Product Description
Harry Knowles, college dropout who grew up on films, started the Ain't It Cool website from his bedroom in Austin, Texas, and in four short years has become one of the most powerful and feared men in show business.With his legion of "spies", Harry has crashed the insider world of Hollywood, uncovering its guarded secrets about scripts, casting, production, test screenings, and the release of films.In AIN'T IT COOL?, Harry uses his own story as a launching pad for his obsession with films and how to fix them.This is the story of the ultimate movie geek getting a place at Hollywood's most exclusive table.It's for anyone who loves movies and who wants them better. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (63)

Great book.
I know a lot of people are not very fond of Harry Knowles. But I grew up with the guy and his website; Ain't It Cool News. Even though some aspects of his life sound grandly exaggerated, I really enjoyed this book. It was refreshing. It's nice to hear a fellow cinema buff. I'm not being biased when I say that, either. I am a fond reader of several movie-based websites, and I still find his site to be the best. If you are a constant reader of Ain't It Cool News, I really recommend checking this book out, and learning more about the creative mind behind the site, as silly as that may sound. There's very nice insight, and I have even concocted a list of movies to check out at his recommendation. All in all, I would give this an A-.

A Really, Really Bad Book About a Really, Really Bad Movie Critic
Having never read Harry Knowles web site, I wanted to know what the big deal was about the guy--and I found out through this book that it's a simple case of a movie geek in love with himself and his writings.

Everything about this book is rather sad.His upbringing.His weight struggles.His family life.His creating his Internet image.Though it may have made an interesting magazine article, page-after-page of his know-it-all, self-congratulatory attitude is just too much when bottom line the guy comes across as a loser.

He proclaims himself the second "celebrity produced exclusively by and for the Internet."Yet nothing here would endear the reader to this guy. And worst--the book is boring because his stories are not told in an interesting way.I love books about movies and Hollywood, but this isn't about those things--this is all about him and that's not very interesting.

What I found most surprising is that a guy who claims to write thousands of words daily would turn to two co-authors to put together an autobiography!Knowles obviously has no training in the profession, but the fact that a self-proclaimed writing celebrity can't even write his own book alone should warn readers that he's just a bunch of hot air.

Should be called Ain"t it Stupid.
Just look at the web-site and then try reading this book and you will see that the man is just plain stupid and his web-site publishes on the web lies and false information about anything in the media.

The guy is full of himself and yet he can not write one line of simple English.Even his co-writers seem clueless on what to say.

The sad part is now, there are millions of so-called entertainment web-sites online now that all write and put online misleading and false news which is about as reliable as the Star Tabloid newspaper.

Long-winded, big-headed

AIN'T IT COOL? HOLLYWOOD'S REDHEADED STEPCHILD SPEAKS OUT by Harry Knowles, with Paul Cullum and Mark Ebner (Warner Books, $23.95).

For the past six years, a chubby, self-professed movie geek named Harry Knowles has become a thorn in Hollywood's side with his Web site, aintitcoolnews.com.

Knowles and his band of "spies" plunder studios for scripts, casting notes, test screenings and other proprietary information. Knowles' actions have rewarded him with a cult following and minor celebrity.

In his first novel, a rapid read co-authored by two professional journalists, Knowles reveals his motivations and life tribulations. Knowles is a man deeply in love with film, having grown up obsessively watching movies.

Knowles' book and Web site have a similar feel - well-researched, infectiously enthusiastic and more than a little rambling.

Often, Knowles gets into long-winded rants in which he comes close to claiming himself as the messiah who will save all film. In Chapter 18, subtitled "Born Yesterday (or the Geek Manifesto)," Knowles predicts a film revolution that he plans to lead, unless the celebrity gets to his head along the way.

Hate to break it to you, Harry, but your head may already be too big.

I love Harry but...
I love Harry Knowles but... I was dissapointed with this book. When he writes about his life... evocative... powerful... achingly beautiful. The part about his mother being killed for the insurance money moved me to tears. I really can really identify with his struggle. See I used to have some friends and we used to communicate on a website. But then one of them made a joke about me and played me like I was his two bit punk. I was so ashamed of myself. I ran away and could not face them anymore. This book gave me hope! Now I am going to make movies. I can't make excuses anymore. It's time.

