Behind The Oscar The Secret History Of The Academy Awards

Using the narrative story of an individual year (1992) as the basis of a much broader and historical canvas, this book examines the Hollywood Oscar and presents a portrait of the film world and its personalities, finances and power-struggles. It also includes detailed lists of facts and figures.

Illustrations and text provide an official history of the Academy Awards to 1988.

This encyclopedia provides detailed information about the historical, cultural, social, religious, economic, and scientific significance of gold, across the globe and throughout history. Gold has been an intrinsic part of human culture and society throughout the world, both in ancient times and in the modern era. This precious metal has also played a central role in economics and politics throughout history. In fact, the value of gold remains a topic of debate amid the current upheavals of economic conditions and attendant reevaluations of modern financial principles. Gold: A Cultural Encyclopedia consists of more than 130 entries that encompass every aspect of gold, ranging from the ancient metallurgical arts to contemporary economies. The connections between these interdisciplinary subjects are explored and analyzed to highlight the many ways humankind's fascination with gold reflects historical, cultural, economic, and geographic developments. While the majority of the works related to gold focus on economic theory, this text goes beyond that to take a more sociocultural approach to the subject.

About the Book This book is a fascinating look at the history of the Oscars that dates back to 1927. Every Best Picture winner is profiled in the book. Although there have been many books listing the Oscar winners, there has never been one like this that looks in depth at every film that has been awarded the Oscar for Best Picture. The author evaluates each film and then presents at the end of each article his personal choice for the year's best film. In about two-third of the films, he selects a Best Picture that is different from the Academy Award-winner. He also includes sections of “Memorable Moments” that make each film special. The book will be of great value to movie fans, but it will also be enjoyable to anyone who has ever wondered what the fuss is about when a film is awarded Best Picture. About the Author Laurence E. MacDonald is a Professor Emeritus from Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan, where he taught music history, literature, appreciation, film music, and private piano study. He is also a former church choir director and author of several books, including The Invisible Art of Film Music and 100 Greatest Film Scores. MacDonald is a performing member and newsletter editor of the St. Cecilia Society of Flint. He is also former music critic of the Flint Journal and film reviewer of Michael Moore’s newspaper the Flint Voice. For over twenty years he hosted Music from Movies, which ran weekly on Flint’s public radio station WFBE. MacDonald has six children, three of whom are Catholic priests and avid movie fans. He has been married to Carolyn McDonough since 2013. Together they have worked to update an old colonial home in Flint’s East Village neighborhood, and have recently adopted a fun-loving beagle named Emmy, who also likes old movies.

ACCLAIM FOR INSIDE OSCAR "A giddy social history of our place and time...Mr. Wiley and Mr. Bona have found just the right tone for writing about this most particular of American phenomena." --Vincent Canby The New York Times "This is the book for your film reference library, not merely because it reveals where the bodies are buried, but also because it serves as a useful sociological and aesthetic guide to the Hollywood rat race over the past six decades." --Andrew Sarris The Village Voice "A grand, grotesque Hollywood party, and what a guest list!" --Michael Musto Saturday Review "A fat volume of facts, trivia, trash, and gossip (perfectly fitting for the occasion)." --Patricia Holt San Francisco Chronicle "Gossipy fun and a browser's delight! Everyone may know bits and pieces, but no one has ever gathered this kind of material in such a convenient and diverting format." --Desmond Ryan The Philadelphia Inquirer "The fullest--and funniest--chronicle ever accorded the Golden Guy...a remarkable closeup of Oscar--warts and all." --Harry Haun New York Daily News "There are probably more solid laughs on any ten pages of this book than in the last ten years of Academy Award telecasts." --Dennis Brown St. Louis Post-Dispatch "It may be the only hilariously funny reference book in the world. At whatever point you open it, your total attention is engaged." --Quentin Crisp The New York Native

The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry is a completely revised and updated edition of Anthony Slide's The American Film Industry, originally published in 1986 and recipient of the American Library Association's Outstanding Reference Book award for that year. More than 200 new entries have been added, and all original entries have been updated; each entry is followed by a short bibliography. As its predecessor, the new dictionary is unique in that it is not a who's who of the industry, but rather a what's what: a dictionary of producing and releasing companies, technical innovations, industry terms, studios, genres, color systems, institutions and organizations, etc. More than 800 entries include everything from Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to Zoom Lens, from Astoria Studios to Zoetrope. Outstanding Reference Source - American Library Association