Author: Houston Curtis
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510762175
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
“Right out of the gate, the entire game was designed to empty the pockets of those rich, celeb-loving LA suckers.”—Houston Curtis Leonardo DiCaprio. Alex Rodriguez. Tobey Maguire. Ben Affleck. Matt Damon. John Cassavetes. What do these people have in common? Not just fame and fortune; all these men are also alumni of the ultra-exclusive, high-stakes poker ring that inspired Aaron Sorkin’s Oscar-nominated film, Molly’s Game. But Houston Curtis, the card shark who co-founded the game with Tobey Maguire, knows that Sorkin’s is the whitewashed version. In Billion Dollar Hollywood Heist, Curtis goes all-in, revealing the true story behind the game. From its origins with Maguire to staking DiCaprio’s first game, installing Molly Bloom, avoiding the hookers and blow down the hall, and weathering the FBI investigation that left Curtis with a lien on his house, this is the no-holds-barred account of the world’s most exclusive Texas Hold ’Em game from the man who started it—with all the names and salacious details that Molly’s Game left out. With the insider appeal of Rounders, more A-listers than Ocean’s 11, and the excitement of The Sting, Billion Dollar Hollywood Heist is the untold, insider’s story that makes Molly’s Game look tame.
Billion Dollar Hollywood Heist
Author: Houston Curtis
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510762175
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
“Right out of the gate, the entire game was designed to empty the pockets of those rich, celeb-loving LA suckers.”—Houston Curtis Leonardo DiCaprio. Alex Rodriguez. Tobey Maguire. Ben Affleck. Matt Damon. John Cassavetes. What do these people have in common? Not just fame and fortune; all these men are also alumni of the ultra-exclusive, high-stakes poker ring that inspired Aaron Sorkin’s Oscar-nominated film, Molly’s Game. But Houston Curtis, the card shark who co-founded the game with Tobey Maguire, knows that Sorkin’s is the whitewashed version. In Billion Dollar Hollywood Heist, Curtis goes all-in, revealing the true story behind the game. From its origins with Maguire to staking DiCaprio’s first game, installing Molly Bloom, avoiding the hookers and blow down the hall, and weathering the FBI investigation that left Curtis with a lien on his house, this is the no-holds-barred account of the world’s most exclusive Texas Hold ’Em game from the man who started it—with all the names and salacious details that Molly’s Game left out. With the insider appeal of Rounders, more A-listers than Ocean’s 11, and the excitement of The Sting, Billion Dollar Hollywood Heist is the untold, insider’s story that makes Molly’s Game look tame.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510762175
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
“Right out of the gate, the entire game was designed to empty the pockets of those rich, celeb-loving LA suckers.”—Houston Curtis Leonardo DiCaprio. Alex Rodriguez. Tobey Maguire. Ben Affleck. Matt Damon. John Cassavetes. What do these people have in common? Not just fame and fortune; all these men are also alumni of the ultra-exclusive, high-stakes poker ring that inspired Aaron Sorkin’s Oscar-nominated film, Molly’s Game. But Houston Curtis, the card shark who co-founded the game with Tobey Maguire, knows that Sorkin’s is the whitewashed version. In Billion Dollar Hollywood Heist, Curtis goes all-in, revealing the true story behind the game. From its origins with Maguire to staking DiCaprio’s first game, installing Molly Bloom, avoiding the hookers and blow down the hall, and weathering the FBI investigation that left Curtis with a lien on his house, this is the no-holds-barred account of the world’s most exclusive Texas Hold ’Em game from the man who started it—with all the names and salacious details that Molly’s Game left out. With the insider appeal of Rounders, more A-listers than Ocean’s 11, and the excitement of The Sting, Billion Dollar Hollywood Heist is the untold, insider’s story that makes Molly’s Game look tame.
