Kindle Daily Post

Five Favorite Star Wars Scenes

To ramp up for May the Fourth, a celebration of all things Star Wars, the Kindle editors compiled our five favorite scenes from the films -- from the epic saber duels to Han versus Greedo to yes, Darth’s declaration of fatherhood. Selecting five scenes was no easy task, so we’re anxious to know: Which moments top your list?

#5. Yoda versus Count Dooku (Episode II: Attack of the Clones)

 

#4. Assault on Jabba's sail barge (Episode VI: Return of the Jedi)

 

Oblivion: Questions Best Left Unanswered

No one runs better in film than Tom Cruise, and the latest cinematic offering where he is tasked with saving the world, Oblivion, does nothing to discourage this notion. Cruise, as Jack Harper, lounges in a remote but posh pad that overlooks a post-apocalyptic Earth, until his daily scout missions send him to the surface where he alternates between running toward and away from dangerous-looking things. In an exposition-heavy opening voiceover, Harper explains that aliens attacked the moon and in the subsequent battle for Earth, nuclear weapons were deployed. Humans may have won the war, “but we lost the planet.” Sort of. A giant, V-shaped spaceship hovers around what remains of Earth, sucking up its resources to be used to repopulate Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, where humanity now resides. It’s up to Harper and his coworker, swimming buddy, and lover Victoria (played by Andrea Riseborough) to make sure the resources are all extracted without incident by whatever aliens remain on Earth. 

And for a while, Oblivion delivers a first-rate science fiction film. Genre fans will spot references to classic and contemporary science fiction films, including Hal 9000 and a very Star Wars-inspired canyon chase sequence. The IMAX-friendly vistas are lovely (thanks to Life of Pi’s Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda), the future-tech is all very believable because the CGI is focused on functionality over flash -- even though there’s plenty of the latter as well -- and the performances deliver all the grim, fractured personalities that are synonymous with “post apocalypse.” In particular, Riseborough shines as Harper’s love interest who acts as if her compartmentalized existence is just fine, while a frantic damage lurks below the surface. 

Oblivion missteps in its final act when it attempts to answer the many questions it poses. The film spends so much time lingering on small moments, to great effect, that it rushes toward its finish, explaining away twists and cataclysmic reveals with tossed-off dialogue and flashbacks. The audience is invested in the dying world and its few characters, so much so that it’s dissatisfying to be quickly ushered through its explosive finale. When it works, Oblivion shines in its grand scope (especially in an IMAX theater), and while it brims with potential, the fun lies mostly in the “What Ifs?” that ripple throughout but never materialize. —Alex Carr

Five Noir Films Author Vincent Zandri Loves

Intrepid author and world traveler Vincent Zandri offers up his thoughts on the movies, in honor of his book trailer contest, live now on Amazon Studios, and his newest Dick Moonlight mystery, Murder by Moonlight. Check them both out and try your hand at the contest featuring $3,000 for the winning trailer!

I don’t go to the movies.

Wait, scratch that…I love the movies. Or, films, I should say. It’s just that you’re going to be hard pressed to find me spending a Saturday night at the local mall, buying over-priced popcorn and sitting through the latest Adam Sandler flick while some high schoolers are chatting it up behind me and the seven-feet-six basketball player seated in front of me blocks the entire screen.

Ok, I know, going to the movies isn’t necessarily for the guys, but more for the gals. And it’s what you do for someone you love who is constantly doing things for you that she doesn’t necessarily enjoy doing. Like bellying up to a bar for instance.

But while we’re on the subject, I have a serious confession to make. Until recently, I’ve been single for a long time, dating here and there, enjoying some short-lived relationships, living the George Clooney life more or less, only without the bucks or the Hollywood good looks. In any case, I always find myself telling my date, or prospective date, how much I love to go to the movies. It works like a charm, every time. All I have to do is ask a girl if she’d like to go to a movie this Friday night and dinner afterwards and her eyes will light up and boom, I’m in.

So what I do after that is wait a few days and then I’ll sort of suggest we save the movie for another time since I can only get an early dinner reservation at this really cool restaurant. Usually she agrees and from that point on, I keep promising a movie, but it usually never happens. And that’s usually when the relationship fizzles out.

