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Film
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the landscape of television began an unprecedented transformation. While the networks continued to chase the lowest common denominator, a wave of new shows, first on premium cable channels like HBO and then basic cable networks like FX and AMC, dramatically stretched television s narrative inventiveness, emotional resonance, and artistic ambition. No longer necessarily concerned with creating always-likable characters, plots that wrapped up neatly every episode, or subjects that were deemed safe and appropriate, shows such as The Wire, The Sopranos, Mad Men, Deadwood, The Shield, and more tackled issues of life and death, love and sexuality, addiction, race, violence, and existential boredom. Just as the Big Novel had in the 1960s and the subversive films of New Hollywood had in 1970s, television shows became the place to go to see stories of the triumph and betrayals of the American Dream at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
This revolution happened at the hands of a new breed of auteur: the all-powerful writer-show runner. These were men nearly as complicated, idiosyncratic, and difficult as the conflicted protagonists that defined the genre. Given the chance to make art in a maligned medium, they fell upon the opportunity with unchecked ambition.
Combining deep reportage with cultural analysis and historical context, Brett Martin recounts the rise and inner workings of a genre that represents not only a new golden age for TV but also a cultural watershed. Difficult Men features extensive interviews with all the major players, including David Chase (The Sopranos), David Simon and Ed Burns (The Wire), Matthew Weiner and Jon Hamm (Mad Men), David Milch (NYPD Blue, Deadwood), and Alan Ball (Six Feet Under), in addition to dozens of other writers, directors, studio executives, actors, production assistants, makeup artists, script supervisors, and so on. Martin takes us behind the scenes of our favorite shows, delivering never-before-heard story after story and revealing how cable TV has distinguished itself dramatically from the networks, emerging from the shadow of film to become a truly significant and influential part of our culture.
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"Being directed by the Jimmy Burrows, while on Friends, was like hitting the jackpot. I'm delighted that everyone can now share in his incredible insight with this book."--JENNIFER ANISTON
From the director of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, Cheers, Frasier, and Will & Grace comes an insightful and nostalgic behind-the-scenes memoir that's "as difficult to put down as a Friends marathon is to turn off" (The Washington Post).
Legendary sitcom director James Burrows has spent five decades making America laugh. Here readers 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. All this from the man who helped launch the careers of Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Aniston, Debra Messing, and Melissa McCarthy, to name a few.
Burrows talks fondly about the inspiration he found during his childhood and young adult years, including his father, legendary playwright and Broadway director Abe Burrows. From there he goes on to explain his rigorous work ethic, forged in his early years in theater, where he did everything from stage managing to building sets to, finally, directing. Transitioning to television, Burrows locked into a coveted job with The Mary Tyler Moore Show, where he first observed and then started to apply his craft. Directing most of the episodes of Taxi came next, where he worked closely with writers/producers Glen and Les Charles. The three formed a remarkable creative partnership that helped Burrows achieve his much sought-after goal of ownership and agency over a project, which came with the creating and directing of the seminal and beloved hit Cheers. Burrows has directed more than seventy-five pilots that have gone to series and over a thousand episodes, more than any other director in history.
Directed by James Burrows is a heart-and-soul master class in sitcom, revealing what it truly takes to get a laugh.
Directing the Documentary is a comprehensive manual that has inspired over 100,000 readers worldwide. If you are interested in making documentary films, everything you need technically and conceptually is here. Filled with practical advice on every stage of production, this is the book you will return to throughout your career.
Directing the Documentary covers the methods, technologies, thought processes, and judgments that a director must use throughout the fascinating process of making a film. It emphasizes low-cost digital technology, which allows cutting-edge creativity and professionalism on shoestring budgets. And, recognizing that you learn best by doing, the book includes dozens of practical hands-on projects and activities to help you master technical and conceptual skills. Just as important as surmounting technological hurdles is the conceptual and authorial side of filmmaking. This book offers eminently practical tools and exercises to help you develop credible and compelling stories. It shows you how to surpass mere technical proficiency and become a storyteller with a distinctive voice and style.Please visit:
www.directingthedocumentary.com
for the book's companion website.
