infinite mysteries of 2001: A Space Odyssey, this comprehensive guide explores every film Kubrick directed—examining his groundbreaking techniques, recurring themes, and cinematic impact. Spanning early noir thrillers like The Killing to the enigmatic final masterpiece Eyes Wide Shut, each chapter offers insightful analysis and behind-the-scenes context that ...

Today's most acclaimed film directors reveal intimate behind-the-scenes details of their most influential work and their unique approaches to their art. In the companion to the Silver Plaque-winning Starz/Encore documentary series, this book offers interviews with 13 top filmmakers. Contains each director's filmography, complete listings of major awards, and cast credits for all films discussed.

Before he was producing the musical hits of our generation, Jeffrey was just a kid coming to terms with his adoption, trying to understand his sexuality, and determined to escape his dysfunctional household in a poor neighborhood just outside Detroit. We see him find his voice through musical theater and move to New York, where he is determined to shed his past and make a name for himself on Broadway. But moving to the big city is never easy—especially not at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis—and Jeffrey learns to survive and thrive in the colorful and cutthroat world of commercial theatre.

Stanley Kubrick revolutionized Hollywood with movies like Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and A Clockwork Orange, and electrified audiences with The Shining and Full Metal Jacket. David Mikics takes listeners on a deep dive into Kubrick's life and work, illustrating his intense commitment to each of his films.

Victoria Alonso takes listeners on her journey from Argentina to America to Hollywood and illuminates the ways everyone can live in a heightened state of possibility and use their voice for change. “If it has been done, you can do it. But if it hasn’t been done, you should.” It was these words from Victoria Alonso’s mother that imbued in her the power of possibility. First as a young person in Argentina living through a dictatorship, then as a nineteen-year-old alone in America, saying yes to possibility again and again laid the path for Victoria to become who she is today.

El Director es un retrato íntimo de las encrucijadas éticas, las relaciones personales, las amistades y deslealtades que se viven cuando se ocupa el despacho de uno de los grandes diarios del país. David Jiménez hizo carrera cubriendo guerras, desastres y revoluciones durante casi dos décadas antes de ser nombrado director de El Mundo. Lo que parecía un reto ilusionante - dirigir el diario en el que entró como becario a los 23 años.