Hollywood Boulevard

Moving to Los Angeles in 1901 to start her life anew, Nell Plat marries and begins a career as a costumer to the stars, but when a visitor from her past comes calling, everything she has worked so hard to achieve for her future is jeopardized.

Frances Marion a tout quitté pour suivre sa vocation : écrire des histoires pour un nouvel art, qui consiste à projeter des images en mouvement sur un écran. Mary Pickord est une actrice dont les boucles blondes et la grâce juvénile lui valent déjà le surnom de « La petite fiancée de l'Amérique ». Toutes deux vont nouer une amitié hors norme et participer à cette révolution qu'est la naissance du cinéma. Mais, dans un monde dominé par les hommes, on voit d'un mauvais oeil l'ambition et l'indépendance de ces deux femmes... Plongée au coeur de l'industrie naissante du septième art, Hollywood Boulevard retrace le destin de deux grandes figures oubliées du cinéma. Avec le talent qui a fait le succès des Cygnes de la Cinquième Avenue, Melanie Benjamin restitue l'atmosphère étourdissante des célèbres studios, mais aussi ses drames et ses injustices.

Für David wird der »sunshine state«, das »Wunderland« Kalifornien, Wirklichkeit. Er taucht in eine subtropische Szenerie und lernt im Hollywood YMCA einen jungen Mann kennen, Roy, der aus dem Mittleren Westen abgehauen ist. Mit Roy zusammen begegnet David weiteren jungen Leuten, die sich nicht nach überkommenen Regeln richten, und lässt sich von ihrer tabulosen Lebensweise mitreißen. Die charmant hemmungslose kalifornische Szene ist für ihn ein Gegenpol zu seiner süddeutschen Heimat.

**One of Literary Hub’s Five “Most Critically Acclaimed” Biographies of 2022** From acclaimed cultural and film historian James Curtis—a major biography, the first in more than two decades, of the legendary comedian and filmmaker who elevated physical comedy to the highest of arts and whose ingenious films remain as startling, innovative, modern—and irresistible—today as they were when they beguiled audiences almost a century ago. "It is brilliant—I was totally absorbed, couldn't stop reading it and was very sorry when it ended."—Kevin Brownlow It was James Agee who christened Buster Keaton “The Great Stone Face.” Keaton’s face, Agee wrote, "ranked almost with Lincoln’s as an early American archetype; it was haunting, handsome, almost beautiful, yet it was also irreducibly funny. Keaton was the only major comedian who kept sentiment almost entirely out of his work and . . . he brought pure physical comedy to its greatest heights.” Mel Brooks: “A lot of my daring came from Keaton.” Martin Scorsese, influenced by Keaton’s pictures in the making of Raging Bull: “The only person who had the right attitude about boxing in the movies for me,” Scorsese said, “was Buster Keaton.” Keaton’s deadpan stare in a porkpie hat was as recognizable as Charlie Chaplin’s tramp and Harold Lloyd’s straw boater and spectacles, and, with W. C. Fields, the four were each considered a comedy king--but Keaton was, and still is, considered to be the greatest of them all. His iconic look and acrobatic brilliance obscured the fact that behind the camera Keaton was one of our most gifted filmmakers. Through nineteen short comedies and twelve magnificent features, he distinguished himself with such seminal works as Sherlock Jr., The Navigator, Steamboat Bill, Jr., The Cameraman, and his masterpiece, The General. Now James Curtis, admired biographer of Preston Sturges (“definitive”—Variety), W. C. Fields (“by far the fullest, fairest and most touching account we have yet had. Or are likely to have”—Richard Schickel, front page of The New York Times Book Review), and Spencer Tracy (“monumental; definitive”—Kirkus Reviews), gives us the richest, most comprehensive life to date of the legendary actor, stunt artist, screenwriter, director—master.

Relates the story of how Sunset Boulevard became a screen classic, revealing the secrets and scandals involving the big names associated with the movie and documenting the impact of this film on society.