A unique, in-depth look into the hidden lives and mysteries of the monsters from the hit BBC series Doctor Who--a fully illustrated color compendium that reveals proof of the existence of alien life out there and among us, packaged with removable artwork commissioned exclusively for the book.
For years, world governments and multinational organizations like the secretive UNIT have suppressed the truth. In this book, leading alientologist Justin Richards finally blows the lid off the biggest conspiracy to radically alter our world since The Scarlioni Incident.
Not only is there proof that alien life exists. The aliens are already here. Based on exclusive access to classified UNIT and Torchwood files--shocking information that has been suppressed for centuries--The Secret Lives of Monsters reveals the terrifying truth behind the rumors and legends.
Packed with iconic photographs, eyewitness accounts, diagrams and illustrations, and sixteen removable color prints, The Secret Lives of Monsters offers background details on a diverse range of alien species--including planetary and genetic origins, habits, social organization, and first human contact. If you want to know why the Sontaran's probic vent is his weak point or what it is used for; how Daleks reproduce; or how to determine whether your best friend is a Zygon, the answers--as well as everything you need to know to survive future invasions--are here in The Secret Lives of Monsters.
A unique collection of more than 100 never-before-seen letters, notes, and jottings both by and to the Doctor--correspondence by turns entertaining and inspiring, funny and flippant, brilliant and incredible drawn from all fifty-two years of the show.
No one could travel through history--past present and future--as much as the Doctor does without leaving an impression. Much of what we know about this mysterious figure comes from what he does-- the planets he saves and the monsters he defeats. But until now we've had little knowledge of his writings.
These rich and diverse documents paint an extraordinarily detailed picture of the Doctor and include his plea to the Time Lords to help end the War Games, an extract from the written defense he submitted at his subsequent trial, his application for the post of Caretaker at Coal Hill School, his apology to the Queen for missing dinner, even telepathic messages to the High Council on Gallifrey and his famous letter to Santa Claus. Like the Doctor himself, the mood can change in an instant.
The Time Lord Letters captures the best and most dramatic moments of an impossible life. You'll never see the Doctor in quite the same way again.
The full and official story of Doctor Who, from the show's first pre-production memos in 1963 to behind-the-scenes material from the latest season, including interviews with key cast and crew members as well as scores of prop photos, design sketches, and other collectible memorabilia. The Vault is a collector's dream--the ultimate celebration of all that is Doctor Who.
Complete with full-color illustrations, maps, charts, and artifacts, the definitive, essential companion to the Doctor's world--and many more.
Doctor Who: The Whoniverse is a never-before-seen history of the Human Race--from the formation of the Earth around the Racnoss eggs, and the creation of life by the destruction of the last Jagaroth spaceship, through to the eventual expansion of the sun and end of the world and beyond to the New Earth, and Utopia.
Along the way, the book explores the untold histories of other planets and other lifeforms as they have interacted with humanity. We examine the Daleks and Cybermen, the Time Lords and the Sontarans, the Ice Warriors, Silurians, Weeping Angels, and many, many more. Additionally, we visit Gallifrey and Skaro, Mondas and Telos, Mars and Sontar.
Filled with full-color illustrations, maps, charts, and artifacts throughout, Doctor Who: The Whoniverse is a treasury of accumulated knowledge, scholarly erudition and accumulated folk wisdom from the worlds of Doctor Who.
Doctor Who: The Whoniverse explores:
Who are the members of the Doctor's family? What are the 20 best ways to defeat a Dalek? What are the galactic coordinates of Gallifrey? Packed with amazing facts, figures and stories, Who-ology is an unforgettable journey through fifty-five years of Doctor Who. Test your knowledge of the last Time Lord and the worlds he's visited, from Totters Lane to Trenzalore. Get lost in guides to UNIT call signs, the inner workings of sonic screwdrivers and a complete list of Doctor Who monsters and their creators. Who-ology is an utterly unique tour of space and time.
This revised and expanded edition features new material and covers Matt Smith's final season, all three seasons of the Peter Capaldi era as well as the 2017 Christmas special introducing the first female Doctor played by Jodie Whittaker.