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Posted: |
Sep 18, 2011 - 11:10 AM
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By: |
Michael24
(Member)
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As much as I like Star Trek, I was never as compelled to pick up so many related books. However, I do have and enjoy Star Trek Chronology (Second Edition; wish it could now be revised to included the remainder of the TV episodes and movies since the original continuity has, sadly, ended), Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (revised edition), and Mr. Scott's Guide to the Enterprise.
For Bond, I have The Complete James Bond Encyclopedia (revised attend that covers up to Goldeneye), The Incredible World of 007, The James Bond Girls, and James Bond: The Secret World of 007.
However, when it comes to Star Wars, I've got quite a number of things, from official behind-the-scenes books to reference books dedicated to various elements such as characters, ships, planets, droids, etc.
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I love all these photos!
So, Sig, what is "the one Trek book I want MOST, and have been looking forward to
the LONGEST has not, to the best of my knowledge been published yet."?
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It's Preston's behind-the-scenes tell-all-to-end-all-tell-alls about the making of "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," which had its genesis as a proposed (but never published) deluxe issue of "Cinefantastique" magazine. Their deluxe issues were really terrific sometimes, like little textbooks on a given classic sci-fi/fantasy film.
Around 1991, I began to see ads announcing it as an impending book to be titled "Return to Tomorrow: The Filming of Star Trek - The Motion Picture."
Here's Preston's own description of the book, from this webpage . . .
http://www.well.com/~sjroby/lostbooks.html
"This work began in the summer of 1979 as a commission from Frederick S. Clarke, the editor of Cinefantastique magazine, to create a double-issue honoring the imminent Star Trek movie, similar to previous special issues covering Star Wars and Close Encounters. Given to understand by my Trek fan friends that they would wish to read as detailed an account as possible, I interviewed sixty participants in the creation of this film, from Roddenberry and his original cast to director Robert Wise, science advisor Isaac Asimov, composer Jerry Goldsmith, screenwriters, set designers, special effects technicians and on and on, up to and including the young Executive in Charge of Production, one Jeffrey Katzenberg. I edited this material like a montage of memories, as if all sixty people were holding a round-robin seminar about the making of the movie. Wherever possible, I let them tell the story in their own words. (This is the same approach taken with my just-published book, Heaven and Hell to Play With: The Filming of The Night of the Hunter.)
"Even given that it was impossible to complete this magnum opus in time for the film's opening in December of 1979 -- as I'm sure your readers are well aware, the special effects teams were working on ST-TMP until literally a few days before its premiere -- my editor still had cause to regret the great amount of time I took on this assignment. By the time I was finished, the picture was long gone from theaters, and the completed manuscript totalled some 1800 pages -- more than enough for three books, let alone one. Cinefantastique kept promising its readers that it would print Return to Tomorrow, but this never happened, for reasons known only to Fred, now sadly gone from the planet. My book was never designed to be a muck-raker, but it was an honest, straightforward account of the amazing series of crises and difficulties encountered by this particular big-studio production. One reason why I believe the book should finally be published is that it examines a major motion picture in more detail than any previous book of its kind. Now that a few relatively honest books on the Trek universe have been published in recent years, with no resulting collapse of Gulf and Western or its assets, my hope is that Return to Tomorrow can finally take its place among them."
The webpage above is a fascinating read in itself, as it lists many other promising Trek books that never came to be.
So, over the years here at the board, whenever I notice Preston stopping by, I try to slip in an encouraging word to him, hoping he'll finally get back to it and publish it in some form. For instance . . .
Posted: Sep 29, 2003 - 9:33 PM
By: Sigerson Holmes (Member)
Say, Preston!
I hope I don't ask this often enough to annoy you, but what's up with your book, "Return to Tomorrow"?
Posted: Sep 30, 2003 - 2:22 PM
By: Preston Neal Jones (Member)
Keep watching the Skies!
And never lose hope...
Thanks!
PJ
So, in the meantime, "I will learn . . . and watch the lights in the sky . . . and remember."