But when he writes about movies... boring. I can see the movies myself. I want to know more about the man. Especially his romances. It was also way way too short. Dont worry folks, I am sure that his second book will be better. ... Read more

Product Description
Hard cover ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Quentin does it again
Tarantino and Leonard strike gold.This screenplay (in the words of Tarantino) "is about 50% Leonard and 50% me."Those are great numbers for any fan of these guys.The screenplay is great, and it's a cinematic pleasure to watch.Read this, I hope you'll agree.

2 masters at work here.
From the Elmore Leonard book, Quentin Tarantino is the best filmaker to take his work and turn it into the perfect movie that it is. Leonard's bookwas already good, but Tarantino understood how you need the extras in thestory to make it great and the movie does all of that and more!

I am lying when I say I have read this book, but so what?
I saw this movie.In fact I watched it several times, because it was near perfect.One of my favorite scenes was the bailing out of jail of Jackie Browne by the bail bondsman.Here is a guy who is firmly fixed within hisniche in life, is used to dealing with criminals in a professional capacity- purely business wise.Then he meets Jackie Browne.

As she walks towardhim from her cold confinement, compassion for her plight embraces him, noteffusively, but tentatively.He is a professional bail bondsman, afterall.But he wants to get to know her, and so he does.The intersection oftheir lives is arrived at from two quite distinct cultural lines.Yet theybecome friends, for both want it, mostly him.He even stops into a musicstore and buys a Motown sound, the Shawndells (sp?).That is greatcharacterization, simply superb, for it is a real parsing out of thehumanity even the most lonesome, the most calloused of us can at times feelfor another, and rendered in the movie perfectly.They are basicallydecent people and it shows.That's just one of the things about this movieI like.

WOW...
Wow...based on Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard, this hardboiled but tamed Tarantino script has just about all you could want in a Tarantino film. But the finished product lacks a real raw power like Reservoir Dogs and PulpFiction. Even True Romance was a little better than this.

THEY GOT THE MONEY!
Jackie Brown is a wonderfully acted movie! It does go a little too longand is a little boring at times. It's a movie about a girl, a killer, acop, and a loan man trying to get to the money (robbing it). Kids wouldn'tlike this. They wouldn't get it. Rated R: for language, violence, a briefscene of sexuality ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

A great gift for a fan!
My boyfriend is a Tarentino fan and he wasn't expecting this book to be as cool as it is. It's hard to find gifts that he likes and it made my day great when I was able to give him something he will truly enjoy.

grindhouse
These Movies are fun if you can enjoy them in that aspect. If your looking for anything other than childish nonsense your in for a disappointment.

I enjoyed both movies and the book. I can hardly wait for machete to come out. Both movies suffered from a lack of female skin
for a Grindhouse production and "R" rated movie. Both movies get really boring really quick, it takes staying power to sit through them.

My two rating is basically for the actors. Kurt Russell could have been a whole lot meaner than he came across on the screen. although with the script he had to work with I don't think it could have been acted better.

When you set out to make a sleaze movie Guys make sure to include the sleaze.

Great book on an AWESOME idea
This type of materiel is not for everyone. Die hard movie fans this is a must have for your collection.. "Grindhouse", an experiment by legendary directors Robert(Desperado,Sin City) Rodriguez,and Oscar winning writer Quintein(Pulp Fiction,Kill Bill Vol's I and II)Tarentino,to re-create to films that they grew up with in the 70's... The book is a historical document about the creation of said film, delving into everything from financing to creation to filming of the two parts(Rodriguez's "Planet Terror" and Tarentino's "DeathProof").. Film buffs alike will laugh and wonder how these movies got made by an industry who's only aim of late is a guaranteed"BLOCKBUSTER"(and rehash) with the word Transformer or spider man in it..Thankfully The Weinstein Company, saw the foresight to let this film be made.. if you liked the movie then this book ISNT for you.. This a FAN"S book,who loved the movie and who cant wait for "Machete" to be released(coming spring of 2010)

The movies were okay. The book is somewhat above average.
Much as the aesthetic of the movies is manufactured, so to the aesthetic of the book and its content. It's manufactures to LOOK beat-up and rough-around-the-edges, much as the movies are oft "distressed" artificially.