Billion Dollar Whale
Author: Bradley Hope
Publisher: Hachette Books
ISBN: 0316436488
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 412
Book Description
Named a Best Book of 2018 by the Financial Times and Fortune, this "thrilling" (Bill Gates) New York Times bestseller exposes how a "modern Gatsby" swindled over $5 billion with the aid of Goldman Sachs in "the heist of the century" (Axios). Now a #1 international bestseller, Billion Dollar Whale is "an epic tale of white-collar crime on a global scale" (Publishers Weekly), revealing how a young social climber from Malaysia pulled off one of the biggest heists in history. In 2009, a chubby, mild-mannered graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business named Jho Low set in motion a fraud of unprecedented gall and magnitude--one that would come to symbolize the next great threat to the global financial system. Over a decade, Low, with the aid of Goldman Sachs and others, siphoned billions of dollars from an investment fund--right under the nose of global financial industry watchdogs. Low used the money to finance elections, purchase luxury real estate, throw champagne-drenched parties, and even to finance Hollywood films like The Wolf of Wall Street. By early 2019, with his yacht and private jet reportedly seized by authorities and facing criminal charges in Malaysia and in the United States, Low had become an international fugitive, even as the U.S. Department of Justice continued its investigation. Billion Dollar Whale has joined the ranks of Liar's Poker, Den of Thieves, and Bad Blood as a classic harrowing parable of hubris and greed in the financial world.
Publisher: Hachette Books
ISBN: 0316436488
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 412
Book Description
Named a Best Book of 2018 by the Financial Times and Fortune, this "thrilling" (Bill Gates) New York Times bestseller exposes how a "modern Gatsby" swindled over $5 billion with the aid of Goldman Sachs in "the heist of the century" (Axios). Now a #1 international bestseller, Billion Dollar Whale is "an epic tale of white-collar crime on a global scale" (Publishers Weekly), revealing how a young social climber from Malaysia pulled off one of the biggest heists in history. In 2009, a chubby, mild-mannered graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business named Jho Low set in motion a fraud of unprecedented gall and magnitude--one that would come to symbolize the next great threat to the global financial system. Over a decade, Low, with the aid of Goldman Sachs and others, siphoned billions of dollars from an investment fund--right under the nose of global financial industry watchdogs. Low used the money to finance elections, purchase luxury real estate, throw champagne-drenched parties, and even to finance Hollywood films like The Wolf of Wall Street. By early 2019, with his yacht and private jet reportedly seized by authorities and facing criminal charges in Malaysia and in the United States, Low had become an international fugitive, even as the U.S. Department of Justice continued its investigation. Billion Dollar Whale has joined the ranks of Liar's Poker, Den of Thieves, and Bad Blood as a classic harrowing parable of hubris and greed in the financial world.
Molly's Game
Author: Molly Bloom
Publisher: William Collins
ISBN: 9780008278366
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY AARON SORKIN, AND STARRING JESSICA CHASTAIN, IDRIS ELBA, KEVIN COSTNER AND MICHAEL CERA The true story of the 26-year-old woman behind the most exclusive, high-stakes underground poker game in the world When Molly Bloom was a little girl in a small Colorado town, she dreamed of a life without rules and limits, a life where she didn't have to measure up to anyone or anything - where she could become whatever she wanted. She ultimately got more than she ever could have bargained for. In Molly's Game, she takes you through her adventures running an exclusive private poker game catering to Hollywood royalty like Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck, athletes, billionaires, politicians and financial titans. With rich detail, Molly describes a world of glamour, privilege and secrecy in which she made millions, lived the high life and fearlessly took on the Russian and Italian mobs - until she met theone adversary she could not outsmart: the UnitedStates government.
Publisher: William Collins
ISBN: 9780008278366
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY AARON SORKIN, AND STARRING JESSICA CHASTAIN, IDRIS ELBA, KEVIN COSTNER AND MICHAEL CERA The true story of the 26-year-old woman behind the most exclusive, high-stakes underground poker game in the world When Molly Bloom was a little girl in a small Colorado town, she dreamed of a life without rules and limits, a life where she didn't have to measure up to anyone or anything - where she could become whatever she wanted. She ultimately got more than she ever could have bargained for. In Molly's Game, she takes you through her adventures running an exclusive private poker game catering to Hollywood royalty like Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck, athletes, billionaires, politicians and financial titans. With rich detail, Molly describes a world of glamour, privilege and secrecy in which she made millions, lived the high life and fearlessly took on the Russian and Italian mobs - until she met theone adversary she could not outsmart: the UnitedStates government.
Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History
Author: Scott Andrew Selby
Publisher: Sterling Publishing
ISBN:
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 397
Book Description
"Tells the story with the gripping pace of a true-crime 'Ocean's Eleven.'" The New York Post • "Like a diamond, this true-life caper is clear, colorful, and brilliant." Publishers Weekly ★Starred Review★ The Antwerp Diamond Center was one of the most secure buildings in the world. With hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of diamonds stored in its subterranean vault, it had to be. Located in the heart of Belgium's ultra-secure Antwerp Diamond District, it benefited from two police stations, armed patrols, extensive video surveillance, and vehicle barriers securing an area where 80 percent of the world's diamonds traded hands. But on February 15, 2003, a band of skilled Italian thieves — fronted by the charming Leonardo Notarbartolo, who spent over two years clandestinely casing the building — subverted every one of the Diamond Center's defenses and made off with a record amount of loot. Experts estimate they got away with nearly half a billion dollars in diamonds, cash and other valuables. They'd pulled off the biggest heist in history--everybody loves diamonds and they now had more than any thief before them. The robbers did it with stealth and smarts; no one was hurt or even threatened during what was quickly labeled the largest diamond heist in history. The bandits — members of a group of professional thieves known as "The School of Turin" — used cunning in lieu of violence, successfully evading security cameras, thwarting an array of electronic sensors, and penetrating a vault protected by a double-locked foot-thick steel door. Even when the police zeroed in on who committed the crime, how it was done remained a mystery, like something out of a heist movie or TV show. Flawless is a fast-paced global scavenger hunt uncovering the truth behind the daring Valentine's Day weekend heist. Tracking clues, sources, and documents throughout Europe — from seedy cafés in Turin, Italy to sleek diamond offices in Antwerp, Belgium — authors Scott Selby and Greg Campbell retrace Notarbartolo's careful discovery of the building's security flaws. They recreate the heist and its aftermath — detailing how the thieves brilliantly neutralized each element of the security protecting the Diamond Center's vault while inviting the readers into the secretive world of diamonds and diamond dealing. The result is a thrilling ride through the better-than-fiction heist of the century. "Fans of caper books and movies will be in seventh heaven." Booklist ★Starred Review★
Publisher: Sterling Publishing
ISBN:
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 397
Book Description
"Tells the story with the gripping pace of a true-crime 'Ocean's Eleven.'" The New York Post • "Like a diamond, this true-life caper is clear, colorful, and brilliant." Publishers Weekly ★Starred Review★ The Antwerp Diamond Center was one of the most secure buildings in the world. With hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of diamonds stored in its subterranean vault, it had to be. Located in the heart of Belgium's ultra-secure Antwerp Diamond District, it benefited from two police stations, armed patrols, extensive video surveillance, and vehicle barriers securing an area where 80 percent of the world's diamonds traded hands. But on February 15, 2003, a band of skilled Italian thieves — fronted by the charming Leonardo Notarbartolo, who spent over two years clandestinely casing the building — subverted every one of the Diamond Center's defenses and made off with a record amount of loot. Experts estimate they got away with nearly half a billion dollars in diamonds, cash and other valuables. They'd pulled off the biggest heist in history--everybody loves diamonds and they now had more than any thief before them. The robbers did it with stealth and smarts; no one was hurt or even threatened during what was quickly labeled the largest diamond heist in history. The bandits — members of a group of professional thieves known as "The School of Turin" — used cunning in lieu of violence, successfully evading security cameras, thwarting an array of electronic sensors, and penetrating a vault protected by a double-locked foot-thick steel door. Even when the police zeroed in on who committed the crime, how it was done remained a mystery, like something out of a heist movie or TV show. Flawless is a fast-paced global scavenger hunt uncovering the truth behind the daring Valentine's Day weekend heist. Tracking clues, sources, and documents throughout Europe — from seedy cafés in Turin, Italy to sleek diamond offices in Antwerp, Belgium — authors Scott Selby and Greg Campbell retrace Notarbartolo's careful discovery of the building's security flaws. They recreate the heist and its aftermath — detailing how the thieves brilliantly neutralized each element of the security protecting the Diamond Center's vault while inviting the readers into the secretive world of diamonds and diamond dealing. The result is a thrilling ride through the better-than-fiction heist of the century. "Fans of caper books and movies will be in seventh heaven." Booklist ★Starred Review★
Molly’s Game: The Riveting Book that Inspired the Aaron Sorkin Film
Author: Molly Bloom
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0008274436
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 290
Book Description
A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY AARON SORKIN, AND STARRING JESSICA CHASTAIN, IDRIS ELBA, KEVIN COSTNER AND MICHAEL CERA The true story of the 26-year-old woman behind the most exclusive, high-stakes underground poker game in the world
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
ISBN: 0008274436
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 290
Book Description