Problem is, in my business, I can watch movies all the time, anytime, via Netlfix or Amazon Instant Video or even YouTube. In fact, I probably watch and re-watch half a dozen movies per week.  Watching movies and reading books are essential as a fiction writer. Like a musician listening to other bands, watching movies not only sparks my creativity but it also makes me a more enthusiastic writer. I find myself watching not only as a professional, but as a fan.

The  movies I like to watch and, as I’ve already pointed out, re-watch, almost always fall into the noir or hard-boiled categories. The top 5 noir films I simply cannot stay away from are as follows:

1. China Town: Hands down one of the best hard boiled, wise-guy detective flicks ever made. The Robert Towne script is said to be perfect but the performances are even better with Jack Nicholson playing the sarcastic gumshoe and Faye Dunaway the femme fatale. Look for the scene in which Jack slaps Faye around while trying to figure out if the kid upstairs is her sister or daughter. “My sister, my daughter, my sister…!!!” Classic.
   
   
2. Angel Heart: This one came out in the mid-1980s when I was still in college and was more or less a sleeper but a real horrific sexy shocker. Mickey Rourke plays a 1950s era P.I. who has a bit of an amnesia problem. I could tell you the plot but it would spoil the movie. But for atmosphere and acting, you can’t get a better noir performance than this one.
   
   
3. Seven: I’m a big Brad Pitt fan. He makes the big bucks and I believe he should make the big bucks times two. In this one from the mid-1990s, Brad and Morgan Freeman join up to discover who is behind a series of gruesome killings that are mimicking the seven deadly sins inside a city where it always rains and the view is nothing other than the concrete jungle. A contemporary classic with Kevin Spacey as the villain.
   
   
   
4. Double Indemnity: I don’t know about you, but I grew up thinking Fred MacMurray was a real dork considering the dad he played on My Three Sons and the goofy professor in Disney’s Flubber series. But turns out, back when my parents were still having movie dates, old Fred was bad ass. In this one, he and Barbara Stanwyck try and off her husband in order to collect the insurance dough. But it all goes bad in the Hollywood Hills. No one says “Baby,” better than Fred “Flubber” MacMurray.
   
   
5. Foreign Correspondent: This one was made by Hitchcock pre-World War II and it’s more of an atmospheric, paranoid suspense thriller than anything else. Dark shadows, tight claustrophobic settings, crooked camera angles, and in my mind, one of the first and best English speaking foreign noir films ever produced. Joel McCrea’s performance is remarkable in that it’s stood the test of time. I love to watch this one when travelling in Europe.

So those are just five of my tough guy noir favorites. There are of course, many, many more. Tales of the Gun, The Killers, Tough Guys Don’t Dance, among them. My choices range from the classic black-and-white to the horrifying to the campy as all hell. But I love them nonetheless and all have influenced my novels, especially the Dick Moonlight series (Murder by Moonlight), in one way or another. I suspect I’ll be watching them again and again until my dying day.

I’ll leave you with one last confession regarding my movie dating situation, or lack thereof: Just last year, my ex-wife Laura and I decided to start dating again. One of the things that made her come back to me was my convincing her I would take her to the movies once a week. Well, ummm, it’s been a year and we still haven’t gone. But we’re going to get there (I promise, baby). But lately I’ve been thinking that maybe we won’t get there until one of my own films is finally released.

But even then, I might not feel like going to the movie theater. Or maybe I will. I can just see myself sitting in the back row with Laura on one side and some stranger on the other. Knowing me, I’ll poke the stranger on the arm.

“I wrote this,” I’ll whisper.

“Good for you,” she’ll whisper back, maybe with a roll of her disbelieving eyes. Or maybe she’ll get up and move her seat, thinking I’m some crazy dude or full-of-himself tool. Whatever the case, at least I will have finally made it to the movies.

One Big Deal for a Limited Time

 

The Big Deal is back. More than 500 Kindle books are now available for as low as $0.99, including literature, nonfiction, thrillers, romance, cookbooks, books for kids and teens, and more. Shop for yourself, or give Kindle books--delivered when you want--to anyone with an e-mail address. (No Kindle required. Books can be read on Kindle or one of our free reading apps.) But hurry--these deals expire on August 23.

