B-Movie books

[J.R.]

You couldn't fill a library with B-movie-themed books but there are a few.

Mike Nelson's Movie Megacheese- Literally the funniest thing I've ever read. My copy is dog-eared and in need of replacement. As close as you'll come to a MSTed Patch Adams (unless my dearest hopes come true).The Keanu Reeves chapter alone provides more laughs than everything Al Franken has ever said in his life combined.

Going To Pieces: The Rise And Fall Of The Slasher Film- Haven't read it myself, but apparently it's a big hardcover coffee table tome with tons of full-color photos.

[Squishy]

Aside from Nelson's "Movie Megacheese," the "MST3K Amazing Colossal Episode Guide," "The Films of Akira Kurosawa," "The First 280 Years of Monty Python," and a slew of Japanese-language Godzilla, Gamera, and Mothra "mooks," I have:

The Sci-Fi Channel's "Science-Fiction Classics: The Stories That Morphed Into Movies"--compiled by Forrest J. Ackerman! A collection of short stories that the following movies were based on: "This Island Earth," "Invasion of the Saucermen," "Target Earth," "Dr. Cyclops," "They Live," "The Day The Earth Stood Still," Death Race 2000," "The Thing," "The Twonky," "The Illustrated Man," and "Fiend Without A Face." And more! Ripping yarns! Bet you saw at least ONE movie in that list that you never would have believed was based on anything headier than a '50s comic book...

"Nightmare of Ecstasy" by Rudolph Grey--the deeply disturbing "true story" of Ed Wood and company. Deeply disturbing. Deeply. Forget Tim Burton. Deeply. Ooooh.

"Bad Movies We Love" by Edward Margulies & Stephen Rebello--and a foreword by Sharon Stone! Gah! Over 200 reviews of bombs and busts, across all genres, not just the sort of fantasy/sci-fi junk that gets raked over the coals in most books and online sites...hilarious! Compiled from "Movieline" magazine. (Are they even around anymore?) Wow, I have to read this one again--quick. The crappy near-newsprint-quality paper has already turned yellow, and the thing was printed in 1993.

Michael Sauter's "The Worst Movies Of All Time, Or: What Were They Thinking?" Fifty in-depth reviews, a "special awards" section, and "The Baddest of The B's," this is kind of a (somewhat) newer, condensed version of those old Medved books that really launched the "Cinema Le Bad" genre at Blockbuster. Typical example: "The Worst Movie By Madonna (So Far)." Sadly, with the book being published in 1996, "Swept Away" is not a contender.

[nshumate]

I'm reading MegaCheese as we speak. I think it's very quotable, but the articles get tiring in quantity (especially with the "cheater" sections" in the middle - "TV" and "Families").

[Cullen]

I have this book myself.  I bought it for "Who Goes There?" (the story The Thing was based on.)  Not only had I seen both movies, but, as a kid, I read a comic based on the story.  So by that point I was dying to see if the original work was the best.  (Fun Fact: "Who Goes There?" is the only work of fiction I like equally in all of its forms.)

Not a bad little book, though I think a lot of the movies were better than the stories they were based on.  Like the "Fiend Without a Face" one.
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[Goon]

            I have a copy of "Son of Golden Turkey Awards" by the Medved brothers.  Anyone else read that one?  Loads of reviews for the nominees in each catagory, and lots of information on the production work behind the winners.  It even has the events that spawned the film "The Creeping Terror".
---ooo-'U'-ooo----Kilroy was here.

[systemcr4sh]

what about the classic ALL I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT FILMMAKING I LEARNED FROM THE TOXIC AVENGER.
I hope I got the title correct, for someone who owns the book :P

Even though I've read the book jillions of times I always pick it up and read a few pages every once in a while when I'm bored. Its that good. 100% on the re-readability scale. And tons of awesome tips and info.

After reading a few sample pages of Movie MegaCheese on AMAZON I drove down to the Chapters near me and ordered the book, I can't wait until it gets here!

[Vermin Boy]

Videohound's Guide to Cult Flicks and Trash Pics. Far and away the coolest cult-movie directory I've seen, and what originally inspired me to start raiding the "used" bins at video stores. Great rating system, too; in addition to being rated by traditional "goodness," the movies are rated for cultishness and sheer entertainment value; therefore, "Plan 9 From Outer Space" and "From Dusk Till Dawn" rate just as highly as "2001" and "Casablanca." (all four movies get perfect "four bone" ratings)

[Cullen]

Casablanca rated as high as Plan 9 .

The mind boggles.  It really does.