A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY AARON SORKIN, AND STARRING JESSICA CHASTAIN, IDRIS ELBA, KEVIN COSTNER AND MICHAEL CERA The true story of the 26-year-old woman behind the most exclusive, high-stakes underground poker game in the world
The Art of Human Chess: A Study Guide to Winning
Author: Pimpin' Ken
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0578157136
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 219
Book Description
The Art of Human Chess: A Study Guide to Winning is a masterpiece. Its intended purpose is to teach the science of winning, giving the ordinary person on the streets and the person fresh out of college a chance to compete with the ruthless sharks in today's marketplace. This book is for those who choose to win in all walks of life. To buy it is to invest in your future and guarantee yourself an edge on your competitors, making you the ultimate human chess player.
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 0578157136
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 219
Book Description
The Art of Human Chess: A Study Guide to Winning is a masterpiece. Its intended purpose is to teach the science of winning, giving the ordinary person on the streets and the person fresh out of college a chance to compete with the ruthless sharks in today's marketplace. This book is for those who choose to win in all walks of life. To buy it is to invest in your future and guarantee yourself an edge on your competitors, making you the ultimate human chess player.
COVID-19
Author: Dylan Howard
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510765344
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 206
Book Description
In the final days of 2019, a new and deadly virus was quietly spreading through the city of Wuhan, China. Within six months it would kill half a million people worldwide, infect a further 10 million, and change the way all of us live, work and play forever. Now, for the first time, the real story of the greatest global crisis of the age can be told. Reporters Dylan Howard and Dominic Utton, collaborating from New York and London—infection hotspots in what would become two of the worst-hit nations on Earth—have together mapped the rise, spread and impact of the virus . . . and uncovered some explosive revelations. COVID-19: The Greatest Cover-Up in History—From Wuhan to the White House delivers the unfettered truth about what is undoubtedly the biggest political scandal of our time. It shows in unprecedented detail how governments in China, the UK, and the US not only failed to protect their citizens from the threat of the disease, but actively conspired to put their own political and economic ideologies above the lives of ordinary people. From early attempts by Beijing to silence any reports of the new virus to the inability of the WHO to act decisively; from warnings received and ignored by President Trump to decisions taken by the UK government that directly led to the loss of tens of thousands of lives; from whispers of military experiments to outlandish 5G conspiracy theories, Howard and Utton separate fact from fiction, science from hysteria, and expose a trail of dead bodies, wilful mismanagement, incompetence, arrogance, deliberate cover-ups, and outrageous lies that raise serious questions about who is really responsible for the hundreds of thousands killed by COVID-19. Through vigorous investigations, dedicated reporting, and exclusive first-person sourcing, COVID-19 unearths a more complex understanding of the rise, spread, and consequences of the first six months of the pandemic than has yet been seen, and exposes shocking revelations about the roles and motivations of the American and British governments in the crisis. The true story of COVID-19 is not just that of a silent killer that suddenly invaded the world . . . it’s the scandal of a global tragedy that could have—and should have—been prevented. The real number of deaths and infections from the virus will never be known. The figures have not only been underreported in China, but by supposedly transparent governments in the West for reasons less connected with public safety and more to do with their own mendacity, incompetence, and corruption. Written with the urgency and tension of a thriller novel but grounded in rigorously factual reporting, COVID-19 is the essential read on the most horrifying scandal of our age.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510765344
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 206
Book Description
In the final days of 2019, a new and deadly virus was quietly spreading through the city of Wuhan, China. Within six months it would kill half a million people worldwide, infect a further 10 million, and change the way all of us live, work and play forever. Now, for the first time, the real story of the greatest global crisis of the age can be told. Reporters Dylan Howard and Dominic Utton, collaborating from New York and London—infection hotspots in what would become two of the worst-hit nations on Earth—have together mapped the rise, spread and impact of the virus . . . and uncovered some explosive revelations. COVID-19: The Greatest Cover-Up in History—From Wuhan to the White House delivers the unfettered truth about what is undoubtedly the biggest political scandal of our time. It shows in unprecedented detail how governments in China, the UK, and the US not only failed to protect their citizens from the threat of the disease, but actively conspired to put their own political and economic ideologies above the lives of ordinary people. From early attempts by Beijing to silence any reports of the new virus to the inability of the WHO to act decisively; from warnings received and ignored by President Trump to decisions taken by the UK government that directly led to the loss of tens of thousands of lives; from whispers of military experiments to outlandish 5G conspiracy theories, Howard and Utton separate