Classic Film Books at Book Expo America

A recent business trip took me to New York City for Book Expo America, the largest and most well-known book industry convention. Although my work schedule was packed, I was lucky enough to have some time to meet two very wonderful ladies.

On the first day of the show, I headed over to The Overlook Press booth at the Javits Convention Center to meet Farran Smith Nehme, better known as the Siren of the acclaimed classic film blog The Self-Styled Siren. I've been wanting to meet her for a long time and was pinching myself that the moment had finally arrived. Farran wrote a novel called Missing Reels which The Overlook Press is publishing in November of this year.

Here's a summary of the book from the publisher:

New York in the late 1980s. Ceinwen Reilly has just moved from Yazoo City, Mississippi, and she’s never going back, minimum wage job (vintage store salesgirl) and shabby apartment (Avenue C walkup) be damned. Who cares about earthly matters when Ceinwen can spend her days and her nights at fading movie houses—and most of the time that’s left trying to look like Jean Harlow?

One day, Ceinwen discovers that her downstairs neighbor may have—just possibly—starred in a forgotten silent film that hasn’t been seen for ages. So naturally, it’s time for a quest. She will track down the missing reels, she will impress her neighbor, and she will become a part of movie history: the archivist as ingénue. 

As she embarks on her grand mission, Ceinwen meets a somewhat bumbling, very charming, 100 percent English math professor named Matthew, who is as rational as she is dreamy. Together, they will or will not discover the reels, will or will not fall in love, and will or will not encounter the obsessives that make up the New York silent film nut underworld.

A novel as winning and energetic as the grand Hollywood films that inspired it, Missing Reels is an irresistible, alchemical mix of Nora Ephron and David Nicholls that will charm and delight

Farran was just as friendly as I thought she would be. I got to chat with her quickly at her signing and again when she stopped by my work's booth too. I really look forward to reading her novel and will treasure my signed and personalized copy.

On the last day of the show, I headed over to Hal Leonard' booth to meet Sheana Ochoa
who was signing copies of her book Stella! Mother of Modern Acting. I was very excited to meet Sheana. She's a tireless promoter and has a true passion for theater and for all things Stella Adler. Her enthusiasm is infectious and I always adore meeting intelligent and passionate people like herself.

Here's a summary of the book from the publisher:

Arthur Miller decided to become a playwright after seeing her perform with the Group Theater. Marlon Brando attributed his acting to her genius as a teacher. Theater critic Robert Brustein calls her the greatest acting teacher in America. At the turn of the 20th century by which time acting had hardly evolved since classical Greece Stella Adler became a child star of the Yiddish stage in New York, where she was being groomed to refine acting craft and eventually help pioneer its modern gold standard: method acting. Stella's emphasis on experiencing a role through the actions in the given circumstances of the work directs actors toward a deep sociological understanding of the imagined characters: their social class, geographic upbringing, biography, which enlarges the actor's creative choices. 

Always "onstage," Stella's flamboyant personality disguised a deep sense of not belonging. Her unrealized dream of becoming a movie star chafed against an unflagging commitment to the transformative power of art. From her Depression-era plays with the Group Theatre to freedom fighting during WWII, Stella used her notoriety as a tool for change. For this book, Sheana Ochoa worked alongside Irene Gilbert, Stella's friend of 30 years, who provided Ochoa with a trove of Stella's personal and pedagogical materials, and Ochoa interviewed Stella's entire living family, including her daughter Ellen; her colleagues and friends, from Arthur Miller to Karl Malden; and her students from Robert De Niro to Mark Ruffalo. Unearthing countless unpublished letters and interviews, private audio recordings, Stella's extensive FBI file, class videos and private audio recordings, Ochoa's biography introduces one of the most under recognized, yet most influential luminaries of the 20th century.

Sheana signed the book for me with a lovely personalized inscription. It was a finished hardcover too which was an extra treat! I had an egalley from the publisher but was struggling to make it work for my Nook device. So I was extra happy to get the book into my hands and I immediately started reading it on my way home. It's a wonderful book and my review of it will be up shortly.

Thank you so much to Farran Smith Nehme and Sheana Ochoa for taking the time to chat with me and pose for photos.

