Brian J. Robb je autorem bestsellerů New York Times a Sunday Times. Jeho práce se soustředí na analýzu filmové historie a kultury, od tichých filmů po moderní sci-fi a komiksové hrdiny. Prozkoumává také vizuální styly a žánry, jako je steampunk, a věnuje se dílům klíčových tvůrců a franšíz. Jeho bohatě ilustrované knihy a online aktivity ukazují jeho hluboký zájem o vizuální vyprávění a žánrové dějiny.
Philip K. Dick, the visionary author behind Blade Runner, is the most adapted science fiction writer in cinema history. Illustrated with scores of rare photos, Counterfeit Worlds is the first book to trace the history of Philip K. Dick screen adaptations, both in cinema and on television.
For four decades, Depeche Mode dominated electronic music, from the naive melodies of 1981's Speak & Spell through to 2023's Memento Mori. Through changing line-ups featuring Vince Clarke, Alan Wilder, and Andy Fletcher, singer Dave Gahan and main songwriter Martin Gore have been the band's core.
"Animator, innovator and business magnate, Walt Disney undeniably had a huge impact on American culture ... an illuminating account of Disney's artistic creations ... and an insightful history of the entertainment behemoth he created, from Dumbo to Pixar's Toy Story, as well as the hugely popular theme parks. The company Disney built is today stronger than ever, encompassing not onlyu the ongoing legacy of Disney animation, but also acting as the guardian of other well-loved creative endeavours .. [This] explores the man, the films he created and the company he built, with a special emphasis on animation, which has always been the heart and soul of the company"--Publisher's description.
Heath Ledger was one of the most charismatic actors of his generation. After establishing a high-profile Hollywood career at the age of 21 with the lead in A Knight’s Tale, Ledger pursued a series of increasingly diverse, often subversive roles that belied his image as a teen idol. Edgier films such as Monster’s Ball gave tantalizing hints of his talent, but it wasn’t until Brokeback Mountain that he proved beyond question the full extent of his abilities. His sudden death rocked the film industry and threw a poignant shadow over the body of work that has now become his legacy. Here, Brian J. Robb explores Ledger’s relationships with actresses Michelle Williams, Naomi Watts, and Heather Graham, recounts the making of Brokeback Mountain and the film’s impact, and charts Ledger’s increasingly troubled state of mind. Heath Hollywood's Dark Star paints a memorable portrait of a compelling and intense young man whose loss will be felt for years to come.
A fascinating written exploration of the superhero phenomenon, from its beginnings in the depths of Great Depression to the blockbuster movies of today. For over 90 years, superheroes have been interrogated, deconstructed, and reinvented. In this wide-ranging study, Robb looks at the diverse characters, their creators, and the ways in which their creations have been reinvented for successive generations. Inevitably, the focus is on the United States, but the context is international, including an examination of characters developed in India and Japan in reaction to the traditional American hero. Sections examine: the birth of the superhero, including Superman, in 1938; the DC family (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and The Justice Society/League of America), from the 1940s to the 1960s; the superheroes enlistment in the war effort in the 1940s and 50s; their neutering by the Comics Code; the challenge to DC from the Marvel family (The Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and The X-Men), from the 1960s to the 1980s; the superhero as complex anti-hero; superheroes deconstructed in the 1980s (The Watchmen and Frank Miller's Batman), and their politicization; independent comic book creators and new publishers in the 1980s and 90s; superheroes in retreat, and their rebirth at the movies in blockbusters from Batman to Spider-Man and The Avengers.
The author of The Leonardo DiCaprio Album looks back on the last two decades of another screen legend, covering his childhood, his teenage druggy phase, his romantic entanglements, and his current role as one of the most serious and respected actors in Hollywood. Original.
Recounts the life and career of the actor, from his birth to parents active in the counterculture to his drug-related death at the age of twenty-three
Traces the life and career of the young actor who received an Oscar nomination for his work in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?"
From tales about home dentistry and bee keeping to battles with Feathers McGraw and out-of-control robotic scarecrows, Wallace and Gromit's lives are anything but normal!