fact from fiction, science from hysteria, and expose a trail of dead bodies, wilful mismanagement, incompetence, arrogance, deliberate cover-ups, and outrageous lies that raise serious questions about who is really responsible for the hundreds of thousands killed by COVID-19. Through vigorous investigations, dedicated reporting, and exclusive first-person sourcing, COVID-19 unearths a more complex understanding of the rise, spread, and consequences of the first six months of the pandemic than has yet been seen, and exposes shocking revelations about the roles and motivations of the American and British governments in the crisis. The true story of COVID-19 is not just that of a silent killer that suddenly invaded the world . . . it’s the scandal of a global tragedy that could have—and should have—been prevented. The real number of deaths and infections from the virus will never be known. The figures have not only been underreported in China, but by supposedly transparent governments in the West for reasons less connected with public safety and more to do with their own mendacity, incompetence, and corruption. Written with the urgency and tension of a thriller novel but grounded in rigorously factual reporting, COVID-19 is the essential read on the most horrifying scandal of our age.
Epstein
Author: Dylan Howard
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510758232
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
This is—for the first time—the full and unedited story behind the sick life and mysterious death of Jeffrey Epstein that is being called one of the most significant scandals in American history He was the billionaire financier and close confidant of presidents, prime ministers, movie stars and British royalty, the mysterious self-made man who rose from blue-collar Brooklyn to the heights of luxury. But while he was flying around the world on his private jet and hosting lavish parties at his private island in the Caribbean, he also was secretly masterminding an international child sex ring—one that may have involved the richest and most influential men in the world. The conspiracy of corruption was an open secret for decades. And then this summer, it all came crashing down. After his arrest on sex trafficking charges in July, it seemed Epstein’s darkest secrets would finally see the light. But hopes for true justice were shattered on August 10 this year, when he was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York. The verdict: suicide. The timing: convenient, to say the least. Now, Epstein: Dead Men Tell No Tales delivers bombshell new revelations, uncovers how the man President Trump once described as a “terrific guy” abused hundreds of underage girls at his mansions in Palm Beach and Manhattan… all while entertaining the world’s most powerful men—including President Clinton, Prince Andrew, and Donald Trump himself. How much did they know about his perversions? And did they take part? How might they have helped him to continue his abuse, and to escape justice for it? What responsibility might they have for his sudden, shocking death? And is there a shocking spy and blackmail story at the heart of the scandal? The answers to these questions and more will be explored in Epstein: Dead Men Tell No Tales with groundbreaking new reporting, never-before-seen court files, and interviews with new witnesses and confidants. Combining the very best investigative reporting from investigative journalists Dylan Howard, Melissa Cronin and James Robertson—who have been covering the case for close to a decade—will send shockwaves through the highest levels of the establishment.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1510758232
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
This is—for the first time—the full and unedited story behind the sick life and mysterious death of Jeffrey Epstein that is being called one of the most significant scandals in American history He was the billionaire financier and close confidant of presidents, prime ministers, movie stars and British royalty, the mysterious self-made man who rose from blue-collar Brooklyn to the heights of luxury. But while he was flying around the world on his private jet and hosting lavish parties at his private island in the Caribbean, he also was secretly masterminding an international child sex ring—one that may have involved the richest and most influential men in the world. The conspiracy of corruption was an open secret for decades. And then this summer, it all came crashing down. After his arrest on sex trafficking charges in July, it seemed Epstein’s darkest secrets would finally see the light. But hopes for true justice were shattered on August 10 this year, when he was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York. The verdict: suicide. The timing: convenient, to say the least. Now, Epstein: Dead Men Tell No Tales delivers bombshell new revelations, uncovers how the man President Trump once described as a “terrific guy” abused hundreds of underage girls at his mansions in Palm Beach and Manhattan… all while entertaining the world’s most powerful men—including President Clinton, Prince Andrew, and Donald Trump himself. How much did they know about his perversions? And did they take part? How might they have helped him to continue his abuse, and to escape justice for it? What responsibility might they have for his sudden, shocking death? And is there a shocking spy and blackmail story at the heart of the scandal? The answers to these questions and more will be explored in Epstein: Dead Men Tell No Tales with groundbreaking new reporting, never-before-seen court files, and interviews with new witnesses and confidants. Combining the very best investigative reporting from investigative journalists Dylan Howard, Melissa Cronin and James Robertson—who have been covering the case for close to a decade—will send shockwaves through the highest levels of the establishment.
