 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Max is a 1982 novel by Howard Fast. It tells the story of a young man who leaves his humble roots on the lower east side of New York City to find success in Hollywood's earliest stages. Max has had 52 editions of publication in 10 languages. [1]
"Max" is about the life of Max Britsky, an East European Jewish kid who grows up in great poverty on New York's Lower East Side in the late 19th Century. The elder of seven siblings, Max's life is shaped by the death of his father when he was twelve and Max's decision to drop out of school and provide for his mother, brothers and sisters. First earning money by such expedients as selling theater tickets to prostitutes and appearing as a low-level comedian in a music hall, Max is among the first to recognize the enormous potential of the newly invented motion pictures. He opens a Nickelodeon with great success, expanding to a whole chain of them and graduating to full-fledged movie theaters, later finding a creative young architect to construct for him a whole series of extremely lavish movie palaces all over the country. Then he starts producing his own feature films, becoming one of the first major studio owners in America and eventually moving westwards and establishing an enormous new studio in a hitherto neglected Los Angeles suburb called Hollywood.
A shrewd businessman, becoming one of the richest people in America and a dominant figure in the now burgeoning film industry, in personal matters Max's judgement is clouded by his care for his family and his deep loyalty to them - ignoring warnings that his two brothers, to whom he gave positions in his film empire, are dishonest peculators.
Max's marriage turns arid and loveless; his wife Sally, a former school teacher whom he met when making the first steps of his career and with whose erudition the school dropout Max was impressed, never truly loved him and in the later years of their marriage comes to actively loath him. While other film moguls engage in an endless round of fleeting affairs with starlets, Max falls deeply in love with his secretary Della and for many years keeps completely faithful to her. He cannot, however, divorce Sally and marry Della because his secretary is a devout Catholic, trapped in an unbreakable Catholic marriage with an abusive husband she did not see for years.
Della's sudden death from pneumonia leaves Max completely devastated and broken. Though continuing his brilliant film career with great success, his personal life is a wasteland, finding no woman who could remotely compare with the lost Della. He consents to divorce Sally and give her in settlement a significant chunk of his film empire, and finds his son and daughter completely estranged from him. In 1927 he is about to embrace what should have been the crowing achievement of his career: the move to the talking film. But at that very moment, Max's long tolerance of his crooked brothers, and his habit of trusting old friends even when they have become untrustworthy, spell his downfall.
It turns out that the brothers' embezzlement had gone far beyond what anyone realized, and that by setting up a series of fake shell companies they stole no less than seven million Dollars - a scandal which cannot be hushed. Even then, Max is still held by his lifelong family loyalty, unable to contemplate sending his brothers to highly deserved prison terms, especially that doing that might cause the death of Max's old and frail mother. Max's rivals inside the company - led by an old colleague who used to be his best friend and who proceeds to stab him in the back - team up with Max's vengeful ex-wife, to whom he gave a seat on the board. In a dramatic board meeting, Max - determined to protect his unworthy brothers to the bitter end - is dethroned and forced to give up the company which he founded and built up.
Max then leaves Holywood, and returns to New York City. He does not give up his generous impulses, continuing to lavishly support his mother. He fortunes shrink from millions to hundreds of thousands - still enough to live a comfortable but meaningless life. Finally he passes away, still quite young, from a heart attack which happens in a movie theater, seated in a back row and watching the latest film put out by the company from which he was exiled.
Something's Gotta Give is a 2003 American romantic comedy drama film written, produced, and directed by Nancy Meyers. It stars Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton as professionals who find love for each other in later life, despite being complete opposites. Keanu Reeves and Amanda Peet co-star, with Frances McDormand, Paul Michael Glaser, Jon Favreau, and KaDee Strickland playing key supporting roles.
Francis Lederer was an Austro-Hungarian Empire-born American film and stage actor with a successful career, first in Europe, then in the United States. His original name was František (Franz) Lederer.
Judging Amy is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This television series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a family court for the Connecticut Superior Court's Hartford district; in addition to the family-related cases that she adjudicates, many episodes focus on her experiences as a divorced mother and on the experiences of her mother, a social worker in the field of child welfare. This series was based on the life experiences of Brenneman's mother.
Ray is a 2004 American biographical musical drama film focusing on 30 years in the life of soul musician Ray Charles. The independently produced film was co-produced and directed by Taylor Hackford; it was written by James L. White from a story by Hackford and White. It stars Jamie Foxx in the title role, along with Kerry Washington, Clifton Powell, Harry Lennix, Terrence Howard, Larenz Tate, Richard Schiff, and Regina King in supporting roles. Along with Hackford, the film was also produced by Stuart Benjamin, Howard Baldwin, and Karen Baldwin.
Intersection is a 1994 romantic drama film, directed by Mark Rydell, and starring Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, Lolita Davidovich and Martin Landau. It is a remake of the French film Les choses de la vie (1970) by Claude Sautet, the story — both filmed and set in Vancouver, British Columbia — concerns an architect who, as his classic Mercedes 280SL roadster hurtles into a collision at an intersection, flashes through key moments in his life, including his marriage to a beautiful but chilly heiress (Stone) and his subsequent affair with a travel writer (Davidovich).
