Showing titles in Film & TV

Here is the new audio edition of the classic 007 reference book from the 1980s, complete with a new Foreword by the author. The James Bond Bedside Companion is an encyclopedic celebration of 007, who is still the world's most popular secret agent. The only book to cover all aspects of the James Bond phenomenon in a single volume, it includes: An intimate portrait of Ian Fleming as remembered by his friends and colleagues, a character study of James Bond, the by-products of Bondmania and the merchandising of 007, detailed analyses of every James Bond novel, and much more.

Mark Kermode’s compelling study of this horror classic was originally published in 1997, and then extensively updated and expanded in 2003 to incorporate the discovery of new material. This revised edition documents the deletion and reinstatement of key scenes that have now been integrated into the film to create The Exorcist: The Version You’ve Never Seen. Candid interviews with director William Friedkin and writer/producer William Peter Blatty reveal the behind the-scenes battles which took place during the production.

Mel Brooks' own words telling all about the players, the filming, and studio antics during the production of this great comedy classic. The audiobook is alive and teeming with hundreds of photos, original interviews, and hilarious commentary. Young Frankenstein was made with deep respect for the craft and history of cinema-and for the power of a good schwanzstucker joke. This audiobook will also rely on interviews with gifted director of photography Gerald Hirschfeld, Academy Award-winning actress Cloris Leachman, and veteran producer Michael Gruskoff.

Wonderful highlights of Kenneth Williams’ career in this classic compilation. For more than 30 years, Kenneth Williams kept the nation in stitches with his outrageous gallery of comic creations and an effortlessly brilliant barrage of repartee and innuendo on radio and television. In Beyond Our Ken and Round the Horne, Kenneth Williams brought us the popular characters of Rambling Syd Rumpo, J. Peasemold Gruntfuttock, and Sandy (of Julian & Sandy).

Actress Pam St Clement, best known as EastEnders' Pat Butcher, shares her life story. In January 2012, one of EastEnders' longest-serving and best-loved characters breathed her last when Pat Butcher succumbed to cancer. Her departure from the show gave actress Pam St Clement time to reflect, not only on almost 26 years playing a role that she loved, but also on her whole life. Pam's mother died when she was a baby, leaving her with a father whose life didn't really have space for a child.

Chris Evans' extraordinary career has seen him become one of the country's most successful broadcasters and producers and a well-known face in his own right. From his early years on Manchester's Piccadilly radio to Don't Forget Your Toothbrush, The Big Breakfast, and TFI Friday for Channel 4, Chris changed the TV landscape during the '90s. And on BBC Radio 1's Breakfast show and as owner of Virgin Radio, he ushered in the age of the celebrity DJ.

For half a century Ken Dodd has been sending audiences around Britain in to spasms of laughter and at the age of 80 he is still performing. How did this feather duster salesman from Liverpool become one of the greatest comic geniuses of his generation? In this entertaining biography we follow his life from schooldays in Knotty Ash to the top of his profession with the odd excursion through the courts and Shakespeare!

The first inside story of one of TV's most popular and beloved dramas, Grey's Anatomy. More than 15 years after its premiere, Grey's Anatomy remains one of the most beloved dramas on television in the US and the UK. More than that, it's been a cultural touchstone. Lynette Rice's How to Save a Life takes an unauthorised deep dive into the show's humble start, while offering exclusive intel on the behind-the-scenes culture, the most heartbreaking departures and the more polarising plotlines. It's the perfect listen for all Grey's Anatomy fans out there.

To avoid fainting, keep repeating It's only a move ..only a movie ..only a movie ..only a movie If you grew up believing that Planet of the Apes told you all you needed to know about politics, that Slade in Flame was a savage exposé of the pop world, and that The Exorcist revealed the meaning of life, then you probably spent far too many of your formative years at the cinema. Just as likely, you soon would have realised that there was only one career open to you - you'd have to become a film critic.

Sit down with renowned professional filmmaker, author, and award-winning professor Eric R. Williams to unpack the elements of more than 250 “great” movies to gain insights and secrets that will change the way you view films. You’ll discover how from the moment you sit down, great filmmakers control every sensation the movie experience evokes: tremors or tears, goosebumps or giggles, and why it is that we invite them to do this.