The $11 Billion Year
Author: Anne Thompson
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062218034
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 290
Book Description
"This chronicle of 2012 is a slice of what happened during a watershed year for the Hollywood movie industry. It's not the whole story, but it's a mosaic of what went on, and why, and of where things are heading." What changed in one Hollywood year to produce a record-breaking box office after two years of decline? How can the Sundance Festival influence a film's fate, as it did for Beasts of the Southern Wild and Searching for Sugar Man, which both went all the way to the Oscars? Why did John Carter misfire and The Hunger Games succeed? How did maneuvers at festivals such as South by Southwest (SXSW), Cannes, Telluride, Toronto, and New York and at conventions such as CinemaCon and Comic-Con benefit Amour, Django Unchained, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook, Les Misérables, The Life of Pi, The Avengers, Lincoln, and Argo? What jeopardized Zero Dark Thirty's launch? What role does gender bias still play in the industry? What are the ten things that changed the 2012 Oscar race? When it comes to film, Anne Thompson, a seasoned reporter and critic, addresses these questions and more on her respected daily blog, Thompson on Hollywood. Each year, she observes the Hollywood machine at work: the indies at Sundance, the exhibitors' jockeying at CinemaCon, the international scene at Cannes, the summer tentpoles, the fall's "smart" films and festivals, the family-friendly and big films of the holiday season, and the glamour of the Oscars®. Inspired by William Goldman's classic book The Season, which examined the overall Broadway scene through a production-by-production analysis of one theatrical season, Thompson had long wanted to apply a similar lens to the movie business. When she chose 2012 as "the year" to track, she knew that box-office and DVD sales were declining, production costs were soaring, and the digital revolution was making big waves, but she had no idea that events would converge to bring radical structural movement, record-setting box-office revenues, and what she calls "sublime moviemaking." Though impossible to mention all 670-plus films released in 2012, Thompson includes many in this book, while focusing on the nine Best Picture nominees and the personalities and powers behind them. Reflecting on the year, Thompson concludes, "The best movies get made because filmmakers, financiers, champions, and a great many gifted creative people stubbornly ignore the obstacles. The question going forward is how adaptive these people are, and how flexible is the industry itself?"