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I love all these photos!
Thanks, Neil. Most of my Bond non-fiction is in this partial collection picture I took a while back.
I left out THE JAMES BOND BEDSIDE COMPANION and THE JAME BOND FILMS, but there's still a nice sampling:
Come on, guys! I love putting pictures of my junk on the Internet. Get your cameras out and lets see some more.
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Posted: |
Sep 19, 2011 - 3:52 AM
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By: |
Joe E.
(Member)
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Further off the topic a little, one book I enjoy The Complete Making of Indiana Jones: The Definitive Story Behind All Four Films by J. W. Rinzler and Laurent Bouzereau. The title is a little long, but the content is incredible. Lots of great pictures and concept art, plus early screenplay drafts and story ideas. It also presents a pretty (I assume) honest picture about the writing process and why it takes so long to get these damned things going (hint: George Lucas and his insistence on using certain story ideas that Speilberg and Ford had no interest in). Great book and an essential part of the Indy Jones Fan library. I'd enjoy a Star Wars book that comprehensive and (again, I assume) honest.
I love this one, though I think the title is a little misleading; it's not really as complete as I'd like, partly because it came out while Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was just out in theaters, and so because of publishing lead times and all it couldn't be quite as comprehensive with the post-production stuff (and naturally could have nothing on the box-office and reception for it the way it did for the first three), but mostly because there's virtually nothing on the making of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (beyond its role in the gestation of KotCS, and it had a fascinating production history that really deserves to be covered. Of course it makes sense to have had a book focus on the four movies, but the show really deserved the treatment the movies got in this book, and since there's unfortunately less interest in the show, including it in this book might have been the best way to ensure it got done (and perhaps even to spur additional interest in the show). Ah, well.
But that said, yeah, it's still an essential addition to an Indy fan's library.
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You're making me want to drag out all my books and photograph them...
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Posted: |
Sep 19, 2011 - 12:11 PM
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By: |
Michael24
(Member)
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I love this one, though I think the title is a little misleading; it's not really as complete as I'd like, partly because it came out while Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was just out in theaters, and so because of publishing lead times and all it couldn't be quite as comprehensive with the post-production stuff (and naturally could have nothing on the box-office and reception for it the way it did for the first three), but mostly because there's virtually nothing on the making of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (beyond its role in the gestation of KotCS, and it had a fascinating production history that really deserves to be covered. Of course it makes sense to have had a book focus on the four movies, but the show really deserved the treatment the movies got in this book, and since there's unfortunately less interest in the show, including it in this book might have been the best way to ensure it got done (and perhaps even to spur additional interest in the show). Ah, well.
You know, I hadn't even thought of it until now, but you're right. I've always loved Young Indiana Jones, and I'd buy a making-of book on it in a heartbeat. I'm still miffed that Lucas didn't include a single bonus feature on any of the DVD box sets related to the production of the show. It was all just educational documentaries and stuff based on characters and such that were feature on the show, and that's kind of neat, but still some behind-the-scenes featurettes and commentaries should have been included as well.
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Posted: |
Sep 19, 2011 - 3:28 PM
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By: |
Joe E.
(Member)
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You know, I hadn't even thought of it until now, but you're right. I've always loved Young Indiana Jones, and I'd buy a making-of book on it in a heartbeat. I'm still miffed that Lucas didn't include a single bonus feature on any of the DVD box sets related to the production of the show. It was all just educational documentaries and stuff based on characters and such that were feature on the show, and that's kind of neat, but still some behind-the-scenes featurettes and commentaries should have been included as well.
Thanks! I actually do like the historical / biographical / cultural documentaries on the DVDs; they're pretty terrific, and I think it's pretty impressive that the "extras" were given over entirely to (interesting) truly informative / educational material rather than mere promotion, even when it would have been entirely reasonable (there wouldn't have been anything remotely unsuitable about, say, the teaser for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, or a spot for the DVDs of the first three movies), but I really wish there were more publicly available info on the making of the series.
