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Author De Semlyen, Nick, author.

Title The last action heroes : the triumphs, flops, and feuds of Hollywood's kings of carnage / Nick de Semlyen.

Publication Info. New York : Crown, [2023]
©2023

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Berlin-Peck Memorial Library - Non Fiction  791.43 DE SEMLYEN    Check Shelf
 Bristol, Main Library - Non Fiction  791.4302 DESEMLYEN    Check Shelf
 East Hartford, Raymond Library - Adult New Materials  791.43 DE SEMLYEN    Check Shelf
 Farmington, Barney Branch - Adult New Materials  791.43 DES    Check Shelf
 Farmington, Main Library - Adult New Materials  791.43 DES    Check Shelf
 Glastonbury, Welles-Turner Memorial Library - Adult Department  791.4302 DE SEMLYEN    Check Shelf
 Plainville Public Library - Non Fiction  791.4302 DES    Check Shelf
 South Windsor Public Library - Non Fiction  791.4302 DE SEMLYEN    Check Shelf
 West Hartford, Noah Webster Library - Non Fiction  791.4302 DE SEMLYEN    Check Shelf
Edition First edition.
Description xiii, 334 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 24 cm
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 289-318) and index.
Summary "The behind-the-scenes story of the larger-than-life action stars who ruled '80s and '90s Hollywood--Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Jackie Chan, Steven Seagal, Chuck Norris, Dolph Lundgren, and Jean-Claude Van Damme--and the beloved films that made them stars, including Die Hard, Rambo, and The Terminator. The Last Action Heroes opens in 1990, at the Cannes film festival, where Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone finally forged a truce. After years of bitter behind-the scenes combat--Stallone once threw a bowl of flowers at Schwarzenegger's head; the body count in Schwarzenegger's Commando was increased to "have a bigger d*** than Rambo"--the world's biggest action stars had at last formed a friendship. In The Last Action Heroes, film journalist Nick de Semlyen charts their wild, carnage-packed journey from enmity to friendship. He also reveals the personal stories of the colorful characters who ascended in their wake, from Jean-Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal, to Chuck Norris and Jackie Chan. But as the '80s rolled on, the era of the invincible action hero who used muscle, martial arts, or the perfect weapon to save the day started to fade. When Jurassic Park trounced Schwarzenegger's Last Action Hero in 1993, everyone knew that the glory days of these macho men--and the vision of masculinity they celebrated--were officially over. Drawing on candid interviews with the action stars themselves, plus their collaborators, friends, and foes, The Last Action Heroes is a no-holds-barred account of a period in Hollywood history when there were no limits to the heights of fame these men achieved, or to the mayhem they wrought, onscreen and off"-- Provided by publisher.
Contents Prologue -- The Stallion -- The Tank -- Tooling up -- The cowboy and the cannonball -- Maximalism -- Knock knock -- The Alien -- Foreign policies -- The Great One -- Welcome to the party, pal -- Supercops -- Funny or die -- Double impact -- Planet Arnold -- Old habits -- Born again -- Oil and water -- The ice age -- Epilogue.
Subject Action and adventure films -- History and criticism.
Actors -- United States -- Biography.
Heroes in motion pictures.
Stallone, Sylvester.
Schwarzenegger, Arnold.
Lundgren, Dolph, 1959-
Damme, Jean-Claude van, 1960-
Seagal, Steven.
Cheng, Long, 1954-
Norris, Chuck.
Willis, Bruce, 1955-
Action and adventure films. (OCoLC)fst01721067
Actors. (OCoLC)fst00796296
Heroes in motion pictures. (OCoLC)fst00955587
United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155
Genre/Form Biographies. (OCoLC)fst01919896
Criticism, interpretation, etc. (OCoLC)fst01411635
Action and adventure films.
Other Form: Online version: De Semlyen, Nick. Last action heroes New York : Crown, 2023 9780593238813 (DLC) 2022057088
ISBN 9780593238806 (hardcover ; acid-free paper)
059323880X (hardcover ; acid-free paper)
9780593238813 (ebook)
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