The Big Deal's diverse range of categories includes:

Literature & Fiction as Low as $0.99

 

 

 

  

 

Romance as Low as $0.99

 

Nonfiction Books as Low as $0.99

 

 

 

 

 

Biographies & Memoirs as Low as $0.99

 

 

 

 

 

 

Teen Books for $2.99 or Less

 

 

 

 

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Bitter Drink: An Interview with F.G. Haghenbeck

Novelist, historian, and comic-book writer F.G. Haghenbeck is the author of The Secret Book of Frieda Kahlo, among other titles. His latest to be translated into English, Bitter Drink, won the Otra Vuelta de Tuerca award in Mexico for best mystery novel. 

Question: What inspired you to write Bitter Drink?

F.G. Haghenbeck: I decided to write a novel like the novels I love—something with a charismatic main character and the feeling of the pulp noir books that Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett wrote. Also, I've always loved the culture of the '60s: the cocktails, music, and film. I knew from the beginning that the story would happen in that decade.

At that time, I was living in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and the writer William Reed told me a real story about John Huston: He gave golden guns with silver bullets to each actor and actress in The Night of the Iguana. He figured that when the actors wanted to kill each other, they could use these weapons. I wondered what would have happened if someone had been killed with a gun like that. The rest came to me like magic. Then I was in the middle of writing the book and I felt something was missing—an outside voice that tied it all together. I used my knowledge of mixology to create the right environment, including drinks and songs in each chapter. I loved the result and have used it in other novels since.

Q: What are the key ingredients for creating a great noir-esque detective?

FGH: The character needs to be a son of a...in many ways, but he also needs to have a quality you can fall in love with. My favorite example is Philip Marlowe. He's like a medieval knight in a raincoat with a Remington in his hand.

Q: What are the noir novels that every mystery fan should read?

FGH: For me, one name: Raymond Chandler. He is the best 20th-century American writer. Of course, you have Hemingway or Capote, but Chandler created the hardboiled dialogue that became a trademark of urban fiction from the 1940s. His first novel, The Big Sleep, is my favorite.

Q: Which cast member from Night of the Iguana would you most like to have a cocktail with?

FGH: Ava Gardner, of course. She had dirty eyes and a really lustful smile. That's why she was called "the world's most beautiful animal." Although Richard Burton might be a better companion for a drink. He was a good drinker.

Kirk Douglas's Memoir Recalls "Spartacus" and Breaking Hollywood's Blacklist

“Kirk Douglas is many things. A movie star. An actor. A producer. But he is, first and foremost, a man of extraordinary character... the kind we always look for at our darkest hour.”

    — George Clooney in the foreword to I Am Spartacus!

Celebrated actor, director, and producer Kirk Douglas has one noble accomplishment that may be unknown to many: he broke the Hollywood blacklist.

In his new memoir, I Am Spartacus! Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist, Douglas reveals the true story behind the making of the Academy Award–winning classic film, Spartacus, and the political implications of his decision to defy the Hollywood blacklist by publicly giving writing credit for the film to Dalton Trumbo, a blacklisted screenwriter.

This gripping, candid book describes the drama, struggles, and triumphs of bringing Spartacus to the big screen. In his own words and from his own heart, Douglas tells a story that needs to be told, as only he could tell it.

I Am Spartacus! Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist is available now for Kindle readers and features a foreword from George Clooney along with a collection of never-before-seen photos from on, and off, the set.

Watch Kirk Douglas, his wife Anne, Universal Studios President Ron Meyer, and Jeff Pirtle, archive director for NBC Universal, talk about the movie that changed it all.

 

 

Reviving the Tired Boxing Metaphor

Guest post by Tom Schreck, whose novel, The Vegas Knockout, came out this week. 

I hate clichés, especially boxing clichés. These days, boxing in popular media is one tired cliché after another:               

• On the Waterfront: “I coulda been a contender.”
• Rocky: “Yo Adrienne!” and “Cut me, Mick.”
• Raging Bull: “Did you f*ck my wife?”

The cliché fighter is either the arrogant, grandiose, self-absorbed champion or the underachieving, sad sack whose life is filled with bad breaks. He (or now, she, thanks to Million Dollar Baby) is filled with out-of-the-ring demons. These clichés paint too narrow a picture of what boxing is really about.  

I love boxing. Besides being a writer, I also work in the fight game as a judge and I’m still a gym rat who regularly gets in the ring. Boxing is in my blood. I spend a good percentage of my discretionary time in boxing gyms and very few, if any, boxers fit the cliché descriptions.

