One of the most memorable first lines in the history of film can be found in The Godfather. It’s spoken by the coroner, Bonasera, who tells Don Vito Corleone, “I believe in America.” Bonasera talks of the brutal assault against his daughter. He explains to the Don that he went to the police and reported […]

I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Stephen King is one of the greatest writers in American history.* It’s not just that he’s incredibly prolific, with more that two hundred short stories, sixty-five novels, five nonfiction books, a few screenplays, a musical, and comics. While King built up his reputation as a horror […]

The movie industry is generally an unforgiving one for filmmakers, and it demands that each film made either be profitable or critically acclaimed.* As a result, incompetents, nepotists, and erratic people are usually weeded out sooner or later. The ones left standing decades later are the modern masters of the art form, and it’s important […]

In the beginning, there was the Word…or a bunch of words, anyway. They began with, “It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.” Once seen, it was impossible to forget. Film historians will tell you the first blockbuster was […]

I’m told that Star Wars  was the first movie I ever saw. My parents made the fairly questionable decision to take two-year-old me to a crowded theater, and my gut tells me it was probably my mother’s idea. At some point, Dad probably said, “It’s not like he’ll remember it.* What’s the point?” Mom probably […]

Back in the old days of 2009, you might remember that J.J. Abrams rebooted the Star Trek franchise. Abrams took a series that had lain dormant and supercharged it. When we think of Star Trek, we think of sci-fi that’s a bit cerebral, that’s a little stately, and that’s focused more on exploration. “Screw that,” Abrams said. Instead, […]