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Writers on Film
Mark Searby on the Deliriously Funny Eddie Murphy
As one of the world’s most dynamic and recognised celebrity icons, Eddie Murphy has been present in comedy and music for the last five decades and has dominated our big screens since his debut feature film, action comedy, 48hrs. some forty years ago. Delivered from a never-seen-before viewpoint, ‘Eddie Murphy; Deliriously Funny’ is an immersive account of Murphy’s entire comedy genius that spans the highs and lows of his career, touching on his childhood, exploring his influences, his stand-up comedy roots, music and film. From the author of ‘Rik Mayall: Comedy Genius’ and ‘Al Pacino: The Movies Behind The Man’, Mark Searby intricately unravels the golden thread of comedy that has weaved through the fabric of Murphy’s life and career, in both film and music, and exposes the deeper catalysts behind it.
Taking us on a profound journey that outlines Murphy’s life, Searby creates an honest account that is charged with the excitement, frustration, confidence and fearlessness that Murphy has experienced and delivered throughout his work. Documenting the incredible highs, and the equally spectacular lows, ‘Eddie Murphy; Deliriously Funny’ includes exclusive interviews and quotes from those that have worked closest to him. Highlighting his breakthrough on mainstream TV via Saturday Night Live, through to multimillion-dollar box office smashes of his most famed and successful films; 48 Hrs., Beverly Hills Cop, Coming To America, Harlem Nights, Boomerang, The Nutty Professor, Shrek, Dreamgirls, Norbit and Dr. Dolittle, Searby also delves in to the career flops that span comedy sketches and numerous big screen films, and ultimately how Murphy used them on one of the most amazing rides through Hollywood.
Packed with excerpts and interviews with the likes of Reginald Hudlin (Boomerang), Katt Williams (Norbit), Keith Robinson (Dreamgirls), David Patrick Kelly (48 Hrs.), Steven Berkoff (Beverly Hills Cop) and more, not only does the book celebrate Murphy’s career but it also gives insight to the person behind it. Featured heavily throughout the book are the deeper topics that have ultimately fuelled Murphy’s passion for comedy. Exploring his ability to use comedy as a vehicle to “put racism and sexism front and centre throughout”, Searby delves into the vast pool of examples that find “In amongst all of the hilarious comedy routines Murphy was creating, there were moments that spoke honestly and directly about racism.”
Told with an air of wit that captures Murphy’s inspiring outlook on life, the book is not a gossip frenzied account of his personal life but a testament to the career and his doggedly determined, confident traits that has allowed it to span half a century. From influences that went before, such as Richard Pryor, Nipsey Russell, Moms Mabley and even Elvis Presley and Bruce Lee, Eddie Murphy became the biggest influence in the world, non more so than with aspiring Black comics.
“A pioneer of a new form of much- loved entertainment that was speaking to an entirely new Black generation. It featured a combative edge, an edge that put racism and sexism front and centre throughout. They wouldn’t shut up or back down when discussing the topics that mattered most to them. This was their time to speak and they were not going to let anyone off the hook. Eddie Murphy was doing that with his stand-up to a huge audience – Black and white.”
As with his previous work, Searby masters his subject and highlights how, no matter whether you are an avid fan or not, Eddie Murphy will have touched your life at some point in time. Whether it be through music, through comedy, through the voice of a donkey or adult humour, his reign as one of the world’s most iconic inhabitants is undeniable and ‘Eddie Murphy; Deliriously Funny’ is a captivating insight into his legacy.
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152. Ed Zwick on Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions
49:51A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * LOS ANGELES TIMES BESTSELLER * USA TODAY BESTSELLERThis heartfelt and wry career memoir from the director of Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall, About Last Night, and Glory, creator of the show thirtysomething, and executive producer of My So-Called Life, gives a dishy, behind-the-scenes look at working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.“I’ll be dropping a few names,” Ed Zwick confesses in the introduction to his book. “Over the years I have worked with self-proclaimed masters-of-the-universe, unheralded geniuses, hacks, sociopaths, savants, and saints.”He has encountered these Hollywood types during four decades of directing, producing, and writing projects that have collectively received eighteen Academy Award nominations (seven wins) and sixty-seven Emmy nominations (twenty-two wins). Though there are many factors behind such success, including luck and the contributions of his creative partner Marshall Herskovitz, he’s known to have a special talent for bringing out the best in the people he’s worked with, especially the actors. In those intense collaborations, he’s sought to discover the small pieces of connective tissue, vulnerability, and fellowship that can help an actor realize their character in full.Talents whom he spotted early include Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Denzel Washington, Claire Danes, and Jared Leto. Established stars he worked closely with include Leonardo DiCaprio, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Daniel Craig, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Jennifer Connelly. He also sued Harvey Weinstein over the production of Shakespeare in Love—and won. He shares personal stories about all these people, and more.Written mostly with love, sometimes with rue, this memoir is also a meditation on working, sprinkled throughout with tips for anyone who has ever imagined writing, directing, or producing for the screen. Fans with an appreciation for the beautiful mysteries—as well as the unsightly, often comic truths—of crafting film and television won’t want to miss it.
151. Robert P Kolker and Marsha Gordon talk Film, Form and Culture
57:17This fifth edition of Film, Form, and Culture by Robert P Kolker and Marsha Gordon offers a lively introduction to both the formal and cultural aspects of film.Additional resources for students and teachers can be found on the eResource, which includes case studies, discussion questions, and links to useful websites.Get the book HERE.