In my new book, The Vegas Knockout, my protagonist, Duffy Dombrowski, is anything but the cliché. Here’s why:

• Duffy is a social worker fighter. Ninety-nine percent of professionals box as a second job.
• Duffy has more than one dimension just like the real-life fighters I know. Fighting is not who he is, it is what he does.
• If he takes a shot in the face, he feels it, unlike LaMotta or Balboa.
• Boxing lets him forget about his demons just for the moments he is in the ring, not exorcise them.
• Duffy is thoughtful, insightful and often lonely both in and out of the ring.
• Boxing is about facing what’s scary and keeping on when it isn’t easy. He doesn’t win every fight.
• Most fighters never get to fight for a title, and Duffy certainly doesn’t, but getting the opportunity to spar with a contender is almost as good.
• Many times the expectation is for Duffy to lose a fight without looking too bad. In the boxing world that’s known as a professional opponent. You can make a decent living just losing and looking good.

Boxing isn’t always easy. Sometimes a fighter needs to find other ways to get some wins in life. Maybe that’s why Duffy sticks his nose in other people’s business and puts himself in harm’s way. Maybe he’s just evening the score, or maybe that’s just the way he is.

February’s Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less

 

For the shortest month of the year we’ve put together a great list of 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less.

Here are some of our favorites we want you to know about:

Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains by Jon Krakauer, $3.99
No matter what the actual temperature may be, several pages into this collection of stories examining the climbing subculture you will begin to shiver. The various heroes, risk-takers, incompetents, and individualists captured here are more than colorful as Krakauer explores the addiction of risk and intense effort.

The Sweetest Thing by Barbara Freethy, $1.99
Freethy’s charming writing style and expert plotting perfectly explore what happens when matters of the heart become complicated for entrepreneur Alex Carrigan after he invites his eccentric grandfather and precocious 12-year-old daughter into his home and a beautiful redhead into his love life.

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut, $2.99
An influential classic of satire and dark humor by one of the best, Vonnegut’s God Bless You Mr. Rosewater presents Eliot Rosewater, an itinerant, semi-crazed millionaire wandering the country in search of heritage and philanthropic outcome.

The Good Neighbor Cookbook: 125 Easy and Delicious Recipes to Surprise and Satisfy the New Moms, New Neighbors, and more by Suzanne Schlosberg, $2.99
Forget about the same old boring pasta salad or tuna casserole when you need to bring dinner to exhausted new parents, care for a friend recovering from surgery, or contribute to a business breakfast. Schlosberg and her coauthor Sara Quessenberry uniquely divide this excellent cookbook by occasion rather than food category.

In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming, $2.99
Fleming’s page-turning debut follows the trials of Virginian Clare Ferguson, who has left her tough past as an army helicopter pilot to become an ordained priest in upstate New York. Things become chilling after a baby is left on her doorstep and a community-shattering murder investigation follows.

 

Be sure to visit our complete list of 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less and browse through the other 95 gems we’ve chosen for February; from adventure anthology to science fiction, this month’s selection has something for all reading tastes and moods.

Note: Deals expire on the last day of each month. Individual books may have additional territory restrictions, and not all deals are available in all territories.

All-New Kindle Family: Four New Kindles, Four Amazing Price Points

We're excited to announce three all-new Kindle e-readers that are smaller, lighter, and more affordable than ever before, and a new class of Kindle – Kindle Fire – a beautiful full color Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games, web browsing and more.

New Latest Generation Kindle -- Fits In Your Pocket -- Only $79
The new latest generation Kindle is for readers who want the lightest, most compact Kindle at an incredible price.  The latest generation Kindle features a new design that is 30 percent lighter at just 5.98 ounces, 18 percent smaller, and turns pages 10 percent faster.  Kindle is now small and light enough to fit easily in your pocket and carry with you everywhere, yet it still features the same 6-inch, most advanced electronic ink display that reads like real paper, even in bright sunlight. 

Kindle is available starting today at www.amazon.com/kindle.

Kindle Touch -- Touch Screen Addition to the Kindle Family -- Only $99
Kindle Touch is a new addition to the Kindle family with an easy-to-use touch screen that makes it easier than ever to turn pages, search, shop, and take notes – still with all the benefits of the most advanced electronic ink display.  Kindle Touch is also lighter, smaller, eliminates battery anxiety with extra-long battery life and holds thousands of books. 

Kindle Touch is available to customers in the U.S. for pre-order starting today at www.amazon.com/kindletouch and ships November 21.