The book gives us a lively mix of "making-of" exposition, portions of the scripts, photographs of the shooting processes and other behind the scenes stuff, etc. Rodriguez and Tarantino both give their own take on the movies and how they came about, what their motivations were and how they executed their own bits of the double feature.

If you liked the movies, this is a good companion. If you just like film production books, you'll probably also like this book. Overall, I'd say it's been pretty lively and interesting. Plenty of pretty pictures. A few not-so-pretty, if you get my drift.

In general, I'd give it a recommend.

Amazing !
Worth every little penny .. everyone thought it's about 60 dollars
256 full-colored page with high detail editing .. planet terror screenplay .. and a lot of conversation between the two amazing directors

it was a blind buy for me (( before even seeing the movie )) and i'm happy with it ... Read more

Product Description
The screenplay of Tarantino's film "From Dusk until Dawn", this is the story of two kidnappers who use a lapsed preacher and his two teenage children as human shields in their escape to Mexico. Mayhem ensues when they encounter a group of creatures who exist only from dusk until dawn. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Great Movie - Script is worth it just for the lines of Chet
You'd better hope you don't cross paths with the infamous Gecko brothers Richie and Seth. They're fond of banks robbing them,that is. They're tough. Cool. Notorious. In From Dusk Till Dawn, we follow them as they tear a path through the heartland ofAmerica on their way to the border. It is there, near El Paso, that they will meet up with their Mexican partners-in-crime to divvy upthe loot they've acquired.

Along the way, though, an innocent family will enter their lives an ex-Baptist preacher, his teenage son, and sexy daugh ter. Wewatch as Richie and Seth enlist the family's help in get ting them safely across the border in the family's Winnebago. When theyarrive at their dreamed-about world south of the border, they are met with a terrifying twist.

Move over Dracula, there is a new vampire king.

An average screenplay
I read this on the way to Seattle and I thought it was okay. I didn't know Tarantino would write something like this. It was very unusual. I didn't care for the movie at all. I really think Robert Rodriguez is a good director and very creative. I just didn't think this one was all that great.

The best movie i liked so far
since i saw your movie i said to my self i need a titty twister my dreams have come true titty twister in bangkok,thailand.a go a go bar will open on 31 oct, wish me luck i am going to display all your poster got few fromstates i need one ofyours were can i find one.Tell cheech want to stop byThanks n regards santos

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN Rules!!!
From Dusk Till Dawn is the best Quentin Tarantino screenplay, besides Pulp Fiction. He combines the story of two criminal brothers and vampires at a Mexican bar.

Tarantino style, but no Tarantino substance
Quentin Taratino's 'Pulp Fiction', 'Jackie Brown, and 'Reservoir Dogs' screenplays were outstanding. But, 'From Dusk till Dawn' is borderline o.k.Robert Rodriguez destroys the film with his pathetic directing so I boughtthe screenplay to see Tarantino's script, hoping it would be better, butwas terribly dissapointed.The script is certainly not Tarantino's bestand the plot is really bad when it gets to the monster part.It is a shameTarantino wasted his brilliant writing on some two-bit monster flick.(there were some cool conections with his other movies though.) ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Another Great Tarantino Story!
Not much to say except you just can't get this kind of story or dialog from anyone other than QT. I love the movie even more after reading the screenplay a few times.

Great screenplay!
I watched the movie with the screenplay in my hand and discovered many things that are lost during editing.Great screenplay by Q.T. Thanks.

Great learning tool
A great lesson! I bought this book to refresh my memory of screenplay style as I begin to prepare writing my own. Tarantino is known for his dialogue between characters and that is why I purchased this. It was a good read and did not disappoint. I took away from it several lessons on screenplay style.

