The Encyclopedia of Hollywood - Softcover

Siegel, Scott; Siegel, Barbara; Erskine, Thomas L.; Welsh, James Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0816046239 ISBN 13: 9780816046232

Publisher: Checkmark Books, 2004

Synopsis

Alphabetically arranged for easy access, an updated edition of this comprehensive resource offers a historical overview of the American film industry, from its beginnings in Thomas Edison's workshop to its status today as the leader of the world's filmmaking, with hundreds of entries on actors and actresses, studios, producers and directors, composers, film genres, the Academy Awards, and other filmmaking terms. Simultaneous.

About this title

About the Author:

James M. Welsh (1938 2013) was professor emeritus at Salisbury University. He co-founded "Literature/Film Quarterly", which he edited for thirty-three years, and he authored over twenty books, including "The Oliver Stone Encyclopedia".

From Booklist:

Sixteen years after the publication of the first edition, this encyclopedia offers representative entries on the American film industry, from the early, pre-Hollywood days to the present. Entries cover people, including actors, directors, producers, editors, cinematographers, and more; films; studios; genres (for example, Beach party movies, Screwball comedy); jobs (Best boy, Editor); and terms (Montage, Rough cut). Some entries feature a photograph, and many include see also references. The A-Z portion of the volume is followed by a selected bibliography. The index is the preferred approach to a name or group since many people are discussed within a category or theme, such as Child stars and Sheen family dynasty.

In their introduction, the authors note that genuine stardom seldom lasts for more than five years, and in adding newer stars to this edition, they have chosen those who seem to have lasting appeal, among them Julianne Moore, Brad Pitt, and Will Smith. The standard of lasting appeal has also resulted in the addition of some early major figures who may be forgotten (the director Allen Dwan, for example).

Although libraries that have both the first edition and other film titles may not consider this a necessary purchase, this up-to-date edition is easy to use and could be a welcome addition to the circulating as well as the reference collection. With the expansion of library video and DVD collections, it could also be used as a collection development tool. Patricia Hogan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Checkmark Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0816046239
• ISBN 13: 9780816046232
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 548