Kindle Touch 3G -- New Top of the Line Kindle e-reader -- Only $149
Kindle Touch 3G is a new addition to the Kindle family for readers who want the top of the line e-reader.  Kindle Touch 3G offers the same new design and features of Kindle Touch – small and light, easy-to-use touch screen, storage for thousands of books, and extra-long battery life – with the unparalleled added convenience of free 3G.  Kindle's free 3G connection means you never have to hunt for or pay for a Wi-Fi hotspot – you simply download and read books anytime, anywhere in over 100 countries around the world.  Amazon pays for the 3G connection so there's no monthly fee or annual contract. 

Kindle Touch 3G is available to customers in the U.S. for pre-order starting today at www.amazon.com/kindletouch3G and ships November 21.

All three new Kindle e-readers also come with special offers and sponsored screensavers that appear when you're not reading.  Customers enjoy special money-saving offers delivered wirelessly, including discounts on local services, products, and experiences from AmazonLocal, Amazon's local deals marketplace.  Customers can also choose to purchase a Kindle without special offers and sponsored screensavers.


Kindle Fire -- New Class of Kindle -- Only $199
Kindle Fire is a new addition to the Kindle family that offers instant access to Amazon's massive selection of digital content, Amazon's revolutionary cloud-accelerated browser, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, Whispersync, 14.6 ounce design that's easy to hold with one hand, brilliant color touchscreen, and a fast and powerful dual core processor -- all for only $199.

Kindle Fire puts Amazon's incredible selection of digital content at your fingertips – enjoy over 18 million movies, TV shows, songs, apps, games, books, and magazines in vibrant color.

Customers in the U.S. can pre-order Kindle Fire starting today at www.amazon.com/kindlefire, and it ships November 15.

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 [AWD1]Ali/Shannon, can you provide images?

Guest Blogger: Karyn Bosnak on “What’s Your Number?”

Former TV talk-show producer Karyn Bosnak lives in New York City. Her first book, Save Karyn, was an inspiration to shopaholics and women in credit card debt everywhere. Here she talks about what it was like to have another of her novels, 20 Times a Lady, become the film, What's Your Number?

Writing a book is a very intimate thing; I think every author would agree. From idea to completed manuscript, the entire process is very solitary and it’s scary when you finally put something out there. You’re baring your soul a little bit, and you want people to embrace it.

I got the idea for my first novel, 20 Times a Lady, in 2003. At the time I never imagined it would become the feature film What's Your Number? starring Anna Faris and Chris Evans. It took one year to put together a proposal to send to my editor, and then another to actually write the book. During that time, I lived in a 650-square foot apartment in Brooklyn, every inch of which was covered in paper.

In 2006, right before the book was published, I optioned it to producer Beau Flynn and New Line Cinema. Several producers at other major studios were interested in the material but they all wanted to make a PG-13 movie about a woman who revisits ten men she dated, not twenty men she slept with. I remember ending many of the meetings with, “Yeah, but that’s not really the story.” Beau Flynn loved the original premise from the get-go and wanted to make an R-rated comedy. He believed there was an audience for it, and that’s why I decided to go with him.

I took a shot at writing the first draft of the screenplay in 2007, and it was thankfully rewritten by the amazing Jennifer Crittenden and Gabrielle Allen in 2008. Anna Faris was attached to star and executive produce at the end of that year, but it still took almost two years and two more studios (eventually landing at New Regency) for the film to be green-lit. This is why you want a producer attached who’s passionate about your project—Beau Flynn was a driving force who never gave up.

In the summer of 2010, at the onset of production, I attended the cast table-read in Boston and watched talented actors and actresses become characters that for years existed only in my head. It was such a surreal experience to see them come alive. I knew my little book was about to become so much bigger than me, but I really had no idea. It wasn’t until I visited the set a month or so later and saw the 250-person crew working away that I realized the enormity of the situation. Up until then it had been my story, my characters, and my book… but it wasn’t just mine anymore, at least not mine alone.

A couple of months ago in a small theater on the Fox lot, I finally saw the completed version of the film. When it was over, as I watched all the credits roll by, tears started rolling down my cheeks. I just kept thinking back to eight years ago, to when this whole thing started, to when it was just me, an idea, and all that paper in my tiny Brooklyn apartment. To see something that was once so intimate and personal take on a life of its own… well, I felt like I had just given birth. It was one of the most rewarding experiences I will ever have.

--Karyn Bosnak