Do not be swayed by the Tarantino haters out there. If you want to learn style he is one of the best today. There are many that throw around the terms "boycott", "overrated", etc. I am still fascinated by the number of people that go out of their way to drag down Tarantino's work yet they still see his movies. You would think by now that they would have learned to just not watch them. In reality these people are just jealous of the success he has had. Tarantino very often is referencing other movies that he watched while growing up. He is usually not doing anything original but is instead giving a film history lesson giving us glimpses of the movies of the past.

Follow your own path. Make your own decisions and do not listen to the haters.

Sweet screenplay!!!
If you like Tarantino, you'll like the Screenplay he has written for Death Proof. Simple as that. Plus, it helps young screenwriters to know what to look for and what to do when attempting to write a screenplay of their own.

A great screenplay to a great film.
Wow.Tarantino does it again, and is still at the top of his game.Quentin took a break from his smooth dialogue in both Kill Bill films.But he returns and scores gold once again.I recommend this to anyone interested in Quentin Trantino. ... Read more

Product Description
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Screenplay and the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival, "Pulp Fiction" exploded onto the screen in 1994 and transformed the direction of contemporary cinema. This triplet of interwoven crime stories displays Tarantino's visceral approach to character and plot. ... Read more

Product Description
Tarantino's debut Reservoir Dogs re-invigorated American film and spawned many imitators. From directed films Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, and Kill Bill to his scripts filmed by other directors (True Romance, From Dusk Til Dawn, and Natural Born Killers), Tarantino's cutting-edge output is explored in detail - including his ER episode and projects as an actor, producer, and presenter. References, links and allusions - vital to all his films - are revealed, as are favorite actors, music and recurring themes such as responsibility and redemption. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

One of the very best
One of the very best books about Tarantino's movies to day, Smith manages to both analyze his movies from a point of view noone else before him has done, and take a look at the man's work in a numer of contexts that matter to his fans. Well-written, full of insight and not too short, this book might very well make it to the top of must-read Tarantino books. (www.tarantino.info)

Like A Virgin
Virgin film continues to be the best information one can aquire when interested in a filmmaker. Tarantino may only have released four films as director to date, but he has been a great presence in the film world for many moons.
This book covers everything Tarantino has touched or been a part of in movies. From his own four films, to screenplays directed by others (True Romance, Natural Born Killers, From Dusk Till Dawn), to movies he has acted in (Destiny Turns On The Radio, Dusk again, ect.) and more. It also includes some information on unfinished scripts and projects he's thinking of directing next.
Quentin Tarantino is a major presence in Hollywood and a brilliant young filmmaker, I have read every other book there is to read about him and this is by far the most detailed, complete and easy to read account of his life and career thus far!
Kudos to Virgin Film.
Other great virgin film guides: The Complete Hitchcock, The Complete Scorsese, The Complete Coppola, Tim Burton, The Coen Brothers, Animated Films, Comic Book Films, Gangster Films, Film Noir and Horror Films. ... Read more

Product Description
This is nonfiction commentary. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: Pulp Fiction, Natural Born Killers, Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, Inglourious Basterds, Grindhouse, Kill Bill, Grave Danger, Death Proof, From Dusk Till Dawn, Four Rooms, Jackie Brown. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: Pulp Fiction (1994) is an American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who cowrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references. The film was nominated for seven Oscars, including Best Picture; Tarantino and Avary won for Best Original Screenplay. It was also awarded the Palme d'Or at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. A major critical and commercial success, it revitalized the career of its leading man, John Travolta, who received an Academy Award nomination, as did costars Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman. Directed in a highly stylized manner, Pulp Fiction joins the intersecting storylines of Los Angeles mobsters, fringe players, small-time criminals, and a mysterious briefcase. Considerable screen time is devoted to conversations and monologues that reveal the characters' senses of humor and perspectives on life. The film's title refers to the pulp magazines and hardboiled crime novels popular during the mid-20th century, known for their graphic violence and punchy dialogue. Pulp Fiction is self-referential from its opening moments, beginning with a title card that gives two dictionary definitions of "pulp". The plot, in keeping with most of Tarantino's other works, is presented out of chronological sequence. The picture's self-reflexivity, unconventional structure, and extensive use of homage and pastiche have led critics to describe it as a prime...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=54173 ... Read more