Though he has made only five films in two decades--"Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet," and the Oscar-nominated films "Moulin Rouge , Australia," and "The Great Gatsby"--Australian writer-director Baz Luhrmann is an internationally known brand name. His Christian name has even entered the English language as a verb, as in "to Baz things up," meaning "to decorate them with an exuberant flourish." Celebrated by some, loathed by others, his work is underscored by what has been described as "an aesthetic of artifice" and is notable for both its glittering surfaces and recurring concerns.

In this collection of interviews, Luhrmann discusses his methods and his motives, explaining what has been important to him and his collaborators from the start and how he has been able to maintain an independence from the studios that have backed his films. He also speaks about his other artistic endeavors, including stage productions of "La Boheme" and "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and his wife and collaborative partner Catherine Martin, who has received two Academy Awards for her work with Luhrmann."

Best known for powerful 1950s melodramas like All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind, The Tarnished Angels, and Imitation of Life, Douglas Sirk (1897-1987) brought to all his work a distinctive style that led to his reputation as one of twentieth-century film's great directors. Sirk worked in Europe during the 1930s, mainly for Germany's UFA studios, and then in America in the 1940s and '50s. The Films of Douglas Sirk: Exquisite Ironies and Magnificent Obsessions provides an overview of his entire career, including Sirk's work on musicals, comedies, thrillers, war movies, and westerns. One of the great ironists of the cinema, Sirk believed rules were there to be broken. Whether defying the decrees of Nazi authorities trying to turn film into propaganda or arguing with studios that insisted characters' problems should always be solved and that endings should always restore order, what Sirk called "emergency exits" for audiences, Sirk always fought for his vision. Offering fresh insights into all of the director's films and situating them in the culture of their times, critic Tom Ryan also incorporates extensive interview material drawn from a variety of sources, including his own conversations with the director. Furthermore, his enlightening study undertakes a detailed reconsideration of the generally overlooked novels and plays that served as sources for Sirk's films, as well as providing a critical survey of previous Sirk commentary, from the time of the director's "rediscovery" in the late 1960s up to the present day.

In the New Yorker, Stephen Schiff has described Fred Schepisi (b. 1939) as "probably the least-known great director working in the mainstreamAmerican cinema-a master storyteller with a serenely muscular style that can make more flamboyant moviemakers look coarse and overweening." Schepisi's launch in Australia during the country's film renaissance of the 1970s and his ongoing international work have rightfully earned him a reputation as an actors' director. But he has also become a skillful stylist, forging his own way as he works alongside a talented team of collaborators. This volume includes twenty interviews with Schepisi andtwo with longtime collaborators, cinematographer Ian Baker and composer Paul Grabowsky. The interviews trace the filmmaker's career from his beginnings in advertising, through his two early Australian features-The Devil's Playground and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith-to his subsequent work in the United Statesand beyond on films as various as Plenty, Roxanne, A Cry in the Dark, The Russia House, Six Degrees of Separation, Empire Falls, Last Orders, and Eye of the Storm. Schepisi's films are diverse thematically and visually. In what is effectively a master class on film direction, Schepisi discusses his creative choices and his workwith actors and collaborators behind the scenes. In the process, he provides a goldmine of insights into his films, his filmmaking style, and what makes him tick as an artist.

As kids, Mark and his cousin Talia spent many happy summers together at the family cottage in Ontario, but a fight between their parents put an end to the annual event. Living on opposite coasts--Mark in Halifax and Talia in Victoria--they haven't seen each other in years. When their grandfather dies unexpectedly, Mark and Talia find themselves reunited at the cottage once again, cleaning it out while the family decides what to do with it. Mark and Talia are both queer, but they soon realize that's about all they have in common, other than the fact that they'd both prefer to be in Toronto. Talia is desperate to see her high school sweetheart Erin, who's barely been in touch since leaving to spend the summer working at a coffee shop in the gay village. Mark, on the other hand, is just looking for some fun, and Toronto Pride seems like the perfect place to find it. When sudden complications throw everything up in the air, Mark and Talia--with Mark's little sister Paige in tow--decide to hit the road for Toronto. With a bit of luck, and some help from a series of unexpected new friends, they might just make it to the big city and find what they're looking for. That is, if they can figure out how to start seeing things through each others eyes.

Boston Globe Bestseller A true story of acceptance, perseverance, and the possibility of love and redemption as evocative, charming, and powerful as the New York Times bestseller Following Atticus. Drawn by an online post, Tom Ryan adopted Will, a frightened, deaf, and mostly blind elderly dog, and brought him home to live with him and Atticus. The only owners Will ever knew had grown too fragile to take care of themselves, or of him. Ultimately, Will was left at a kill shelter in New Jersey. Tom hoped to give Will a place to die with dignity, amid the rustic beauty of the White Mountains of his New Hampshire home. But when Will bites him numerous times and acts out in violent displays, Tom realizes he is in for a challenge. With endless patience and the kind of continued empathy Tom has nurtured in his relationship with Atticus, Will eventually begins to thrive. Soon, the angry, hurt, depressed, and near-death oldster has transformed into a happy, gamboling companion with a puppy-like zest for discovery. Will perseveres for two and a half years, inspiring hundreds of thousands of Tom and Atticus's fans with his courage, resilience, and unforgettable heart. A story of a dog and an indelible bond that is beautiful, heartbreaking, uplifting, and unforgettable, Will's Red Coat honors the promise held in all of us, at any stage of life. Will's Red Coat includes eight pages of color photographs.

