Every week, I get several press releases, screening invitations and other notifications from a handful of studio contacts. While I won’t be sharing any information regarding my screening invites, some of the press releases might be of interest to my readers, so I thought I’d start sharing them in toto with all of you. These could include new image galleries for various films or important updates to upcoming releases from various smaller studios and art house production companies.

• Press Release: Larry McMurtry Auctions Off 300,000 Books
• Press Release: Nicolas Cage makes appearance at Giffoni

Press Release: Larry McMurtry Auctions Off 300,000 Books

LARRY MCMURTRY TO AUCTION 300,000 BOOKS AS PART OF “THE LAST BOOK SALE”

Archer City, TX – July 16, 2012 – Academy Award winning screenwriter and acclaimed author Larry McMurtry has announced the sale of over 300,000 books as part of an auction entitled “The Last Book Sale,” taking place on August 10 and 11, 2012. Addison & Sarova Auctioneers will oversee the event, which will be held at McMurtry’s BOOKED UP, INC. store in Archer City, TX. The collection is one of the largest in America and is housed in three of the four buildings comprising Booked Up. McMurtry is not closing his bookstore and will continue to sell books after the auction out of the main Booked Up building, which contains over 165,000 titles.

McMurtry’s entire store encompasses over 450,000 books, with a large selection of antiquarian titles as well as fine quality general stock. The auction will include all books currently housed in buildings two through four as part of a shelf sale, as well as 100 books personally chosen by McMurtry to be sold as individual lots. He says that while they may not be the most expensive books, they are titles he finds interesting. The plan is for each shelf to contain several valuable books as well as good general stock. There will be a weeklong preview beginning August 3 through 9. McMurtry will be on hand for the event.

The auction is a “can’t miss” for those interested in fine quality general books as well as collectors of rare books and manuscripts. McMurtry has been buying and selling books for the past forty years, including the purchases of hundreds of private collections as well as complete inventory from over 25 stores. He hopes to inspire the next generation of book lovers to start their own stores and said, “Young dealers have a chance to acquire some good stock.”

The store is just one building away from where “The Last Picture Show” was filmed, and the event should bring a large audience of book lovers and the literary world to Archer City. His personal collection of 28,000 books acquired over the past 55 years, specializing in general humanities and reference titles, currently resides at his home in Archer City.

Press Release: Nicolas Cage makes appearance at Giffoni

Nicolas Cage: “Giffoni better than an Academy Award” He clears up: “I’ve never dodged taxes”

The Hollywood star cheered by the Giffoni crowd

During the press conference, Nicolas Cage began by saying: “To be an Oscar winning actor is less important to me than being here in Giffon. And I’ve never dodged taxes”. Nicolas Cage is a legendary talent at Giffoni Film Festival which is the most important international festival for kids and youth. He came in typical cool rock style, wearing jeans, T-shirt and blue devalee jacket. He immediately swept the ceremony rules away by mixing with the jurors to greet them and take pictures with them, too. Then, he answered the questions of the journalists. It took him 5 seconds to sort out the confusion relating to his hypothetical tax evasion: “I’ve never dodged taxes, otherwise I would be in jail” – he cut short. Some journalists tried to make him lose his temper, reminding him that, even if he was the Academy Award winning in 1996 for the film “Leaving Las Vegas”, he has won the “Razzy Award”, which is the prize for the worst acting in films. “Prizes mean nothing to me. I don’t take them too much seriously. I care about other things, such as the Giffoni Film Festival which counts more than a prize. I’m proud of my Italian origins, love Italian food, culture and mythology. But most of all, I’ve literally fallen in love with the Giffoni Film Festival basic idea, which gives voice to kids and youth from all over the world. It is the unique philosophy in the world which makes us aware that we are all human and with the same feelings. Young people who participate in Giffoni learn to love each other before adults teach them to hate on the basis of their different cultures”.

He was still unsure about the future. His next film to be released is “Frozen Ground”, set in Alaska, where he will play the role of a policeman tracing a dangerous serial killer, played by John Cusack. “Then, I still don’t know if I’m going to play the role of Thomas Edison in the film on Nikola Tesla. I would like to play in films about which I have read in newspaper or magazines” – he said. “The truth is that I still haven’t decided, I have no production and directing projects. I want to concentrate myself only on my acting work and I would like to turn out once more to shoot an independent film, so to return to my origins”. It is known his passion for comics: “I don’t collect them anymore now” – he said – “I did it when I was young and I read a lot. I think that comics’ characters are like models to follow for young people”. In one of his most famous film “The Family Man” he played the role of a manager who decides to go back in time. “What would I change of my life if I turned back time? This question is like a trap” – he said – “I’ve lived for 48 years old and I would change absolutely nothing in my life”. The Giffoni Film Festival’s theme is happiness this year: “What makes me feel happy is travelling, meeting new people and reading new poetry”. Any suggestions for youth who want to work in films? “I mean, it’s a dream and you need to go ahead even if you’ll find people in life who will tell you ‘No, it’s just no worth it!’, people who will try to destroy that dream, to win frustrating your plans writing bad things about you on internet or by emails”. Nevertheless, art improves people’s life, makes you fight against crime. So I’m deeply convinced that kids and youth should be trained in art; if they are angry, art will brighten them, will take them far from drug abuse and violence”. He thanked his mother and when he was asked questions about his relationship with his uncle, the director Francis Ford Coppola, for the umpteenth time, he answered tauntingly: “I’m happy about the whole Coppola family and I think that they are happy too, even if my eyes are light-blue while theirs aren’t”.