A Kansas seamstress reinvents herself in Los Angeles, but the past comes back to haunt her, in this “superb, surprising” historical novel (The Seattle Times). At age seventeen, Nell Plat is an unhappily married woman, quick with her needle and wit, but ill-suited to wifely duties like cooking, mothering, and tending to her boorish husband. Unable to shake her dreams of glamour and excitement, she abandons her family and quiet life in Kansas for the hustle, bustle, and glittering lights of Los Angeles. Among the wannabes and celebrities of the silver screen, Nell reinvents herself as Madame Annelle, seamstress to the stars. But just as she begins stitching her way to success, her past shows up on her doorstep, threatening to unravel her carefully crafted ruse. “Meticulously researched” (The A.V. Club) and “vibrant with historical accuracy” (SFGate)—based on the true story of the author’s grandmother—The Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard is a fascinating look at old Hollywood glamour, gender roles, and the ever-evolving American dream.

The Story of Hollywood follows Hollywood from its dusty origins to its glorious rise to stardom. Lavishly illustrated with over 800 vintage images from the author's private collection, the book tells the complete story of Hollywood including its eventual decline and urban renewal. The Story of Hollywood brings new insights to readers with a passion for Hollywood and its place in the history of film, radio, and television.

Ardennes Thrush is an award winning movie star who has suddenly and mysteriously quit acting at the height of her fame. She is in Hollywood, at the Hotel Muse, visiting Andre, her husband, who is a world-renowned director and is at work on his latest movie. Ardennes, a contemplative woman, is a bit of a voyeur, and as she watches the comings and goings in the hotel, she begins to realize that something is strange; perhaps she is being stalked. When a box of dead flowers arrives she calls the police. And when the detective arrives to investigate, their attraction is immediate, powerful, and quickly carnal. After their first encounter, desire, guilt and fear combine in Ardennes, and the tension rises in the strange, labyrinthine Hotel Muse. Then her stalker arrives at the door of her suite, pulls a gun, forces Ardennes to leave and locks her in a closet. While the detective searches for the actress, we watch rapt as Ardennes, in the darkest of narrow straits, not only tries to free herself but also ponders why this is happening to her, how she brought herself here, and what all the men in her life have had to do with it. At once a noir novel and a psychological thriller about the complicated emotions of a beautiful, modern celebrity, Hollywood Boulevard is downright compelling. And Ardennes Thrush is a character that readers won’t be able to take their eyes off of.

The classic guide to who-did-what-where in Los Angeles, on- and off-screen, including: Film & TV locations: the Hollywood Hills house where Barbara Stanwyck seduced Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity...the funky apartment building where William Holden lived in Sunset Boulevard...the exotic Frank Lloyd Wright mansion that's housed everyone from Harrison Ford in Blade Runner to David Boreanaz on TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer....the landmark Art Deco former department store that has doubled for a glamorous hotel in Topper (1936) and an elegant nightclub in The Aviator (2004)... the Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street houses... the Seinfeld and Alias apartment buildings... the Six Feet Under funeral home...The Brady Bunch and Happy Days houses...the Charlie's Angels office...the real Melrose Place...and many more VIP tours: from legendary studios like Warner Bros., MGM (now Sony Pictures), and Universal to movie-star homes like Barbra Streisand's former Malibu compound… Crime scenes and scandal spots: the driveway where Sal Mineo was murdered, the Nicole Brown Simpson condo, the Sharon Tate estate, Marilyn Monroe's last address, the Beverly Hills Mansion where Bugsy Siegal was rubbed out…the Hollywood hotel where Janice Joplin O.D.’d… Plus: Remarkable new museums...Superstar cemeteries...Historic hotels...Hip clubs and restaurants....Fabulous restored movie palaces… Spectacular movie star mansions and château apartments… Taking movie lovers behind the gates of the exclusive, often hidden world of Tinsel Town, Hollywood: The Movie Lover's Guide is the ultimate insider's guide to L.A.'s reel attractions.