Funny Boy: The Richard Hunt Biography tells the life story of a gifted performer whose gleeful irreverence, sharp wit, and generous spirit inspired millions. Richard Hunt was one of the original main five performers in the Muppet troupe. He brought to life an impressive range of characters on The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, and various Muppet movies, everyone from eager gofer Scooter to elderly heckler Statler, groovy girl Janice to freaked-out lab helper Beaker, even early versions of Miss Piggy and Elmo.

Walt Disney is an American hero. From Mickey Mouse to Disneyland, he changed the face of American culture. His is a success story like no other: a man who developed animated film into an art form and made a massive contribution to the folklore of the world. After years of research, respected Hollywood biographer Bob Thomas produced a definitive biography of the man behind the legend of Disney: the unschooled cartoonist from Kansas City who when bankrupt on his first movie venture and developed into the genius who produced unmatched works of animation.

Welcome to the strange world of Armstrong & Miller which includes some comedy sketches with tough-guy cops in 'Parsons and Lampkin (and Lampkin's Mate Steve)', and there's an insider's view of National Trousers Day. More highlights include some really macho rock climbers, and the corrupt world of mountaineering. There's a track from rock legends Strijka, and you can also hear how Logarythm - the world's most successful school band - got together.

Nora Ephron was one of the most popular, accomplished, and beloved writers in American journalism and film. Nora Ephron: A Biography is the first biography of the Manhattan-born girl who forged a path of her own, earning accolades and adoration from critics and fans alike. Author Kristin Marguerite Doidge explores the tremendous successes and disappointing failures Ephron sustained in her career and examines the private life she tried to keep in balance with her insatiable ambition.

Al Jolson, born Asa Yoelson, immigrated from a shtetl in Lithuania to the United States in 1894 after his father secured a job as a rabbi in Washington, D.C. A poor, Yiddish-speaking newcomer navigating a racially segregated and antisemitic America, young Jolson dreamed of becoming a star, and he did. Through Jolson, Bernstein simultaneously breaks open the history and legacy of the cultural sensation The Jazz Singer. Not only was The Jazz Singer the first feature-length film with synchronized music and dialogue, but it was also taboo smashing in its content.

"Why don't you come up and see me sometime?" Mae West invited and promptly captured the imagination of generations. Even today, years after her death, the actress and author is still regarded as the pop archetype of sexual wantonness and ribald humor. But who was this saucy starlet, a woman who was controversial enough to be jailed, pursued by film censors, and banned from the airwaves for the revolutionary content of her work, and yet would ascend to the status of film legend?

Groucho Marx is your quizmaster and host to one of the funniest and most popular quiz shows from radio and television, You Bet Your Life! Enjoy 16 fun-filled comedy episodes from the long-running radio series! Created by John Guedel, You Bet Your Life was one of the best-loved quiz shows to air on both radio and television. It was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. It debuted on radio in 1947 and lasted until 1960. For much of this time it was also seen on television.

Peopled with a wonderful collection of warm, wicked, and weird characters, Vic Reeves' memoir is an enchanting, surreal, and utterly hilarious comic gem.

1974 was a busy year for Mel Brooks. Although still recovering after a series of failed projects threatened his career, he pulled off a one-two punch that saw the release of two of the most beloved American comedies ever made: Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein. Although both films are well-known, the stories beyond the making of each movie are less so. How did they come to be, and how did the era's culture and politics not only permit them to be made, but help them to become enduring comedy classics?

Hopping from the Hamptons to the Manhattan dating world, the dog park to the red carpet, Cardinals superfan and mama's boy Andy Cohen, with Wacha in tow, is the kind of star fans are dying to be friends with. This book gives them that chance. If The Andy Cohen Diaries was deemed "the literary equivalent of a Fresca and tequila" by Jimmy Fallon, Superficial is a double: dishier, juicier, and friskier. In this account of his escapades, Andy tells us not only what goes down but exactly what he thinks.