Jerry Seinfeld is the master of observational humour. Pointing at the small absurdities of daily life, Seinfeld makes his audience laugh with recognition. For many years a stand-up comic, Seinfeld was also the star of his own phenomenally successful television show, Seinfeld. But the road hasn't always been easy; at his first stand-up performance, he froze. This first unauthorized biography follows his rise to stardom. Also included is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Seinfeld.
America's luckiest guy? The real story behind the most important man in the lives of Michelle Pfeiffer and Ally McBeal. I love Ally McBeal, says one female fan. "She's gorgeous, she has a great job, men are crazy about her, and she's still unhappy! Well, if Ally can be unhappy then I can be unhappy too."
Is that what the popularity of Ally McBeal is about? Misery loves company? Only partly. The dialogue is scintillating, the characters peculiar, the stories -- and not just those fantasy moments -- are creative and surprising. But most of all, Ally McBeal is about romance. First-date kisses. Lost chances. Jealous suspicions. Raging desire. Wattle fetishes. As Shakespeare and David E. Kelley know, these are everyone's favorite topics. How did David Kelley, the man behind Ally McBeal, become one of the most exciting writer/creator/producers working in television today? How did a young lawyer with almost no writing experience end up scripting some of the best episodes of L.A. Law? And go on to create Picket Fences, Chicago Hope, and The Practice? And then marry Michelle Pfeiffer? And create a female character named Ally who would become so popular, so loved and reviled, that she would end up on the cover of Time? Depending on which newspaper columnist or public commentator you ask, Ally McBeal is either destroying the American feminist movement or revealing the secret hopes and desires of women across the country. In Ally, David Kelley has captured the spirit of our times. And he's having fun doing it, too.
Find out how, in David E. Kelley: The Man Behind "Ally McBeal."
Everything you wanted to know about the direction of Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and Barton Fink. A terrified woman plunges a knife through the hand of her pursuer. A leftwing playwright turns to the woman in his bed, only to find a river of blood. A baby, abandoned in the middle of the highway, smiles happily. A professional killer stuffs his partner into a woodchipper while a pregnant cop pulls her gun. Welcome to the world of the Coen Brothers. With the smash success of Fargo (winner of two major Academy Awards), the filmmaking team of Joel and Ethan Coen finally received their deserved recognition. But well before that the two brothers were writing and directing terrific films - from the film-noir thriller Blood Simple, to the comedy Raising Arizona, to the gangster epic Miller's Crossing, to the bizarre Barton Fink. With each film they have surprised fans and critics alike, always refusing to repeat themselves or compromise their independence. Their upcoming George Clooney film, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, due out in October 2000, is one of the most highly anticipated films of the year. While still in their early twenties, Joel and Ethan Coen raised the money for their first film - by knocking on the doors of the wealthy in their native Minnesota. Starring an unknown actress named Frances McDormand (who would later become Joel's wife), it was an art-house hit and allowed the brothers to make Raising Arizona with Nicolas Cage and another Coen brothers discovery, Holly Hunter. But despite their high reputation, the brothers would not make another financially successful picture for years. Were their films just too offbeat and intellectual? And then came Fargo. Here is the story of how two middle-class Minnesota boys have come to write, shoot, and direct some of the most gruesome, exhilarating, and funny films of our time.
XYZ, la revue de la nouvelle, consacre son numéro d'été à deux nouvelliers majeurs : Etgar Keret et Annie Saumont. Le premier est un auteur israélien dont l'oeuvre primée a été traduite dans plus de quarante langues. Trois nouvelles traduites de l'hébreu et un entretien sont offerts au lecteur. « Imaginez Kafka, père de famille, vivant en Israël aujourd'hui. Cela vous donnera une idée de la plume surréaliste et savoureuse de Keret. » Dans le cas d'Annie Saumont, c'est un hommage littéraire posthume que lui rend la revue en publiant trois textes, un de Jean-Paul Beaumier et deux pastiches par Sylvie Massicotte et Gaëtan Brulotte afin de donner envie de découvrir la trentaine de recueils de l'auteure décédée en janvier 2017. Le numéro comprend aussi quatre nouvelles au thème libre, une fiction de Cary Fagan, une nouvelle de polar de Stéphane Ledien et deux premières publications, l'une pour Tristan Hippolyte, l'autre pour Luc Lafortune.
