Seeking Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors - Softcover

Melville, Jonathan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 099332150X ISBN 13: 9780993321504

Publisher: Fountainbridge Press, 2015

Synopsis

A behind the scenes look at the making of Tremors and its sequels

"This high-access tell-all...[is] an unexpected treat" - 4/5, Empire

Welcome to Perfection, Nevada

A throwback to the kind of sci-fi B movies that had long gone out of fashion, Tremors was a box office flop that became a home video phenomenon, spawning multiple sequels and a short-lived TV series.

Seeking Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors is the first book to go beneath the surface of the Tremors franchise, featuring new interviews with more than 50 cast and crew members, including stars Kevin Bacon and Michael Gross, director Ron Underwood, executive producer Gale Anne Hurd, and the monster makers who brought the Graboids to life.

Seeking Perfection also includes:

• Interviews with cast and crew from Tremors 1-5 and the TV series
• Newly-discovered photos from the Tremors set
• Storyboard excerpts
• Commentary on every episode of the TV series
• Exclusive coverage of the special 25th anniversary Tremors screening in Los Angeles
• A look at the 10-year journey from script to screen of the latest sequel, 2015’s Tremors 5: Bloodlines

Seeking Perfection is the ultimate, 100% unofficial, reference guide to Tremors!

PLUS! Buy Seeking Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors in paperback on Amazon US and get the Kindle edition for no charge on Kindle Matchbook! Perfect for anyone who wants to keep a copy on the shelf and carry another on their smartphone, or buy a paperback as a gift and keep the Kindle edition.

"Informative, entertaining and, above all, a joy to read" - 9/10, Starburst

More about the book

More than two years in the making, Seeking Perfection: The Unofficial Guide to Tremors features high-profile insight into Hollywood filmmaking from some of the biggest names in the industry.

Starting with co-creators S.S. Wilson, Brent Maddock and Ron Underwood, the book examines their love of B movies and student filmmaking that brought them to Hollywood, before they embarked on ambitious plans to take control of their own big-budget productions, starting with 1986's Short Circuit.

The story then moves to their time working with Steven Spielberg at Amblin, before delving into their plans to make a low budget horror movie set entirely during the daytime, something unheard of in the industry.

Author Jonathan Melville's interviews with executive producer Gale Ann Hurd (Aliens, The Walking Dead) and Universal's Jim Jacks offer rare insight into the minds of those working in Hollywood in the 1980s, with their candid opinions revealing what really goes on behind studio doors.

Seeking Perfection goes on to bring the views of actors Kevin Bacon, Michael Gross, Reba McEntire, Ariana Richards, Charlotte Stewart, Tony Genaro - plus many behind the scenes crew from the first film - into the story, revealing the trials and tribulations of making a monster movie in the desert.

With dozens more interviews covering all of the sequels and the troubled TV series, this is a must-read for anyone with an interest in filmmaking, screenwriting and TV production.

In Seeking Perfection you'll find all of the answers to all of the questions you never knew you had about the Tremors series - Mike White, The Projection Booth

About this title

About the Author

First catching a screening of Tremors on BBC One in the early 1990s, Jonathan Melville has closely followed the goings on in Perfection, Nevada, ever since.

Long before the internet allowed fans to read about the production of their favourite movies from concept to completion, Melville relied on frequent visits to the video store to discover the latest releases, stumbling across Tremors 2: Aftershocks in a Blockbuster just outside Toronto in 1996, before stumbling across the sequels as they were released.

As a freelance film journalist for UK science fiction magazine SFX, Melville was able to pitch a 21st anniversary feature on Tremors for a 2011 article, subsequently deciding to devote an entire book to the subject.

The result is the first in-depth look at the Tremors franchise, including Tremors, Tremors 2: Aftershocks, Tremors 3: Back to Perfection, Tremors 4: The Legend Begins, Tremors: The Series and Tremors 5: Bloodlines.

This movie reference guide has not only been written for horror fans but for anyone with an interest in cinema and Hollywood filmmaking and the direct-to-video industry.

It looks at the background of Tremors creators S.S. Wilson, Brent Maddock and Ron Underwood, their time working with the likes of Steven Spielberg and their first major success creating Short Circuit, before revealing the difficulties involved in bringing a movie about giant worms to the big screen in a risk-averse industry.

Melville's interviews with the likes of Wilson, Maddock and Underwood, plus major Hollywood players including Gale Anne Hurd and Jim Jacks offer a rare insight into what makes the movie industry tick.

Brand new interviews with actors Kevin Bacon, Michael Gross, Reba McEntire, Tony Genaro, Ariana Richards, Robert Jayne and more offer further depth to the history of Tremors.

Jonathan Melville lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, but is planning to move to Perfection when his visa is approved.

Review

"Though it has spawned a flurry of low-budget sequels ... rollickingly fun '80s monster movie Tremors has never been treated with much respect. Super-fan Jonathan Melville sets that right with this high-access tell-all (he even got Kevin Bacon), which began life as an article in SFX ... an unexpected treat." - 4/5, Empire

“It’s clear from reading the book that Melville is a fan with a passionate enthusiasm for the films, which goes a long way over in making the book informative, entertaining and, above all, a joy to read. - 9/10, Starburst

“While there is a wealth of the expected information on production,
marketing, and Hollywood politics, possibly the book's greatest strength is the extraordinary depth of interviews. Sprinkled throughout the book are their delightful recollections of small personal moments, a wealth of charming, quirky details never before published, and quite unlike the usual behind-the-scenes trivia.” - Steve Wilson [Tremors co-creator], Amazon.com

"Timed to the 25th anniversary of the beloved Kevin Bacon monster movie, author Jonathan Melville digs deep to uncover the the real story behind the film that flopped initially, then became a fan favourite that spawned four sequels and a short-lived series" - Famous Monsters of Filmland

"It really does go into a lot of detail about all the films and you find
out something new on almost every page. A must read for fans of Tremors." - 5/5, liveforfilms.com

"Although it’s labelled as a guide, I would describe the book as a great
story which I couldn’t put down and devoured in just a couple of days. If you’re a Tremors fan, then don’t miss out on this great book." - theunheardnerd.com

“Highly recommend to anyone interested in Tremors, but also anyone
interested in Hollywood, the low budget sequel industry, and television
production.” - Ryan P Acheson, Amazon.com

“You can tell by the warmth given out by the actors and crew in their
answers that [the author’s] done his leg work in chasing them, buttering them up enough to give genuine answers as they reminisce about good times had.” - N. Robinson, Amazon.co.uk

“This book would be a wonderful read for anyone, including non-fans,
interested in the evolution of a small but unique franchise in the large
machine that is the Hollywood studio system and how such a journey affects both the content and its creators. If you love these films, or filmmaking in general, you owe it to yourself to read this book!” - Chris, Amazon.com

“It should be noted that this book has obviously been written with
passion, a true love for the Tremors movies/series is palpable. I totally
agree with another reviewer who mentioned Crystal Lake Memories for the Friday the 13th movies, it is indeed in the same league. I HIGHLY recommend Seeking Perfection to all Tremors fans out there, and even non-fans will appreciate the movie-making aspect of it.” - Psycho, Amazon.ca

Edition details

• Publisher: Fountainbridge Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 099332150X
• ISBN 13: 9780993321504
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 304