Perfect gifts for everyone on your list…
Your It List presents our top picks for gifts this holiday season for everyone on your list.
Harry Potter Page to Screen by Bob McCabe
Coming in at over 500 amazing pages, Harry Potter: Page to Screen opens the doors to Hogwarts castle and the wizarding world of Harry Potter to reveal the complete behind-the-scenes secrets, techniques, and over-the-top artistry that brought J.K. Rowling’s acclaimed novels to cinematic life.
Buy Harry Potter Page to Screen or watch a video.
How I Got This Way by Regis Philbin
In this entertaining memoir, the irrepressible Reege—consummate talk-show host, man-about-town, loving husband, father, and yes, obsessive sports fan—looks back at his years in show business and is filled with stories of lessons learned—and elbows rubbed—with extraordinary, and often unsuspecting, teachers.
Buy How I Got This Way or read an excerpt.
Marilyn Monroe: Metamorphosis by David Wills
In Marilyn Monroe: Metamorphosis, David Wills has gathered spectacular, museum-quality work from Marilyn’s key photographers to create this dazzling portfolio of images from every period of Marilyn Monroe’s adult life, from her wedding day in 1942 till just weeks before her death two decades later, this stunning collection pays homage to her continually evolving style and extraordinary beauty.
Buy Marilyn Monroe: Metamorphosis or read an excerpt.
100 Unforgettable Dresses by Hal Rubenstein
100 Unforgettable Dresses is filled with the stories, secrets, intrigue, and insights behind the most indelible dresses in our collective memories. This book celebrates the staying power of these gorgeous, sleek, sultry, and outrageous creations as well as the lasting impact they’ve had in fashion, popular culture, and our own lives.
Buy 100 Unforgettable Dresses or read an excerpt.
Dear Cary by Dyan Cannon
With unparalleled honesty, Dyan Cannon shares the heartwarming and heartbreaking story of her magical romance and stormy marriage to screen legend Cary Grant. He was the ultimate star, defining Hollywood glamour as well as cinematic achievement. She was a bright new actress, beautiful and funny. What could possibly go wrong?
Buy Dear Cary or read an excerpt.
The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories by hitRECord and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
To create The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 1, Joseph Gordon-Levitt directed thousands of collaborators to tell tiny stories through words and art. Reminiscent of the 6-Word Memoir series, The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume 1 brings together art and voices from around the world to unite and tell stories that defy size.
Buy The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories, read an excerpt or watch a video.
Manolo Blahnik and The Tale of the Elves and the Shoemaker by Camilla Morton, illustrated by Manolo Blahnik
International bestselling author Camilla Morton reimagines the classic “Elves and the Shoemaker” fairytale, blending elements of famed shoe designer Manolo Blahnik’s life story into the fabric of the immortal “Once Upon a Time” favorite, complete with original illustrations from Blahnik himself.
Buy Manolo Blahnik and The Tale of the Elves and the Shoemaker or read an excerpt.
The History of the World According to Facebook by Wylie Overstreet
Now, for the first time, a full-length history of the world, from its creation up through present day, as if Facebook had existed all along and Abraham Lincoln had written a status update about “taking the missus to the theater” and Ben Franklin had done the same alerting his network that he’d signed the Declaration of Independence. Filled with hundreds of real-life historical figures and thousands of not-at-all-real Facebook statuses, this is the definitive humor book for a new generation of scholars.
Buy The History of the World According to Facebook or read an excerpt.
The Art of The Adventures of Tintin by Weta Workshop
Go behind the scenes and explore the movie-making magic that comes alive on screen in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming film The Adventures of Tintin, shown through text, photos and illustrations from Weta Worskshop, the ground-breaking and Academy Award-winning visual effects team.
Buy The Art of The Adventures of Tintin or read an excerpt.
Menagerie by Sharon Montrose
Celebrated author and photographer Sharon Montrose presents a compendium of wild and domestic animal portraits displayed in unusual and innovative ways-the perfect gift for the legions of fans of cute animals everywhere.
Buy Menagerie or read an excerpt.
The History of American Graffiti by Roger Gastman and Caleb Neelon
Unprecedented in scope, The History of American Graffiti is the definitive story behind the most influential art form of the last one hundred years. With more than one thousand photographs from more than two hundred photographers, The History of American Graffiti captures the look and feel of a genuine American art form with exceptional clarity and detail.
Buy The History of American Graffiti or read an excerpt.
hitRECord + It Books + Tiny Stories
It Books and hitRECord Partner to Publish The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories Series
The first book in a three-book partnership to hit stores in December 2011
NEW YORK, NY (July 5, 2011) – It Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced today that it has acquired publishing rights to the Tiny Book of Tiny Stories series with Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s open collaborative production company hitRECord. The new book titled The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories: Volume I is scheduled to be published in December.