Hollywood Digs: An Archaeology of Shadows by Ken LaZebnik

Hollywood Digs: An Archaeology of Shadows
by Ken LaZebnik
Kelly's Cove Press
ISBN: 9780989166447
Paperback
March 2014

Hollywood Digs seeks to do what an archaeologist does when excavating a site: dig up material and put it into the context of human history. Film and television writer Ken LaZebnik unearths stories of old Hollywood through the discovery of materials, most of which are photographs. He chronicles lesser known tales of notable Hollywood figures including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dick Powell, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Samuel Goldwyn, Farley Granger, Micky Moore and other figures including the real life Gidget and painter Thomas Kinkade.

There are thirteen different chapters, each serves as its own excavation. I read this book from cover to cover, however, each chapter stands on its own and you could easily read them out of order if you wish. There is an introduction at the beginning explaining the books' purpose. The chapters don't flow together and read more like a hodge podge of stories. The whole concept of a "Hollywood Dig" works to put some semblance of cohesiveness to this book. Like with a real archaeology dig, you never know what you'll find.

My favorite of all the chapters was a lengthy one entitled "Samuel Goldwyn's Birthday: A Contact Sheet by Leigh Weiner." It chronicles the story of producer and movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn from his inauspicious beginnings as an orphan in Warsaw up until the grand eightieth birthday party thrown for him by Hollywood elite in 1962. It also tells the stories of the various figures whose images appear on the photographer's contact sheet including Harpo Marx, Eddie Fisher, George Jessel, Jimmy Stewart, Milton Berle, Shirley Jones and Frank Sinatra. I've always loved stories derived from objects and photographs. This chapter was a delight and I had fun going through the contact sheet one image at a time.

"On August 26, 1962, Goldwyn's eightieth birthday, the royalty of Hollywood gathered for a dinner in his honor. The tables were filled with carnations, as if the guests were attending a memorial service for someone who didn't want to pay for lilies. This created a floating could of flowers that bordered the faces of all the stars. The men smoked cigars; the smaller their current stature in the business, the larger the cigar. George Jessel sported an enormous stogie; Frank Sinatra had none." - Ken LaZebnik

From LIFE magazine 1962

Because all of the chapters are so different from one other, the collection as a whole is kind of a mixed bag. There were some sections I didn't care for, including one called Providence which began as an intriguing observation on Hollywood's reluctance to accept failure or to even use the term but I quickly lost interest as it developed into something else. There were a couple chapters that on first glance were not for me but I found something interesting in them. For example, the anecdotes on Peter O'Toole as found in the chapter on painter Thomas Kinkade.

I would recommend this book to a classic film and TV expert who is looking for a non-traditional book with unique and obscure stories. This book is not for a newbie; it's for a seasoned veteran looking to dig up different material.

Hollywood Digs: An Archaeology of Shadows is published by Kelly's Cove Press, a small publisher with a list that focused on California art and literature. You can only purchase this book and other Kelly's Cove Press titles from their website or from a select group of California bookstores. Traditional outlets like Barnes & Noble, Amazon or independent book stores across the country won't carry it, unless it's a used copy for reselling.

Many thanks to Kelly's Cove Press and Julia Drake PR for sending me a copy of this book to review.

2014 Summer Reading Challenge ~ Share Your Reading List

It's not too late to sign up for my 2014 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge! You have until July 15th to sign-up and until September 1st to read and write all of your reviews.

If you did sign up, please share your reading list! It doesn't have to be final and can include a variety of titles you are considering. Here is mine.

Back Street by Fannie Hurst
Dangerous Rhythym: Why Movie Musicals Matter by Richard Barrios
The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares
Life Beyond Measure: Letters to My Great-Grandaughter by Sidney Poitier
A Life of Barbara Stanwyck: Steel-True 1907-1940 by Victoria Wilson
Missing Reels by Farran Smith Nehme
Stella! Mother of Modern Acting by Sheana Ochoa
Steve McQueen: A Passion for Speed by Frederic Brun

Here are a few books that I'll be reviewing soon but won't be part of my summer reading challenge because I started/finished them much earlier.

Ann Dvorak: Forgotten Rebel by Christina Rice
Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast by Patrick McGilligan
Hollywood Digs: An Archaeology of Shadows by Ken LaZebnik

Share your list with me by commenting below! You can post your summer reading list on your blog or create a Goodreads bookshelf. I'll add your links to this post and to the main page for the book challenge.