Land Of A Thousand Balconies

Most books about B-movies are straight-forward genre guides, biographies or encyclopaedias. Not this one. In addition to chapters on film showmen, gimmicks and cult films, Land of a Thousand Balconies documents those incidents and unusual film happenings which author Jack Stevenson has -- over the past fifteen years -- been privy to in his various capacities as show organiser, tour arranger, festival jury member and projectionist-for-hire. Land of a Thousand Balconies also focuses on movie theatres and renegade exhibition spaces, lamenting on the disappearing 'sense of place' that is such an integral part of the movie-going experience. Here the reader is invited to tour a diversity of venues -- from the notorious old grindhouses of San Francisco, the home-made store-front cinemas of Seattle and NY, through to the underground film clubs of Europe. Book jacket.

Film and television create worlds, but they are also of a world, a world that is made up of stuff, to which humans attach meaning. Think of the last time you watched a movie: the chair you sat in, the snacks you ate, the people around you, maybe the beer or joint you consumed to help you unwind—all this stuff shaped your experience of media and its influence on you. The material culture around film and television changes how we make sense of their content, not to mention the very concepts of the mediums. Focusing on material cultures of film and television reception, The Stuff of Spectatorship argues that the things we share space with and consume as we consume television and film influence the meaning we gather from them. This book examines the roles that six different material cultures have played in film and television culture since the 1970s—including video marketing, branded merchandise, drugs and alcohol, and even gun violence—and shows how objects considered peripheral to film and television culture are in fact central to its past and future.

Utilising in-depth reviews, cast and plot details, Slimetime wallows in those films which the world has deemed it best to forget - everything from cheesy no-budget exploitation to the embarrassing efforts of Major Studios. Many of these films have never seen a major release, some were big hits, and others have simply vanished. To compliment the wealth of reviews on sci-fi, schlock, flower power and puppet people films are detailed essays on specific sleaze genres such as Biker, Blaxploitation and Drug movies. Fully updated and revised with new reviews and new illustrations.

A scene that influenced generations of writers, filmmakers and fans, XEROX FEROX is the first book to cover the horror film fanzine and the culture it spawned. From Famous Monsters of Filmland to Fangoria and everything in between, XEROX FEROX is much more than a book about monster magazines. It examines the home-grown DIY fanzines that dared to dig deeper than the slick and shiny newsstand mags ever would... or indeed even could. The titles are as lurid as the films that they covered. Gore Gazette. Deep Red. Sleazoid Express. Before message boards, before blogs, before the Internet itself, the fanzine reigned as the chief source of news and information for horror fans worldwide. Often printed on the cheap and sold for the price of postage, madcap and irreverent mags like Slimetime, Subhuman and Shock Xpress travelled the globe, creating a thriving network of fans and professionals alike. XEROX FEROX traces the rise of the horror film fanzine, from the Famous Monster-starved kids of the 1960s to the splatter-crazed gorehounds that followed. Featuring in-depth interviews with fifty writers, editors, and industry pros, XEROX FEROX is the final word on an era that changed the world of fandom forever.

Challenging the common assumption that the early 1960s were a drab time for American film, this book makes the bold case that 1962 was a peak year for the movies, giving audiences a prime mix of adult, artistic, and uncompromising work from Hollywood veterans, hot young directors, and international auteurs.

Late ’70s San Francisco. The Summer of Love is a hazy memory, the AIDS crisis is looming, and nearby Silicon Valley is still an obscure place where microchips are made. The City by the Bay is reeling from a string of bizarre tragedies that have earned it a new name: the “kook capital of the world.” Yet out of the darkness comes a creative rebirth, instigated by punk and sustained by the steady influx of outsiders who view the city as a place of refuge, a last resort. What ensues is a collision of sounds and ideas that spans the golden age of analog DIY culture, from the dark cabaret of Tuxedomoon and Factrix, the apocalyptic sounds of Minimal Man and Flipper, the conceptual humor of Gregg Turkington’s Amarillo Records; through to the subversive pop music of Faith No More, the left-field experimentalism of Caroliner, Mr. Bungle, and Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, and much more. Drawing on extensive research—including interviews with over 100 musicians, artists, and other key players—WHO CARES ANYWAY is the first book to chronicle the wild post-punk San Francisco music scene, courtesy of those who lived it. It’s a tale full of existential drama, tragic anti-heroes, dark humor, spectacular failures—and even a few improbable successes.

"An invaluable collection for anyone researching or teaching cult cinema ... The Cult Film Reader is an authoritative text that should be of value to any student or researcher interested in challenging and transgressive cinema that pushes the boundaries of conventional cinema and film studies." Science Fiction Film and Television "A really impressive and comprehensive collection of the key writings in the field. The editors have done a terrific job in drawing together the various traditions and providing a clear sense of this rich and rewarding scholarly terrain. This collection is as wild and diverse as the films that it covers. Fascinating." Mark Jancovich, Professor of Film and Television Studies, University of East Anglia, UK "It's about time the lunatic fans and loyal theorists of cult movies were treated to a book they can call their own. The effort and knowledge contained in The Cult Film Reader will satisfy even the most ravenous zombie's desire for detail and insight. This book will gnaw, scratch and infect you just like the cult films themselves." Brett Sullivan, Director of Ginger Snaps Unleashed and The Chair "The Cult Film Reader is a great film text book and a fun read." John Landis, Director of The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf in London and Michael Jackson's Thriller "Excellent overview of the subject, and a comprehensive collection of significant scholarship in the field of cult film. Very impressive and long overdue." Steven Rawle, York St John University, UK Whether defined by horror, kung-fu, sci-fi, sexploitation, kitsch musical or ‘weird world cinema’, cult movies and their global followings are emerging as a distinct subject of film and media theory, dedicated to dissecting the world’s unruliest images. This book is the world’s first reader on cult film. It brings together key works in the field on the structure, form, status, and reception of cult cinema traditions. Including work from key established scholars in the field such as Umberto Eco, Janet Staiger, Jeffrey Sconce, Henry Jenkins, and Barry Keith Grant, as well as new perspectives on the gradually developing canon of cult cinema, the book not only presents an overview of ways in which cult cinema can be approached, it also re-assesses the methods used to study the cult text and its audiences. With editors’ introductions to the volume and to each section, the book is divided into four clear thematic areas of study – The Conceptions of Cult; Cult Case Studies; National and International Cults; and Cult Consumption – to provide an accessible overview of the topic. It also contains an extensive bibliography for further related readings. Written in a lively and accessible style, The Cult Film Reader dissects some of biggest trends, icons, auteurs and periods of global cult film production. Films discussed include Casablanca, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Eraserhead, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Showgirls and Ginger Snaps. Essays by: Jinsoo An; Jane Arthurs; Bruce Austin; Martin Barker; Walter Benjamin; Harry Benshoff; Pierre Bourdieu; Noel Carroll; Steve Chibnall; Umberto Eco; Nezih Erdogan; Welch Everman; John Fiske; Barry Keith Grant ; Joan Hawkins; Gary Hentzi; Matt Hills; Ramaswami Harindranath; J.Hoberman; Leon Hunt; I.Q. Hunter; Mark Jancovich; Henry Jenkins; Anne Jerslev; Siegfried Kracauer; Gina Marchetti; Tom Mes; Gary Needham; Sheila J. Nayar; Annalee Newitz; Lawrence O’Toole; Harry Allan Potamkin; Jonathan Rosenbaum; Andrew Ross; David Sanjek; Eric Schaefer; Steven Jay Schneider; Jeffrey Sconce; Janet Staiger; J.P. Telotte; Parker Tyler; Jean Vigo; Harmony Wu

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.