Best known for powerful 1950s melodramas like All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind, The Tarnished Angels, and Imitation of Life, Douglas Sirk (1897-1987) brought to all his work a distinctive style that led to his reputation as one of twentieth-century film's great directors. Sirk worked in Europe during the 1930s, mainly for Germany's UFA studios, and then in America in the 1940s and '50s. The Films of Douglas Sirk: Exquisite Ironies and Magnificent Obsessions provides an overview of his entire career, including Sirk's work on musicals, comedies, thrillers, war movies, and westerns. One of the great ironists of the cinema, Sirk believed rules were there to be broken. Whether defying the decrees of Nazi authorities trying to turn film into propaganda or arguing with studios that insisted characters' problems should always be solved and that endings should always restore order, what Sirk called "emergency exits" for audiences, Sirk always fought for his vision. Offering fresh insights into all of the director's films and situating them in the culture of their times, critic Tom Ryan also incorporates extensive interview material drawn from a variety of sources, including his own conversations with the director. Furthermore, his enlightening study undertakes a detailed reconsideration of the generally overlooked novels and plays that served as sources for Sirk's films, as well as providing a critical survey of previous Sirk commentary, from the time of the director's "rediscovery" in the late 1960s up to the present day.

After a close friend died of cancer, middle-aged, overweight, acrophobic newspaperman Tom Ryan decided to pay tribute to her in a most unorthodox manner. Ryan and his friend, miniature schnauzer Atticus M. Finch, would attempt to climb all forty-eight of New Hampshire's four thousand- foot peaks twice in one winter while raising money for charity. It was an adventure of a lifetime, leading them across hundreds of miles and deep into an enchanting but dangerous winter wonderland. At the heart of the amazing journey was the extraordinary relationship they shared, one that blurred the line between man and dog.

Following Atticus is an unforgettable true saga of adventure, friendship, and the unlikeliest of family, as one remarkable animal opens the eyes and heart of a tough-as-nails newspaperman to the world's beauty and its possibilities.

A true story of acceptance, perseverance, and the possibility of love and redemption as evocative, charming, and powerful as the New York Times bestseller Following Atticus. From the author of Following Atticus, an international bestseller that has inspired hundreds of thousands of people around the world, comes the moving true story of a despondent and broken old dog and the man who gave him a second chance. Drawn by a fateful online post, Tom Ryan, with the help of his canine hiking partner, Atticus M. Finch, adopts Will, an elderly, deaf, and nearly blind soul. Long neglected and filled with anger and pain, Will finds himself in a curious world unlike any he has ever known. Tom hopes to give Will a place to die with dignity surrounded by the natural beauty of the White Mountains of his New Hampshire home. But when he witnesses Will's fear and lack of trust, Tom realizes that his task entails so much more. With endless patience and the same meditative empathy Tom has nurtured in his relationship with Atticus, Will eventually begins to thrive. Soon, an angry, hurt, depressed, and near-death Will has transformed into a happy, frolicking fellow with a puppy-like zest for discovery, inspiring hundreds of thousands of people with his courage, resilience, and renewed heart. Will lived for two more years - to the ripe old age of 17 - and helped Tom understand a great deal about aging, how to live a full life and make the best of our days. Will's Red Coat is a real-life fairy tale of promises kept and a life-changing, inviolable bond between friends. Heartbreaking, uplifting, and ultimately unforgettable, it honours the possibility held in all of us, at any stage of life.

Though he has made only five films in two decades- Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, and the Oscar-nominated films Moulin Rouge!, Australia, and The Great Gatsby- Australian writer-director Baz Luhrmann is an internationally known brand name. His name has even entered the English language as a verb, as in ""to Baz things up,"" meaning ""to decorate them with an exuberant flourish. "" Celebrated by some, loathed by others, his work is underscored by what has been described as ""an aesthetic of artifice"" and is notable for both its glittering surfaces and recurring concerns. In this collection of interviews, Luhrmann discusses his methods and his motives, explaining what has been important to him and his collaborators from the start and how he has been able to maintain an independence from the studios that have backed his films. He also speaks about his other artistic endeavors, including stage productions of La Boheme and A Midsummer Night's Dream, and his wife and collaborative partner Catherine Martin, who has received two Academy Awards for her work with Luhrmann.

James Doyle was a most unlikely spy.Orphaned in 1916 at he age of six he went to live with his schoolteacher aunt in Paris. In1939 he returned to his hometown Waterford in neutral Ireland to avoid the war in Europe. An enigmatic stranger entered his life in 1941, a meting that was to have a profound effect on him. He was intimidated into joining the German Secret Service ( Abwehr) for a top secret mission into occupied France. The British Secret Service ( S.O.E.) became aware of Doyle's unusual recruitment, they persuaded him to join them as a double agent. On the successful completion of hie mission the Germans transferred him to Prague and Reinhard Heydrich's department where he became involved in the assassination attempt on Heydrich in may 1942. He escaped Prague following the shooting of Heydrich running the gauntlet through Germany, Switzerland and France.on his return to England he was retrained and dropped back into France as a member of a Jedburgh team to assist the resistance in the run-up to Operation Overlord, the liberation of occupied Europe.

Middle-aged, overweight, and acrophobic newspaper editor Tom Ryan and a little dog named Atticus M. Finch are an unlikely pair of mountaineers--but after a close friend dies of cancer, the two pay tribute to her by attempting to climb all forty-eight of New Hampshire's four-thousand-foot peaks twice in one winter while raising money for charity. In a rare test of endurance, Tom and Atticus set out on an adventure of a lifetime that takes them across hundreds of miles and deep into an enchanting but dangerous winter wonderland. An unforgettable saga of adventure, friendship, and the unlikeliest of family, Following Atticus is an inspiring tale of finding love and discovering your true self.