Hollywood: A Celebration - Hardcover

A pictorial chronology of American film depicts Tinseltown from its early beginnings in the 1900s to the present day, providing more than 750 movie stills and candid behind-the-scenes shots, many from the Kobal Collection.

David Thomson writes for the New York Times, the New Republic, Sight and Sound, Film Comment, Movieline, and the Independent on Sunday (in London). He also writes the "Turn-On" column for Salon.com. He was born in London and educated at Dulwich College and the London School of Film Technique. Mr. Thomson has served on the selection committee for the New York Film Festival and is on the advisory board to the Telluride Film Festival. His books included Showman: The Life of David O. Selznick; Rosebud: The Story of Orson Welles; and A Biographical Dictionary of Film; as well as several novels about movies -- Suspects, Silver Light, and Warren Beatty and Desert Eyes: A Life and Story. His most recent book is In Nevada: The Land, the People, God and Chance. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and two sons. The Kobal Collection is the largest and oldest privately owned movie photo archive in the world, with more than a million images on file. The collection is comprised of original photographs from the earliest movies to the latest releases, including scene stills, portraits, candids, and behind-the-scene images from movie sets. In 1972, renowned film historian John Kobal began compiling stills and ephemera and developed a world-wide reputation as an expert not only on films, but also the men and women of Hollywood. The Kobal Collection not only aims to preserve the promotional photographs released by the Hollywood studios to promote their films and their stars, but also to enhance our understanding and enjoyment of one of the Twentieth Century's greatest art forms.