150. Neil Alcock talks Hitchcock and Hitchology
50:45MURDER! MOTHERS! MEN ON THE RUN!Film fans know these are just a few key ingredients of Alfred Hitchcock’s movies. When Hitchcock fused these elements with his innovative directorial approach, that blend of familiar themes and stylistic ingenuity became known as ‘Hitchcockian’. In a refreshingly original way, HITCHOLOGY considers how Hitchcock used these narrative tropes and formal flourishes to create some of cinema’s most unforgettable experiences.Alongside unique takes on every film and TV episode Hitchcock directed, HITCHOLOGY also examines his collaborators, his cameos, other films in the Hitchcock cinematic universe, and more. Passionately written with wit and warmth, HITCHOLOGY is an accessible introduction for newcomers to Hitchcock, and an insightful companion for devoted fans.Buy the book HERE.
149. Oscar Winning Screenwriter Bruce Rubin talks about his Life
01:06:48Bruce Joel Rubin is the Oscar winning screenwriter of Brainstorm, Ghost and Jacob's Ladder among others. His memoir It's Only a Movie is availbale here. And his book Three Visionary Screenplays is also available via this link.
148. Christian Esquevin talks Designing Hollywood
46:59Since the 1920s, fashion has played a central role in Hollywood. As the movie-going population consisted largely of women, studios made a concerted effort to attract a female audience by foregrounding fashion. Magazines featured actresses like Jean Harlow and Joan Crawford bedecked in luxurious gowns, selling their glamour as enthusiastically as the film itself. Whereas actors and actresses previously wore their own clothing, major studios hired costume designers and wardrobe staff to fabricate bespoke costumes for their film stars. Designers from a variety of backgrounds, including haute couture and art design, were offered long-term contracts to work on multiple movies. Though their work typically went uncredited, they were charged with creating an image for each star that would help define an actor both on- and off-screen. The practice of working long-term with a single studio disappeared when the studio system began unraveling in the 1950s. By the 1970s, studios had disbanded their wardrobe departments and auctioned off their costumes and props. In Designing Hollywood: Studio Wardrobe in the Golden Age, Christian Esquevin showcases the designers who dressed Hollywood's stars from the late 1910s through the 1960s and the unique symbiosis they developed with their studios in creating iconic looks. Studio by studio, Esquevin details the careers of designers like Vera West, who worked on Universal productions such as Phantom of the Opera (1925), Dracula (1931), and Bride of Frankenstein (1931); William Travilla, the talent behind Marilyn Monroe's dresses in Gentleman Prefer Blondes (1953) and The Seven Year Itch (1955); and Walter Plunkett, the Oscar-winning designer for film classics like Gone with the Wind (1939) and An American in Paris (1951). Featuring black and white photographs of leading ladies in their iconic looks as well as captivating original color sketches, Designing Hollywood takes the reader on a journey from drawing board to silver screen.
147. Tom Shone on the Oscars and Dune Part 2
01:21:13Tom Shone is the bestselling author of The Nolan Variations, among several other books on cinema.
146. Stephen Lee Naish on Dennis Hopper, film director
01:03:35Stephen's book is availble here. Across his directorial films, American filmmaker Dennis Hopper used music and sound to propel the narrative, signpost the era in which the films were made, and delineate the characters’ place within American culture. This book explores five of Hopper’s films to show how this deep engagement with music to build character and setting continued throughout his career, as Hopper used folk, punk, hip-hop, and jazz to shape the worlds of his films in ways that influenced other filmmakers and foreshadowed the advent of the music video format.The author traces Hopper’s distinctive approach to the use of music through films from 1969 to 1990, including his innovative use of popular rock, pop, and folk in Easy Rider, his blending of diegetic performances of folk and Peruvian indigenous music in The Last Movie, his use of punk rock in Out of the Blue, incorporation of hip-hop and rap in Colors, and commissioning of a jazz/blues soundtrack by Miles Davis and John Lee Hooker for The Hot Spot. Uncovering the film soundtrack as a vital piece of the narrative, this concise and accessible book offers insights for academic readers in music and film studies, as well as all those interested in Hopper’s work.
145. Kubrick: an Odyssey
01:04:31The definitive biography of the creator of 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, and A Clockwork Orange, presenting the most in-depth portrait yet of the groundbreaking film-maker.The enigmatic and elusive filmmaker Stanley Kubrick has not been treated to a full-length biography in over twenty years.Stanley Kubrick: An Odyssey fills that gap. This definitive book is based on access to the latest research, especially Kubrick's archive at the University of the Arts, London, as well as other private papers plus new interviews with family members and those who worked with him. It offers comprehensive and in-depth coverage of Kubrick’s personal, private, public, and working life. Stanley Kubrick: An Odyssey investigates not only the making of Kubrick's films, but also about those he wanted (but failed) to make like Burning Secret, Napoleon, Aryan Papers, and A.I.Revealingly, this immersive biography will puncture the controversial myths about the reclusive filmmaker who created some of the most important works of art of the twentieth century.
144. Ellen E. Jones on Screen Deep
01:06:42Screen Deep:How film and TV can solve racism and save the world is a book about the immense potential of screen storytelling to defeat an evil both historic and urgently topical: racism. Everyone watches TV and movies. Everyone has an interest in building a more just and equitable world. Screen Deep goes beyond the many film books and anti-racist manuals by demonstrating the connection between these two aspects of modern life.In Screen Deep Ellen E. Jones combines her personal experience as a mixed-race woman who cares about racism with her professional expertise as a film and TV journalist of twenty years standing, to ask – and answer – several questions: Is there such a thing as an Indigenous western? Is race comedy ‘cancelled’? Where are all the films for white people? And most importantly: Can you still fight the good fight with a mouthful of popcorn?The book is available from Faber here. Valerie Complex's Deadline article mentioned on the show is available here.