A provocative; original; and richly entertaining group biography of the Jewish immigrants who were the moving forces behind the creation of Americas motion picture industry. The names Harry Cohn; William Fox; Carl Laemmle; Louis B. Mayer; Jack and Harry Warner; and Adolph Zucker are giants in the history of contemporary Hollywood; outsiders who dared to invent their own vision of the American Dream. Even to this day; the American values defined largely by the movies of these eacute;migreacute;s endure in American cinema and culture. Who these men were; how they came to dominate Hollywood; and what they gained and lost in the process is the exhilarating story of An Empire of Their Own.
#2042288 in eBooks 2009-09-15 2009-09-15File Name: B003Z9JO7I
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Entertaining collection of essaysBy BruceThis is a collection of past articles. reviews and essays from 2000-2008 by Jonathan Clements. originally written for some US or UK anime and scifi magazines. or DVD jackets. It also includes the transcripts of a couple of the authors lectures (one of which. a talk on computer animation. can be viewed as an extra on the DVD for the animated "A.Li.Ce"). As a collection. the subjects are quite diverse. centering on Japanese animation but including some Japanese live-action and even some Korean and Chinese subjects. Mr. Clements has observed the Japanese animation business from the perspective of Japanese. UK. and US companies. The books weakest point is his reluctance to name real names. sticking mostly to witty pseudonyms for the names of movies. TV shows. people and companies he tells tales about (I guess he hopes to keep working for them!) Mr. Clements writes in a very entertaining style.Strictly for fans of Japanese animation who are curious about how business decisions are made and how the properties are translated to the English-speaking markets. For those interested. its an enjoyable read.5 of 6 people found the following review helpful. The seamy underbelly of the business...tickle it for fun!By T. SmithFull disclosure: Ive been in the manga and anime business for 25 years. and I knew Jonathan when he was a charming young fan being haplessly drunken under the table by his elders.Jonathan has written a wide range of books (all of them worth reading) but heres where he finally gives us the long overdue data dump of his astoundingly wide-ranging experiences in the Asian entertainment business. Some of these stories Id heard before. some I hadnt (and. alas. some of his best will probably never be published) but Jonathan writes with a wry wit that is uniquely his own and while I rarely laugh out loud at books. this one had me chucking more than once. Sometimes in amusement. sometimes in sympathetic pain. Yet some of the writing. such as his account of a day in the life of a voice actress. truly captures the bittersweet life these "stars" lead. Jons writing is nothing if not versatile.If you are a manga or anime fan with even the faintest interest in what goes on behind the curtain. you must buy this book. Just dont expect it to be all unicorns and butterflies. If youd rather believe anime and manga are created in a sterile vacuum. untouched by the wicked ways of the world...this is. as the saying goes. not a book to be tossed aside lightly--it should be hurled with great force.Jonathan also covers some subject areas that have had very little written about them in English. The sections on Chinese animation and Korean animation and movies come to mind.I loved the book from cover to cover. and learned a lot. For one thing. I learned that if I ever have the chance to hear Jon give a speech. Id better take it!A great read. dead-accurate as far as I can confirm it. and worth every penny. Ive ordered five more copies to give away to some of my friends and relatives who ask me "Yeah. but what is your job really like?" Hopefully. after they read this book they will buy me whiskey.(P.S. Im reliably informed "Schoolgirl Milky Crisis" will soon be in production. Rumor has it Miyazaki will produce. Or at least his son. Or someone called Miyazaki. anyway.)3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Schoolgirl Milky Crisis is a lot more serious than it looksBy Professor XXLDont be fooled by the nonsensical-looking title or by the sugary sweet image of a sailor suit-clad schoolgirl wearing a moo-cow headdress and a...mechanized udder. Jonathan Clements SCHOOLGIRL MILKY CRISIS (2009) is actually serious business. Or as serious as a 400-page collection of writings on the multimillion dollar businesses of Japanese animation. manga. and giant monster flicks can be. Hence. from the pastel-colored front cover to the pastel-colored back cover. Clements fills the pages of SCHOOLGIRL MILKY CRISIS with eye-opening glimpses into those overlapping worlds that most Asian pop culture lovers from the West will only get to dream about. From the pampered life of an anime voice actress to the anime industry-crushing ambitions of a film studio owner from China. to the surprising censorship-related reasons why "tentacles" became so prevalent in anime erotica. to several thought-provoking conversations with some of todays best-known makers of animation in Japan. Clements covers three continents worth of fascinating territory. The writing is well-informed. engaging and immensely educational. But that should probably be expected from the very same author that gave fandom the ANIME ENCYCLOPEDIA. right? Highly recommended.
