Viola Spolin's improvisational techniques changed the very nature and practice of modern theater. The first two editions of Improvisation for the Theater sold more than 100,000 copies and inspired actors, directors, teachers, and writers in theater, television, film. These techniques have also influenced the fields of education, mental health, social work, and psychology.-Print ed.

"Junk film's thirteen essays explore the failures of specific works created between the 1940s and the 2010s. Each demonstrates a different kind of failure, from mixing incompatible genres (Cop Rock) to stacking a screenplay with sociopaths (Staying Alive). The book uses a few basic theses about bad film and television to unpack these failures. Importantly, it shows what students of film can learn from bad movies: how to make art that works via watching...

A skill-building introduction to the forthcoming LEGO® adaptation traces the rise of the formidable Clone Army and the first battle of the Clone Wars while featuring favorite Jedi minifigures clashing with a deadly droid army.

A Special Memoir for a Special Moment in Hollywood History... Some Like It Hot occupies a unique place in American culture. This beloved classic showcases five comic geniuses: Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, I. A. L. Diamond, Billy Wilder, and Marilyn Monroe. It has been honored by the American Film Institute as the "Funniest Film of All Time". It has contributed quotes, styles, and stories to film lore. Yet the full story of its making has never been...

"Special effects have come a long way over the past century! Computer-generated visual effects are now par for the course, bringing spectacular worlds to screens big and small. This title explores the history of visual effects, starting with the very first uses of CGI in the 1970s to the present day, where just about anything is possible! This title includes engaging text and vibrant photos that are sure to grip young readers. Additional special features...

Competing for a first-prize trip to a Los Angeles film festival, die-hard romantic Emma and her archnemesis, the practical-minded Sophia, find their frequent clashes turning into something more.

"Matt Singer eavesdrops on [Siskel & Ebert's] iconic balcony set, detailing their rise from making a few hundred dollars a week on local Chicago PBS to securing multimillion-dollar contracts for a syndicated series (a move that convinced a young local host named Oprah Winfrey to do the same). Their partnership was cut short when Gene Siskel passed away in February of 1999 after a battle with brain cancer that he'd kept secret from everyone outside...

Gary Sinise shares the never-before-told story of his journey from trouble-making Chicago kid to cofounder of the legendary Steppenwolf Theater Company, world-famous actor, and tireless advocate for America's active duty defenders, veterans, and first responders.

"Ingrid Bergman was far more than just a sweet, virtuous, 'natural' Swedish girl-she was a dark sensualist over whom many men might go mad. Her very gaze delivered a climate of adult romantic expectation." Adored by millions for her luminous beauty and elegance, at the height of her career Bergman commanded a love that has hardly ever been matched, until her marriage fell apart and created an international scandal. Here the renowned film writer David...