Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) and its various offshoots, such as Rifftrax and Cinematic Titanic, have been making fun of movies for over thirty years. In the process, they captured the spirit of what had been a beloved pastime for generations of wags, wiseacres, and smartalecks, and inspired countless more. The Worst We Can Find looks at how "riffing" of films came about, the history of the shows, and why what could be an annoying habit in the theater has become a long-lasting franchise in entertainment over the years. Mystery Science Theater 3000 first aired on a small television station in St. Paul, Minnesota. In a twist on programs of the past where movie hosts introduced films on local television channels, MST3K would liberate not very good or horribly bad films through humor with the help of a handful of writers, puppeteers, and performers who never could let a chance to make fun of what was happening on the screen get away from them. Dale Sherman covers where creative heckling came from in the years before the program, through the way MST3K and its progeny-including Rifftrax, Cinematic Titanic, and The Mads Are Back, have redirected the art of riffing into a style that manages to be both affectionate and cutting.

Here's the lowdown on the unforgettable show about the Forgotten War. EM*A*S*HE began as a novel written by a surgeon who had been in a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital during the Korean War. After being rejected multiple times the novel would go on to become a bestseller leading to 14 sequels an Oscar-winning movie that propelled its director and actors to stardom and a multiple-Emmy-winning television series that lasted nearly four times the length of the war.THEMASH FAQE looks at how the novel came to be its follow-ups in literary form the creation of the popular movie and a most importantly a the television series that transformed comedy and television in the 1970s. Included are chapters on the top-20 pranks of EM*A*S*HE the cast members' careers before and after the television show famous guest appearances and movies shown in the mess hall.THBeyond the fiction EMASH FAQE also features a brief chapter to put the war into perspective for easy referral a and looks at what led to the Korean War how such medical units functioned and how EM*A*S*HE shaped our perception of the era.

Quentin Tarantino is a man who came to Hollywood and didn't break the rules so much as make plain that he didn't even notice them. Making the films he wanted to see Tarantino broke through with EReservoir DogsE in 1992 and then cemented his reputation in 1994 with the release of EPulp FictionE. As his fame grew he spread his love for movies that are far from commonplace through his promotion of older films and theaters and by reviving the stalled careers of actors such as John Travolta Pam Grier and David Carradine.THEQuentin Tarantino FAQE examines the movies directed by Tarantino the influences on his work and the inspiration he gave to others. There are also chapters on certain recurring elements in his films from fake product placement to the music actors and even cinematic moments used. The book also reviews his work in television the articles written about him or by him over the years his acting career his public battles and some of the projects he abandoned along the way. It all comes together to tell the story of a man who forged his own unique path and helped shape the way movies are made today.

(FAQ). Mankind has been predicting its own demise through various methods, from fables and religious scriptures to hard-core scientific studies since the dawn of time. And if there is one thing Hollywood knows how to exploit, it is the fears of Things to Come. Movies about the end of the world have been around since the early days of cinema, and Armageddon Film FAQ is a look into the various methods we have destroyed ourselves over the years: zombies, mad computers, uptight aliens, plunging objects from space, crazed animals, Satan, God, Contagions, the ever-popular atomic bomb, sometimes even a combination of these in the same movie Armageddon Films FAQ goes from the silent days of filmmaking to the most recent (literally) earth-shattering epics, from cinema to television and even the novels, from comedies to dramas, from supernatural to scientific. It also explores other aspects of the genre, such as iconic but unfilmable apocalyptic novels, postnuclear car-racing flicks, domestic dramas disguised as end-of-the-world actioners, and more from the most depressing to the happiest Armageddons ever

Since the early days of the movie industry, filmmakers have created visions of what the presidency of the United States is like. Several have been biographical studies of famous individuals who have served, such as Lincoln, Kennedy, and Nixon. Many movies have also displayed fictional presidents, in roles big and small, in dramatic tales that displayed them at their best-and sometimes even at their worst. Four Scores and Seven Reels Ago: The U.S. Presidency Through Hollywood, Real and Unreal examines the ways Hollywood has portrayed the presidency over the years. Pop culture expert Dale Sherman examines famous presidents and their movies, detailing historical information for each and how or if the filmmakers and artists came close to telling the real story. But let us not forget the many imagined examples of presidents that have appeared in movies and television, as well: presidents have battled aliens, fought monsters, and have even been caught on the wrong side of the law. Lincoln, Thirteen Days, Air Force One, Independence Day, All the President's Men, The President's Analyst, Escape from New York, and several of our favorite movies about real and fictional presidents are included in Four Scores and Seven Reels Ago: The U.S. Presidency Through Hollywood, Real and Unreal.

For more than 50 years John Waters has been staging a coup against the good taste of the American public. From the ultimate gross-out in Pink Flamingos to the amazing general-audience rating of his biggest hit Hairspray, Waters has been subverting viewers' expectations with comedies that stretch past the boundaries of even today's jaded audiences. A provocateur of bad taste in a glorious way, Waters started out as an outsider with a camera and a small circle of fellow delinquents. In tearing down icons of the silver screen, Waters would create his own that are used still by others in movies and television. And that's only part of the tale. John Waters FAQ looks at how a nice boy from the right side of the tracks would end up becoming a demon of society and the influences that drove his ambition in moviemaking. Also featured are biographical information of the Dreamlanders -- the actors and crew members who would join Waters on his adventures in filmland over the years, including Waters's best-remembered

Covers the gauntlet of great rock and roll myths. From the tales that are just peculiar to legends so outlandish they can hardly be believed. From the stories made up for publicity, to stories invented to destroy a performer's career. From the beginning of rock and roll, up to the present and beyond. You Never Can Tell is packed with incredible stories about fame, music, money, sex, conspiracies, death, and everything in between! Which are true? Which are false? One thing is for sure -- You Never Can Tell!