In the early 1970s, a new breed of film emerged that would completely change the way black people were presented in movies. With their afros picked to spherical perfection and their guns blazing, big bad soul brothers and super sexy sisters lit up movie theaters across the country. Never before had black men and women appeared on screen in quite this way. In time, these films would be called "blaxploitation." And while it has long been debated exactly which film launched the blaxploitation era, the financial success of Melvin Van Peebles's Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song and Gordon Parks's Shaft helped open the flood gates for the more than 200 films that are now considered blaxploitation. Reflections on Blaxploitation: Actors and Directors Speak is a collection of interviews with many of the men and women who defined the genre. In candid conversations, some of the most important figures of the era describe what it was like to work on these films and what impact they had on American culture. Among those interviewed are such icons as Jim Brown (Slaughter), Antonio Fargas (Foxy Brown), Gloria Hendry (Hell Up in Harlem), Jim Kelly (Black Belt Jones), Ron O'Neal (Superfly), William Marshall (Blacula), and Fred Williamson (Hammer). Also featured here are some of the most influential names behind the scenes, including Larry Cohen (Black Caesar), Oscar Williams (Five on the Black Hand Side), and Melvin Van Peebles. This volume also includes a filmography of every known (or rumored) blaxploitation film, including their availability on VHS and DVD.

Reflections on Blaxploitation: Actors and Directors Speak

Humor & Entertainment

Rausch, Andrew J.

Watson, Chris

WALKER, David

Movies

Scarecrow Press

In 1973, early in their careers, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro collaborated for the first time. Over the next few decades, they worked together on seven more movies, many of which brought them both acclaim and awards. And while successful director and actor pairings have occurred throughout the history of film, few have fashioned so many works of enduring value as these two artists. In little more than two decades, Scorsese and De Niro produced eight features, including the classics Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and GoodFellas. In The Films of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro, Andrew J. Rausch examines the creative output of this remarkable pair, from their initial offering, Mean Streets, to their most recent film together, Casino. Rausch looks at their relationship as individual artists who worked together to create cinematic magic, as well as the friendship that was forged nearly 40 years ago. Drawing upon interviews and other sources, Rausch goes behind the scenes of their eight films, providing insight and analysis on all their collaborations, including New York, New York, The King of Comedy, and Cape Fear. A rare glimpse into the moviemaking process of these two legends, The Films of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro will appeal to both scholars and fans alike.

The Films of Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro

"What is Hip-Hop?" In order to answer this question, author Andrew J. Rausch interviewed 24 individuals whose creative expressions are intimately associated with the world of hip-hop music and culture. Those interviewed include emcees, DJs, producers, graffiti artists, poets, and journalists. Topics of these conversations cover the careers of each of these people and their contributions/affiliations with hip-hop, as well as their views on different trends within the music.Intended as a celebration of hip-hop music and culture, this collection of interviews ranges from the up-and-coming (Akrobatik, Rob Kelly) to the legendary (Chuck D, Big Daddy Kane). Also interviewed are Eric B., Black Sheep Dres, Chip Fu, Michael Cirelli, Daddy-O, DJ JS-1, dream hampton, Kokane, Kool Keith, Kool Rock Ski, Keith Murray, 9th Wonder, Paradime, R.A. the Rugged Man, Sadat X, Shock G, Special Ed, Spinderella, Sticky Fingaz, and Young MC.Because many of these artists worked and performed in the so-called "golden age" of hip-hop, they offer insights on the merits and problems of what hip-hop has grown into today. From their candid observations, the reader will understand how each of these men and women have contributed to the culture and how each, in his or her own way, can rightly answer "I AM hip-hop."

I Am Hip-Hop: Conversations on the Music and Culture

Arts & Photography

Music

Stephen King is one of the most successful authors in the history of American literature. His books--including 55 novels, 12 novellas, nine short story collections and a children's book--have sold 350 million copies worldwide. Over the past five decades his broader impact on popular culture has been immense. Most of his works have been adapted for film or television (some of them by King himself) and he may fairly be credited with single-handedly reinventing horror, once considered a B movie genre, for mainstream readership. This collection of original interviews with fellow authors, collaborators and critics covers all things King, from analyses of his best writing to his many screen adaptations to recurring themes in his stories.

