Issue: Summer 2022

Summer Reading

Hello, Molly! Is a compulsively readable, hilarious and heartbreaking memoir of resilience and redemption by comedic genius Molly Shannon. Experiencing the tragic loss of her mother, sister and cousin in a car accident resulted in a complicated relationship with her grieving father. Raised in a permissive household, her gift for improvising and role-playing and fearlessness led her to become a celebrated comedien and actress. New York, SNL and Los Angeles followed. The book is filled with behind-the-scenes stories of SNL antics. Written with Sean Wilsey, Molly Shannon sheds new and revelatory light on her life and work. A delightful read.

Our own James Bartlett has penned an incredible expose examining the flawed investigation and uncovers new evidence about the “most notorious and baffling murder in the history of Fairbanks.” Sex, secrets and a Hollywood connection, make The Alaskan Blonde and intriguing read for anyone who enjoys a true tale of intrigue and coverups.

Just when you thought it was safe to come out of the kitchen, Amy Bizzarri offers up Iconic Hollywood—Dishes, Drinks & Desserts. If you long to savor such long-gone dishes as Noodles Romanoff or its famed Mike Romanoff Cocktail or Madame Wu’s Chinese Chicken Salad, you’ll find recipes and stories about your favorites even including LAUSD Coffee Cake. It’s Hollywood fine dining before LA’s food scene was discovered.

With a title like Dream Town, we couldn’t pass up the latest David Baldacci novel featuring private investigator and World War II veteran Aloysius Archer as he heads to Los Angeles, the city where dreams are made and shattered. It’s the eve of 1953 as he rings in the New Year with an aspiring actress and her screenwriter friend. As a case unfolds, Archer launches an investigation that takes him from mob-ridden Las Vegas to the glamorous world of Hollywood. What’s not to like here?

Rock on Film explores the electrifying and often daring marriage of Rock & Roll and cinema. From the carefree to the complex, the mindless to the mind-bending, rock films have staked out their own turf by celebrating innocence and challenging artistic and social conventions. Fred Goodman presents an insightful round-up of fifty must-see rock films presenting a seventy-year canon of a genre like no other.

The Essential Directors by Sloan De Forest illuminates the unseen forces behind some of the most notable screen triumph from the aesthetic peak of silent cinema through the “New Hollywood” of the 1970s. Each artist’s influence on the medium, cultural impact and degree of achievement was considered for this compendium of Hollywood’s most influential filmmakers. There’s insight on narrative style, unique touches, and distinctive movie moments to watch for in profiles of over twenty directors from Chaplin to Spielberg. Quite a read! DH