The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

Lady Director: Adventures in Hollywood, Television and Beyond
Joyce Chopra
City Lights Publishers
www.citylights.com
9780872868687, $17.95, PB, 232pp

https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Director-Adventures-Hollywood-Television/dp/087= 2868680

Synopsis: Joyce Chopra came of age in the 1950s, prior to the dawn of femin= ism, and long before the #MeToo movement. As a young woman, it seemed impos= sible that she might one day realize her dream of becoming a film director =
-- she couldn't name a single woman in that role. But with her desire fuele=
d by a stay in Paris during the heady beginnings of the French New Wave, sh=
e was determined to find a way.

Chopra got her start making documentary films with the legendary D.A. Penne= baker. From her ground-breaking autobiographical short, "Joyce at 34" (whic=
h was acquired for NY MoMA'S permanent collection), to her rousingly succes= sful first feature, Smooth Talk (winner of the Best Director and Grand Jury=
Prize at Sundance in 1985), to a series of increasingly cruel moves by Hol= lywood producers unwilling to accept a woman in the director's role, Chopra=
's career trajectory was never easy or straightforward.

"Lady Director: Adventures in Hollywood, Television and Beyond" is engaging=
, candid memoir, in which Chopra describes how she learned to navigate the = deeply embedded sexism of the film industry, helping to pave the way for a = generation of women filmmakers who would come after her. She shares stories=
of her bruising encounters with Harvey Weinstein and Sydney Pollack, her e= xperience directing Diane Keaton, Treat Williams, and a host of other actor=
s, as well as her deep friendships with Gene Wilder, Arthur Miller, and Lau=
ra Dern.

Along with the successes and failures of her career, "Lady Director" provid=
es an intimate view of a woman's struggle to balance the responsibilities a=
nd rewards of motherhood and marriage with a steadfast commitment to person=
al creative achievement. During a career spanning six decades, Joyce Chopra=
has worked through monumental shifts in her craft and in the culture at la= rge, and the span of her life story offers a view into the implacable momen= tum of the push for all womens' liberation.

Critique: Simply stated, no personal, professional, community, college, or = university film school's Cinematic History collection can be considered com= plete or comprehensive without including "Lady Director: Adventures in Holl= ywood, Television and Beyond" by Joyce Chopra. Enhanced for the reader with=
the inclusions of a section of black/white historical photographs, "Lady D= irector" is as fascinating a read as it is informative. It should be noted = for film history students, academia, and non-specialist general readers wit=
h an interest in the subject that "Lady Director" is also readily available=
in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note: Joyce Chopra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Chopra) h=
as produced and directed a wide range of award-winning films, ranging from = Smooth Talk, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Feature at th=
e Sundance Film Festival, to the A&E thriller The Lady in Question with Gen=
e Wilder. She has received American Film Festival Blue Ribbon and Cine Gold=
en Eagle Awards for her numerous documentaries, including That Our Children=
Will Not Die, about primary health care in Nigeria, and the autobiographic=
al Joyce at 34, which is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Moder=
n Art.

Goin' Crazy with Sam Peckinpah and All Our Friends
Max Evans, author
Robert Nott, author
University of Nevada Press
www.unpress.nevada.edu
9780826365026, $19.95, PB, 304pp

https://www.amazon.com/Goin-Crazy-Sam-Peckinpah-Friends/dp/0826365027

Synopsis: Almost as famous for the legendary excesses of his personal life =
as for his films, Sam Peckinpah (1925-1984) cemented his reputation as one =
of the great American directors with movies such as The Wild Bunch and Pat = Garrett and Billy the Kid.

Max Evans, one of Peckinpah's best friends, experienced the director's merc= urial character and personal demons firsthand. In this enthralling memoir w=
e follow Evans and Peckinpah through conversations in bars, family gatherin= gs, binges on drugs and alcohol, struggles with film producers and executiv= es, and Peckinpah's abusive behavior -- sometimes directed at Evans himself=
..

Evans's stories comprising "Goin' Crazy with Sam Peckinpah and All Our Frie= nds" (most of which previously unpublished) provide a uniquely intimate loo=
k at Peckinpah, their famous friends (including Lee Marvin, Brian Keith, Jo=
el McCrea, and James Coburn), and the business of Hollywood in the 1960s an=
d 1970s.

Critique: Original published in hardcover in 2014, this newly published pap= erback edition of "Goin' Crazy with Sam Peckinpah and All Our Friends" from=
the University of Nevada Press will be of special appeal to academia and n= on- specialist general readers with an interest in American Cinematic Histo=
ry in general, and the movie director Sam Peckinpah in particular. While hi= ghly recommended for both community and academic library American Biography= /Memoir collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that "Go= in' Crazy with Sam Peckinpah and All Our Friends" is also readily available=
in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).

Editorial Note #1: Max Evans (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Evans_%28wr= iter%29) was the author of over thirty works of fiction and nonfiction. He = was the recipient of the Spur, Wrangler, and Owen Wister awards, and he was=
the subject of the biography Ol' Max Evans: The First Thousand Years and a=
documentary film of the same title. Evans made his home in Albuquerque, Ne=
w Mexico, for over fifty years.

Editorial Note #2: Robert Nott has been a reporter for the Santa Fe New Mex= ican for more than fifteen years. Among his previous books are The Films of=
Randolph Scott and He Ran All the Way: The Life of John Garfield.

A Lie Called the Present
Jim van de Erve
Atmosphere Press
www.atmospherepress.com
9781639887521, $17.99

https://www.amazon.com/Lie-Called-Present-Jim-Erve/dp/1639887520

The play in verse A Lie Called the Present revolves around a cast of elderl=
y and middle-aged characters who represent a family in chaos. Each member i=
s hiding some aspect of their lives and personas. As the story unfolds, the=
se truths come to light in unexpected ways to test the family's past, prese= nt, and future connections. Jim van de Erve presents the drama with a milit= ary edge of reflection: "Who is a daughter but a spy/with a matron's cloak = and assassin's dagger?/And who are parents but generals/raising their off t=
o be divided/by the stars into their separate zealots." As intellectually r= eflective as its introduction demands, the heart of this story lies in rela= tionships tested by time and the advancement of years as dementia and dispa= rate special interests both challenge the family and threatens its foundati= ons.

Intriguing connections are made via seemingly-ordinary conversations that r= ing with authenticity. The truths that are revealed within each family memb= er's particular vision, limitation, and objective come to light as the play=
moves through time and experiences. The resulting tale of lives tested by = aging, the betrayal of self and loved ones, and revelations made by a famil=
y already connected in unusual ways contributes to a play that ideally will=
be both read and considered for stage production. Libraries and readers se= eking contemporary scenarios and literary dramas that employ poetic, psycho= logical, and dramatic embellishments will welcome the hard-hitting issues a=
nd structure of A Lie Called the Present, which may also be chosen for dram=
a classes as an example of modern issues brought to life using new literary=
approaches to broaden both its message and potential audience.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promo= ting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no fund=
s from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these=
reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, inte= rnet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested indivi= duals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.

The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "Califo= rnia Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwat= ch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available=
for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview=
(dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugal= muse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publish= er, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number=
, and list price).

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review

--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: ---:- FTN<->UseNet Gate -:--- (3:633/280.2@fidonet)