A charming novel of old Hollywood, first loves, and man with a touch of magic A mysterious young man named Brae Orrack arrives in Venice, California, in 1928, claiming to be a magic man who can turn stones to bees. Brae also comes carrying a curse. He says he will die unless he can find true love---and find it soon. Is he a con man or is he telling the truth? With Brae, it's hard to tell. Like Elwood P. Dowd and Harvey, Brae, with his old-fashioned charm and ease, invites the reader to embrace just a little bit of magic. Desperate for rent money, Brae agrees to become the chauffeur-bodyguard for a spoiled young actor named Frank (Gary) Cooper, whose womanizing ways always seem to land him in trouble. Entering the glamorous world of early Hollywood, Brae falls for a gorgeous, spunky world traveler named Nell Devereaux, who also happens to be the lover of a powerful Cuban dictator. Finally, he has found the love that will save him. Or has he? Brae quickly learns that love does not come easily. New York gangsters, bootleggers, Hollywood producers, and homicidal dictators conspire to complicate Brae's life at every turn. He befriends a young hood named George Raft, saves the life of movie star Clara Bow, and outwits a family of killers in Key West, Florida. He deftly maneuvers his way out of all sorts of life-threatening situations, but time is running out and Brae must somehow win Nell and save his life. Yet even in Hollywood, skepticism of a "magic" man runs high, and Brae battles conventional reality---not to mention his own impending mortality---at every turn. Ron Base writes a witty, charming tale of a man desperately in search of his destiny. Magic Man is part fable and part adventure, a love story about the impossibility of love. "Beautiful women and gangsters, movie stars and dictators all rub shoulders in this delicious tongue-in-cheek debut set in 1920s Hollywood.... Base works his own magic as he crisply choreographs the entrances and exits of his large cast. There will be thrills aplenty before we are done, and disillusionment, but never defeat for the resilient Brae. A page-turner, spiffy and irresistible." ---Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Inventive and evocative...There's something for everyone: humor, mystery suspense, nostalgia and, of course, a little magic." -- Publisher's Weekly "What a rich and vivid portrait of Hollywood as the talkies came in and the magic of the silents ebbed away. Ron Base's naïve romantic young hero leaves a trail of mayhem and chaos in his wake. There are mercilessly funny portraits of Gary Cooper, George Raft, Clara Bow, and many others."---John Boorman, director of Deliverance, Excalibur, Hope and Glory, and The Tailor of Panama "It takes off with relentless speed, refusing to permit us to catch our breath. Never boring,Magic Man makes for an entertaining and engrossing tale...If (Base) sometimes relies too often on writer-director David Mamet's tried technique, where nothing ever appears as it seems, then we are the lucky, breathless recipients." -- The Edmonton Journal "Superbly crafted...I read it in one sitting...Base kept me guessing to the very end. Luring the reader into believing that a typical Hollywood climax is in store, I was caught completely off guard by Base's end game. Scheduled to make its way into bookstores later this month, Magic Man is a gripping narrative that surprises right to the very last page. Bravo." -- Hour Magazine (Montreal)

Magic Man

Literature & Fiction

Base, Ron

Humor & Satire

Thomas Dunne Books

This work looks at how actors and actresses have been cast for the most famous films of all time, such as Casablanca, and who was nearly cast instead. For example, if the original choice had got the part, James Stewart would have been the first James Bond, not Sean Connery.

Starring Roles: How Movie Stardom in Hollywood is Won and Lost

Humor & Entertainment

Movies

Little,Brown & Company

Matinee idol

DOUBLEDAY

Foreign Object

United States

Matinee Idol

Bantam]

Seal Books

Starring roles: How movie stardom in Hollywood is won and lost

Stoddart

Looks at famous casting changes, actor's missed opportunities, and famous roles that were offered to other actors first

"If the Other Guy Isn't Jack Nicholson, I've Got the Part": Hollywood Tales of Big Breaks, Bad Luck, and Box-Office Magic

Politics & Social Sciences

Sociology

Contemporary Books

Celebrating the golden decade of films and film-making, this is an introduction to the stars, directors and producers who have shaped the 80s. The authors reveal how Hollywood has made more movies than at any other time since the 30s and 40s and has shattered many box office records.

Movies of the Eighties

Marquee

A troubled 14-year-old boy. A duplicitous witch. A fabled tower. A magical Paris. Welcome to the world of "The Strange," Ron Base's exciting new fantasy-adventure called "hypnotic" by critic George Anthony. Hollywood Reporter critic Ray Bennett says "The Strange" is "highly entertaining," while National Post critic Gina Mallet pronounces it "a delight." Orphaned and penniless, young Ned Arnheim is taken in by a beautiful, enigmatic confidence woman out to sell the Eiffel Tower. Ned somehow must stop her and that sets off a series of adventures filled with magic and mystery, chases through rat-infested sewers, attacks by winged creatures out of a boy's worst nightmares, all set against the glamorous, dangerous backdrop that is the world's most enchanting city at the turn of the century.

The Strange

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Fantasy

West-End Books

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Books by Base, Ron