Cult Movie Stars

While the impact that legendary actors and actresses have had on the development of the Hollywood film industry is well known, few have recognised the power of movie fans on shaping the industry. This books redresses that balance, and is the first study of Hollywood's golden era to examine the period from the viewpoint of the fans. Using fan club journals, fan letters, studio production records, and other previously unpublished archival sources, Samantha Barbas reveals how the passion, enthusiasm, and ongoing activism of film fans in Hollywood's golden era transformed early cinema, the modern mass media and American popular culture.

One hundred all-time cult favorites are discussed with essays on what is special about each, what its claim to fame is, and who its most avid fans are.

From movie villains to scream queens, here are interviews with 36 actors and actresses familiar to fans of sixties and seventies cult cinema. Interviewees include the well-known (David Carradine, Christopher Lee), the relatively obscure (Marrie Lee), sex symbols (Valerie Leon), surfers who became movie stars (Don Stroud), and action heroes (Fred Williamson), among many others. Each interview is accompanied by a biography and filmography.

The term 'cult film star' has been employed in popular journalistic writing for the last 25 years, but what makes cult stars distinct from other film stars has rarely been addressed. This collection explores the processes through which film stars/actors become associated with the cult label, from Bill Murray to Ruth Gordon and Ingrid Pitt.

The women who starred in low-budget cult movies created many memorable experiences for those fans of late night flicks such as Saturday Night Frights, Movie Macabre and Up All Night. Brinke Stevens, who played Linda in The Slumber Party Massacre, recalls, "Suddenly I was riding in limos, flying to foreign countries for film festivals, appearing on dozens of popular talk and entertainment TV shows, and truly feeling like a glamorous movie star." This collection of revealing interviews provides insights into the lives of 20 cult film actresses. They discuss the pros and cons of making these movies and the directions their careers have taken since. Among the films they starred in are Night of the Living Dead, The Slumber Party Massacre, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Sleepaway Camp and Elvira's Haunted Hills.

Presents a humorous ode to cinematic hubris, discussing the story of the mysteriously wealthy misfit, Tommy Wiseau, the producer, director, and star of the "The Room," which later became an international cult film despite making no money at the box office.

The Rough Guide to Cult Movies offers a blend of essential trivia and informed opinion as it takes you on a tour of the most compellingly weird - and weirdly compelling - films in the world. Whether you're a paid-up member of The Big Lebowski fan club or just looking for a night in with an interesting DVD, The Rough Guide to Cult Movies is the ultimate guide to the world's most memorable films. The Rough Guide to Cult Movies selects cinema's most compelling triumphs: films that are brilliant, intriguing or just plain bizarre; from action flicks to zombie films, by way of nuns, yakuza, musicals and mutations. You'll find expert, pithy reviews of over 1500 movies, with forgotten legends like Charlie Chan and the Opera or contemporary classics like There Will Be Blood, plus filmmakers' picks of their favorite cult movies, in their own words. There are good movies and there are bad movies and then there are cult movies.