Here’s a starter list of books every movielover will dig, especially after getting film-high on flicks at the Durango Indie Film Fest.
“Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood, 1910–1969,” by William J. MannThis is not about how LGBTQ people are portrayed in film, but how they helped shape the industry. Mann collected hundreds of hours of interviews with LGBTQ golden-age actors, directors, costume designers, prop-makers, and more to show how their lives and fluid sexuality changed the silver screen.
“Bright Boulevards, Bold Dreams: The Story of Black Hollywood,” by Donald BogleBogle explores the story of black Hollywood, from “Birth of a Nation” in 1915 through the 1960s. Interviews, personal recollections, and extensive research form a political and social history of African Americans during early film history.
“Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film,” by Peter BiskindStarting in the 1980s, independent filmmakers got big. Biskind chronicles the indies who conquered Hollywood, like Steven Soderbergh and Quentin Tarantino, and how Sundance Film Festival helped power the engine of exposure.
“The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry,” by Legs McNeilLegs McNeil, best known for authoring “Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk,” outlines the beginnings of the $10 billion U.S. porn movie industry. Did you know that the mafia was involved? Crabs and all, here’s your adult film history.
“The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film,” by Michael J. WeldonA lovingly-crafted encyclopedia of the weirdest films of all time up through the 1990s. B-horror, so-bad-it’s-good sci-fi, and cheapo genius filmmakers at their fabulous worst. This will become your checklist of geeky and creepy cinema.
Patty TempletonDGO Staff Writer