Perspectives on Stephen King: Conversations with Authors, Experts and Collaborators

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

McFarland

American crime novelist Elmore Leonard (1925-2013) has a voice that is original and immediately recognizable. This collection of original interviews with fellow authors, filmmakers, collaborators and critics covers all things Leonard, from analyses of characterization and dialogue in his writing to his many screen adaptations. What makes Leonard's work more cinematic than that of other talented contemporaries is his deceptively simplistic method of description that still manages to paint a vivid picture in the reader's mind. The unique perspectives in this collection discuss many of Leonard's 44 novels, including those that have been adapted to television and motion pictures like Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and Jackie Brown.

Perspectives on Elmore Leonard: Conversations with Authors, Experts and Collaborators

History & Criticism

Generation Tarantino: The Last Wave of Young Turks in Hollywood

Humor & Satire

Bloomsbury Academic

This fascinating and at times humorous collection of more than 1,000 quotations by everyone from Albert Einstein to George Carlin is sometimes thought-provoking and at times challenging. Provides enough information for the beginning Atheist to take one step further down the road of disbelief, and is at the same time reaffirming for the long-time Atheist. GOD'S NOT REAL: A COLLECTION OF QUOTATIONS FOR THE ATHEIST is a must-read for any serious disbeliever.

God's Not Real: A Collection of Quotations for the Atheist

Religion & Spirituality

Atheism

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

"Grindhouse" is a term that refers to theaters that primarily showed exploitation films. There were a handful of these theaters on 42nd Street in New York City. These theaters showed a variety of films that generally featured sex, violence, and bizarre subject matter. These included slasher films, X-rated movies, badly-dubbed Hong Kong chop socky pictures, blaxploitation, and general exploitation films. The period most generally associated with these types of movie houses stretches from the late 1960s to the mid-1980s. Since the demise of these theaters, and with them certain types of film, an enthusiasm and appreciation for them has developed. Hollywood films such as Black Dynamite, Machete, and Hobo with a Shotgun have since payed homage to them. Gods of Grindhouse: Interviews with Exploitation Filmmakers contains conversations with a variety of filmmakers associated with such films. The book contains interviews with key figures such as Roger Corman, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Larry Cohen, David F. Friedman, William Lustig, Ted V. Mikels, and others. It also contains interviews with Bill Rebane and Russ Meyer that have never appeared in print before! This is a one-of-a-kind collection of interviews that gets as down and dirty as the films themselves.

Gods of Grindhouse: Interviews with Exploitation Filmmakers

BearManor Media

Edward D. Wood, Jr. has been called the "Worst Filmmaker in History." In this hilarious and reverential study, authors Andrew J. Rausch and Charles E. Pratt, Jr. investigate this claim while providing in-depth looks at the 29 existing films written and/or directed by Wood. In doing so, they manage to fully capture and translate the sensation of watching a Wood film in print. With nearly 300 pages, 13 photographs, and 10 original interviews with Wood associates, The Cinematic Misadventures of Ed Wood is a must-read for anyone interested in the films of Edward D. Wood, Jr. Sure to delight the most casual fan to the most knowledgeable of aficionados, this one-of-a-kind book stands as a testament to the misunderstood life and genius of Ed Wood.

The Cinematic Misadventures of Ed Wood

Pratt, Jr. Charles E.

This is the HARDBACK version. Edward D. Wood, Jr. has been called the "Worst Filmmaker in History." In this hilarious and reverential study, authors Andrew J. Rausch and Charles E. Pratt, Jr. investigate this claim while providing in-depth looks at the 29 existing films written and/or directed by Wood. In doing so, they manage to fully capture and translate the sensation of watching a Wood film in print. With nearly 300 pages, 13 photographs, and 10 original interviews with Wood associates, The Cinematic Misadventures of Ed Wood is a must-read for anyone interested in the films of Edward D. Wood, Jr. Sure to delight the most casual fan to the most knowledgeable of aficionados, this one-of-a-kind book stands as a testament to the misunderstood life and genius of Ed Wood.

The Cinematic Misadventures of Ed Wood (hardback)

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