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062218034
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 290
Book Description
"This chronicle of 2012 is a slice of what happened during a watershed year for the Hollywood movie industry. It's not the whole story, but it's a mosaic of what went on, and why, and of where things are heading." What changed in one Hollywood year to produce a record-breaking box office after two years of decline? How can the Sundance Festival influence a film's fate, as it did for Beasts of the Southern Wild and Searching for Sugar Man, which both went all the way to the Oscars? Why did John Carter misfire and The Hunger Games succeed? How did maneuvers at festivals such as South by Southwest (SXSW), Cannes, Telluride, Toronto, and New York and at conventions such as CinemaCon and Comic-Con benefit Amour, Django Unchained, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook, Les Misérables, The Life of Pi, The Avengers, Lincoln, and Argo? What jeopardized Zero Dark Thirty's launch? What role does gender bias still play in the industry? What are the ten things that changed the 2012 Oscar race? When it comes to film, Anne Thompson, a seasoned reporter and critic, addresses these questions and more on her respected daily blog, Thompson on Hollywood. Each year, she observes the Hollywood machine at work: the indies at Sundance, the exhibitors' jockeying at CinemaCon, the international scene at Cannes, the summer tentpoles, the fall's "smart" films and festivals, the family-friendly and big films of the holiday season, and the glamour of the Oscars®. Inspired by William Goldman's classic book The Season, which examined the overall Broadway scene through a production-by-production analysis of one theatrical season, Thompson had long wanted to apply a similar lens to the movie business. When she chose 2012 as "the year" to track, she knew that box-office and DVD sales were declining, production costs were soaring, and the digital revolution was making big waves, but she had no idea that events would converge to bring radical structural movement, record-setting box-office revenues, and what she calls "sublime moviemaking." Though impossible to mention all 670-plus films released in 2012, Thompson includes many in this book, while focusing on the nine Best Picture nominees and the personalities and powers behind them. Reflecting on the year, Thompson concludes, "The best movies get made because filmmakers, financiers, champions, and a great many gifted creative people stubbornly ignore the obstacles. The question going forward is how adaptive these people are, and how flexible is the industry itself?"
Master Thieves
Author: Stephen Kurkjian
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1610394240
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Book Description
The definitive story of the greatest art theft in history. In a secret meeting in 1981, a low-level Boston thief gave career gangster Ralph Rossetti the tip of a lifetime: the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was a big score waiting to happen. Though its collections included priceless artworks by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas, and others, its security was cheap, mismanaged, and out of date. And now, it seemed, the whole Boston criminal underworld knew it. Nearly a decade passed before the Museum was finally hit. But when it finally happened, the theft quickly became one of the most infamous art heists in history: thirteen works of art valued at up to 500 million, by some of the most famous artists in the world, were taken. The Boston FBI took control of the investigation, but twenty-five years later the case is still unsolved and the artwork is still missing. Stephen Kurkjian, one of the top investigative reporters in the country, has been working this case for over nearly twenty years. In Master Thieves, he sheds new light on some of the Gardner's most abiding mysteries. Why would someone steal these paintings, only to leave them hidden for twenty-five years? And why, if one of the top crime bosses in the city knew about this score in 1981, did the theft happen in 1990? What happened in those intervening years? And what might all this have to do with Boston's notorious gang wars of the 1980s? Kurkjian's reporting is already responsible for some of the biggest breaks in this story, including a meticulous reconstruction of what happened at the Museum that fateful night. Now Master Thieves will reveal the identities of those he believes plotted the heist, the motive for the crime, and the details that the FBI has refused to discuss. Taking you on a journey deep into the gangs of Boston, Kurkjian emerges with the most complete and compelling version of this story ever told.
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1610394240
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Book Description
The definitive story of the greatest art theft in history. In a secret meeting in 1981, a low-level Boston thief gave career gangster Ralph Rossetti the tip of a lifetime: the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was a big score waiting to happen. Though its collections included priceless artworks by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas, and others, its security was cheap, mismanaged, and out of date. And now, it seemed, the whole Boston criminal underworld knew it. Nearly a decade passed before the Museum was finally hit. But when it finally happened, the theft quickly became one of the most infamous art heists in history: thirteen works of art valued at up to 500 million, by some of the most famous artists in the world, were taken. The Boston FBI took control of the investigation, but twenty-five years later the case is still unsolved and the artwork is still missing. Stephen Kurkjian, one of the top investigative reporters in the country, has been working this case for over nearly twenty years. In Master Thieves, he sheds new light on some of the Gardner's most abiding mysteries. Why would someone steal these paintings, only to leave them hidden for twenty-five years? And why, if one of the top crime bosses in the city knew about this score in 1981, did the theft happen in 1990? What happened in those intervening years? And what might all this have to do with Boston's notorious gang wars of the 1980s? Kurkjian's reporting is already responsible for some of the biggest breaks in this story, including a meticulous reconstruction of what happened at the Museum that fateful night. Now Master Thieves will reveal the identities of those he believes plotted the heist, the motive for the crime, and the details that the FBI has refused to discuss. Taking you on a journey deep into the gangs of Boston, Kurkjian emerges with the most complete and compelling version of this story ever told.