The ‘tiny’ book will feature a number of (very) short stories and illustrations developed through hitRECord. With the help of his entire creative collective, Gordon-Levitt will cull, edit and curate the massive number of contributions into a finely-tuned collection.
“It’s very exciting for me and hitRECord – now more than 45,000 artists strong – to be working with It Books and HarperCollins to bring ‘Tiny Stories’ to the mainstream – a dream come true, really,” says Gordon-Levitt.
“We think what hitRECord is doing is new and groundbreaking. We’re thrilled by the prospect of working with them to capture this mass collaborative art in book form,” says Mauro DiPreta, Vice President and Associate Publisher for It Books. He acquired the project from Creative Artists Agency.
Throughout the month of July, Gordon-Levitt is inviting the worldwide creative community to join in on the Tiny Stories collaboration. Artists can participate by submitting their writing and illustrations, and they’re also encouraged to edit and remix others’ contributions. The ‘Tiny Stories’ collaboration is already a hive of activity and can be found at the hitRECord website at: http://hitrecord.org/records/407384.
Click HERE to see a video of Joseph Gordon-Levitt announcing the Tiny Stories partnership (starts at approximately 9 mins).
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About It Books: Launched in September 2009, It Books is dedicated to publishing exceptional books in entertainment, music, fashion, design, art, celebrity, pop culture and sports. It Books has published numerous New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times bestsellers including the # 1 New York Times bestsellers Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern and Red by Sammy Hagar as well as Getting the Pretty Back by MollyRingwald, Booky Wook 2 by Russell Brand, The Red Hot Chili Peppers by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Everyone Loves You When You’re Dead by Neil Strauss, All My Life by Susan Lucciand The EveryGirl’s Guide to Life by Maria Menounos. Upcoming publications include Dear Cary by Dyan Cannon and Beauty, Disrupted by Carré Otis.
It Books is an imprint HarperCollins Publishers, one of the largest English-language publishers in the world and a subsidiary of News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). It Books can be found online at www.YourItList.com, www.Facebook.com/YourItList, www.Twitter.com/YourItList and www.Twitter.com/ItBooks.
About hitRECord: Founded and directed by Golden Globe-nominated actor and artist Joseph Gordon-Levitt, hitRECord is an open collaborative production company where members can contribute their work in various forms including music, videos, text and drawings. Members are then encouraged to add, edit, remix and collaborate with each other. HitRECord currently has over 45,000 active members worldwide. Over 1,000 creative contributions are added daily and over 100 new artists join hitRECord each day. As with all of hitRECord’s money-making productions, profits for ‘The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories’ will be split 50-50 between hitRECord and the book’s contributing artists.
• hitRECord website: www.hitrecord.org
Tiny Stories collaboration page: http://hitrecord.org/records/407384
• hitRECord Twitter: www.twitter.com/hitrecord
Joseph Gordon-Levitt Twitter: www.twitter.com/hitRECordJoe
Our Favor!te Things 2010: Kevin Callahan
Favor!te Book:
“Who can know the heart of youth but youth itself?”
Favor!te Movie:
A bit different from last year’s pick. But incredible. Claustrophobic. Heart breaking. Amazing. Don’t see if it you have any doubts about your current relationship.
Favor!te TV show:
Totally missed out on this show while it was on the air, but it is definately something to fill the time in between Law & Order: SVUs.
Favor!te Blog/Website:
Favor!te YouTube Video:
I enjoyed learning about Alfred Hitchock’s films.
No uncertainty about Uncertainty
We are all faced with hundreds, maybe thousands, of minuscule decisions each day. Bus or subway? Where and when to go to lunch? Work late or cut out early? The other day during a much-needed day of hookey from the YIL-factory I was walking by the IFC Center and saw a poster for Uncertainty, next showing in twenty minutes. I was sick of walking the streets in the cold and not buying Christmas presents so I ducked into the theatre and am very glad I did.
Manhattan or Brooklyn?
Easy question. Where to spend the 4th of July. Your girlfriend’s family’s party in Brooklyn or your buddy’s party in Manhattan. Flip a coin.
That’s how Uncertainybegins. With the flip of a coin. What follows are two separate movies: one follows Bobby (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his girlfriend Kate (Lynn Collins) to Brooklyn. Intertwined is the second movie – what would have happen had the two chosen to spend the day in Manhattan.
At first glimpse the premise is reminiscent of the less-than-stellar Gwyneth Paltrow 1998 film Sliding Doors (I much prefer her Great Expectations from the same year). To keep both Uncertainy story lines separate the film’s writers/directors used color: Yellow for Manhattan (clothes, taxi that brings them there) and Green for Brooklyn (clothes, minivan that brings them there). A much more clever device than Paltrow’s odd blonde/brunette hair cut and coloring.