Martin Platt is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street, portrayed by Sean Wilson. His major storylines were a relationship with Gail Tilsley following the death of her husband Brian and the birth of their child David ; a feud with Gail's former mother-in-law Ivy Tilsley ; the adoption of Brian's children Sarah and Nick ; affairs with Cathy Power and Rebecca Hopkins ; his relationship with 16-year-old Katy Harris ; and his involvement in the rescue of Gail from her killer husband Richard Hillman. He left on 9 November 2005. In January 2018, it was confirmed that he would be returning for a short period. He returned on 22 March 2018 and left on 26 March 2018 to go to New Zealand with Robyn and Charlotte. In 2024 Wilson filmed scenes as part of Gail's exit storyline, which were scrapped after he left the role prematurely.
A Stranger in the Mirror is a 1976 novel written by Sidney Sheldon. The novel is one of the earliest of Sheldon's works, but contains the typical Sheldon fast-paced narration and several narrative techniques, with the exception of a twist ending. The novel tells the life story of two fictitious Hollywood celebrities - Toby Temple and Jill Castle and portrays the emotional extremes of success and failure and how people inevitably become victims of time. It was adapted into a television film in 1993 starring Perry King, Lori Loughlin, Christopher Plummer, and Juliet Mills.
Eric Forrester is a fictional character from the American CBS Daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful, played by John McCook. He made his debut screen appearance on March 23, 1987, the show's first episode. The character appeared briefly on The Young and the Restless in 1993, 1995, 1996, 2005, 2008, 2013, 2017, and 2021. McCook had also played Lance Prentiss from 1976 to 1980. Eric is a famed fashion designer whom is known for his marriages to Stephanie Forrester. Over the years, he got divorced from Stephanie, and often he aroused her jealousy, when he had been involved with many other women, whom are listed as follows: Margo Lynley, Beth Logan, Brooke Logan, Sheila Carter, Taylor Hayes, Sally Spectra, Maggie Forrester, Lauren Fenmore, Jackie Marone, Donna Logan and Quinn Fuller.
Lonesome Jim is a 2005 American comedy/drama film directed by actor/filmmaker Steve Buscemi. Filmed mostly in the city of Goshen, Indiana, the film stars Casey Affleck as a chronically depressed aspiring writer who moves back into his parents' home after failing to make it in New York City. His older brother already lives there with his two daughters. Liv Tyler stars as a good-hearted nurse who begins a sexual relationship with Jim and starts to see him as a potential stepfather for her son.
Wind at My Back is a television series which aired in Canada on CBC Television between 1996 and 2001. It was created and produced by Kevin Sullivan, best known for his adaptation of Anne of Green Gables and Road to Avonlea. The series had five seasons, each with thirteen episodes, and a Christmas themed movie produced to wrap up loose ends, following the unexpected cancellation of the series.
Heller In Pink Tights is a 1960 American Technicolor Western film adapted from Louis L'Amour's 1955 novel Heller with a Gun. It stars Sophia Loren and Anthony Quinn and was directed by George Cukor.
Life with Derek is a Canadian television teen sitcom that aired on Family Channel (English) and VRAK.TV (French) in Canada and on Disney Channel in the United States. The series premiered on Family on September 18, 2005, and ran for four seasons, ending its run on March 25, 2009. Reruns currently air on Family Channel and previously aired on multiplex sister channel Family Chrgd. The series stars Michael Seater as the titular character and Ashley Leggat as his step-sister Casey. These are the two oldest children in a stepfamily.
La primera noche is a 2003 Colombian film, directed by Luis Alberto Restrepo. The film won 18 International awards and was Colombia's submission for the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category in 2004. Even though the movie was highly acclaimed, after being released in some festivals throughout the United States, it never made it to big theaters. After 3 years of theatrical release, the film was released on DVD in the United States on January 30, 2007.
Chelsea Brady is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives. Created by head writer Sally Sussman Morina, the role was originally played by Mandy Musgrave. The role was recast with Rachel Melvin in 2005. Melvin portrayed the character from 2005 to 2009, after the character moves to London to take care of her mother, Billie Reed. She is the child of Bo Brady and Billie Reed. Chelsea is born by the name of Georgia Reed Brady. "Georgia" is presumed dead, and buried in a bayou in Louisiana. In 2005 after Chelsea Benson's parents are killed in a car accident, DNA tests show that she is Georgia Reed Brady.
Vatsalyam is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Cochin Haneefa and written by A. K. Lohithadas. It stars Mammootty, Siddique, Geetha, Janardhanan, Sunitha, Ilavarasi, Aboobacker, and Kaviyoor Ponnamma. The film contrasts traditional and modern values following two brothers Meledathu Raghavan Nair (Mammootty) and Vijayakumaran Nair (Siddique).
Dui Prithibi is a 1980 classic Bengali movie directed by Piyush Bose. It stars Uttam Kumar, Ranjit Mallick, Victor Banerjee and Prosenjit Chatterjee. Ananda Shankar scored the music of the movie. The film is produced under the banner of Uttam's own foundation Shilpi Sangshad and this is the second film produced by Shilpi Sangshad. The film become a superhit at the box office.
Hello, My Name Is Doris is a 2015 American coming-of-age romantic comedy film directed by Michael Showalter from a screenplay by Laura Terruso and Showalter, about a woman in her 60s who tries to act on her attraction to a younger co-worker. It stars Sally Field in the title role, alongside Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Stephen Root, Elizabeth Reaser, Natasha Lyonne and Tyne Daly.
Atelier Fontana - Le sorelle della moda is a 2011 Italian television miniseries directed by Riccardo Milani and broadcast on Rai 1. It is based on the story of the Sorelle Fontana fashion house and on real life events of the three founders, the sisters Zoe, Micol and Giovanna Fontana.
 | This article about a 1980s novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. |