There is a book on the making of the show; it's just not enough. It's called The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: On the Set and Behind the Scenes, was written by Dan Madsen, and was published in 1992 when the show was new - so, in other words, it covers only the earlier part of the show's production, completely leaving out a lot. I still recommended it, though, if you can find it.
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Posted: |
Sep 19, 2011 - 3:56 PM
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By: |
ScottDS
(Member)
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You know, I hadn't even thought of it until now, but you're right. I've always loved Young Indiana Jones, and I'd buy a making-of book on it in a heartbeat. I'm still miffed that Lucas didn't include a single bonus feature on any of the DVD box sets related to the production of the show. It was all just educational documentaries and stuff based on characters and such that were feature on the show, and that's kind of neat, but still some behind-the-scenes featurettes and commentaries should have been included as well.
Thanks! I actually do like the historical / biographical / cultural documentaries on the DVDs; they're pretty terrific, and I think it's pretty impressive that the "extras" were given over entirely to (interesting) truly informative / educational material rather than mere promotion, even when it would have been entirely reasonable (there wouldn't have been anything remotely unsuitable about, say, the teaser for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, or a spot for the DVDs of the first three movies), but I really wish there were more publicly available info on the making of the series.
There is a book on the making of the show; it's just not enough. It's called The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: On the Set and Behind the Scenes, was written by Dan Madsen, and was published in 1992 when the show was new - so, in other words, it covers only the earlier part of the show's production, completely leaving out a lot. I still recommended it, though, if you can find it.
The book The Cinema of George Lucas has a chapter on Young Indy but it's been a while since I've looked at it. It certainly isn't in-depth but there are some cool photos and a production schedule. And Industrial Light & Magic: Into the Digital Realm has a section on the show's visual effects (early CGI which was pretty revolutionary for TV back then).
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Just came across this thread and thought I'd add how much I'm looking forward to Preston Neal Jones' Return to Tomorrow. Hoping it will arrive at my door any day now...
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Thanks for the plug, Neil!
And Thank You, Sigerson, for getting the ball rolling!!!!
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Posted: |
Dec 21, 2014 - 8:45 PM
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By: |
Joe E.
(Member)
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You know, I hadn't even thought of it until now, but you're right. I've always loved Young Indiana Jones, and I'd buy a making-of book on it in a heartbeat. I'm still miffed that Lucas didn't include a single bonus feature on any of the DVD box sets related to the production of the show. It was all just educational documentaries and stuff based on characters and such that were feature on the show, and that's kind of neat, but still some behind-the-scenes featurettes and commentaries should have been included as well.
Thanks! I actually do like the historical / biographical / cultural documentaries on the DVDs; they're pretty terrific, and I think it's pretty impressive that the "extras" were given over entirely to (interesting) truly informative / educational material rather than mere promotion, even when it would have been entirely reasonable (there wouldn't have been anything remotely unsuitable about, say, the teaser for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, or a spot for the DVDs of the first three movies), but I really wish there were more publicly available info on the making of the series.
There is a book on the making of the show; it's just not enough. It's called The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: On the Set and Behind the Scenes, was written by Dan Madsen, and was published in 1992 when the show was new - so, in other words, it covers only the earlier part of the show's production, completely leaving out a lot. I still recommended it, though, if you can find it.
The book The Cinema of George Lucas has a chapter on Young Indy but it's been a while since I've looked at it. It certainly isn't in-depth but there are some cool photos and a production schedule. And Industrial Light & Magic: Into the Digital Realm has a section on the show's visual effects (early CGI which was pretty revolutionary for TV back then).
Charles Champlin's George Lucas: The Creative Impulse also features a chapter on it. The first edition came out in 1993, and was written when the show was still running; an updated edition came a few years later, when it wasn't. Lamentably, I don't yet have the later version, so I don't know if the section on the series was updated, but I have to imagine it was (though the principal reasons for the new edition would be the addition of material on Radioland Murders, the Star Wars special editions and I believe the early work done on Star Wars - Episode I: The Phantom Menace).
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