What follows are two incredible stories as different as can be. In Manhattan Bobby and Kate find a cellphone in the back of a cab that leads to a fast-paced, gripping espionage story of murder, blackmail and what two people would be willing to do for more money than they could ever fathom having with action scenes of roof jumping that rival the Jason Bourne films. Not an easy feat for an independent film.
In Brooklyn, surrounded by her family, Bobby and Kate come to terms about their feelings for each other, their future, her mother’s disapproval. It is an intense, sometimes stifling, family/relationship drama.
The in-depth, claustrophobic nature of the film and the relationship presented on screen set to a defined period of time of both the Manhattan and Brooklyn films reminded me of a mix of Ethan Hawke/Julie Delpy Before Sunrise and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers/Scarlett Johansson Match Point.
While not the perfect movie – a few of the loose ends seem to tie up a bit too easy at the end – Uncertainly certainly is a movie to be seen. Levitt, once again as he did in (500) Days of Summer (which you may or may not have heard I kinda liked), proves his ranking as one of the top actors under thirty today and Lynn Collins shows her dramatic abilities are far superior to her roles in True Blood and X-Men: Wolverine (which is a damn good show and a fine movie themselves).
Its too late to see Uncertainty at the IFC Center in New York (though it does seem to be still playing in LA), but the smart folks over at IFC released the movie On Demandsimul with the theatre release. So look for it there.
Our Favor!te Things 2009: Kevin
Considering he saw (500) Days of Summer eight times (at last count), we’re pretty surprised that our marketing head honcho Kevin Callahan actually had time to enjoy other pop culture delights this year. Apparently he did, and apparently these were his favor!tes.
Favor!te Film: (500) Days of Summer. Because “this is not a love story.” Because in the hands of actors less talented than Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel the movie could have taken an entirely different direction, but what they do in it is remarkable. Because I want to live in Tom Hansen’s apartment. Because of this.
Favor!te Concert: Nirvana, Live at Reading. Because very rarely can you be transported back in time and witness something amazing happen.
Favor!te Album: Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown. Because five years ago Rolling Stone wrote “Tell the truth: did anybody think Green Day would still be around in 2004?” and Green Day not only proved their importance then with American Idiot but far-surpassed it in 2009 with 21st Century Breakdown. Because seeing Billie Joe Armstrong in concert is a religous experience. Because What’s the latest way that a man can die / Screaming hallelujah? Because even though Billie Joe has a son in high school, you still believe him when he tells you how mom and dad will never understand.
Favor!te Book: The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, Reif Larsen. Because every now and then you can get completely lost in the mind of a book’s character and forget that he doesn’t actually exist. Because Reif Larsen has created an inventive forms of storytelling. Because the interrior looks like this.
Favor!te Art-type thingy: Hamlet. Because Jude Law made the funny lines actually funny. Because he didn’t over do “To Be or Not to Be.” Because the scene of Polonius’s murder was the best version I’ve ever seen. Because in my opinion Getrude is the toughest role to have and Geraldine James was incredible in it. Because the costumes and set decorations were brilliant in their simplicities. Because it snowed on stage. Because I’m a Hamlet snob so for me to like it as much as I did, it must be good.
Favor!te Fashion: Hoodies. Because a hoodie under a blazer is warmer than a winter coat. Because 2007 was the last time GAP made a decent hoodie. Because 2007′s hoodies are now perfectly worn-in.
Favor!te TV Show: Gossip Girl. Because I lost a little faith after Seaon 2, but Season 3 has more than made up for it.
Favor!te Blog/Website: HTMLGiant. Because it contained the Best Essay of 2009: Blake Butler‘s “James Joyce does not exist.”
Favor!te Real Housewives: Dina Manzo and Caroline Manzo from Real Housewives of New Jersey. Because they are thick as thieves.
Favor!te Twitterer: @God. Because, well, he’s God.
Favor!te You Tube Video: When Pandas Attack. Because this is the video proof that underneath all that fur, pandas are mean fuckers.
Bonus:
What are you most excited about for 2010? Emile Hirsch’s Hamlet may surprise a lot of people. Ed Westwick as Heathcliff and Gemma Arterton as Cathy in a new Wuthering Heights. And I still have high hopes for Shutter Island.
Who do you most want to smooch on New Year’s Eve? Patricia Highsmith. Because “My New Year’s Eve Toast: to all the devils, lusts, passions, greeds, envies, loves, hates, strange desires, enemies ghostly and real, the army of memories, with which I do battle — may they never give me peace.” – Patricia Highsmith, January 1, 1947. 2:30 am.
