“Growing Up Hollywood” Book Giveaway
A Prize Package to Kick Off our Screen Classics Discussion Series
CMH is happy to announce the very first of our year-long monthly book giveaways as part of our partnership with University Press of Kentucky!
Our first book giveaway is in celebration of Growing Up Hollywood, the premiere event in our exclusive Classic Movie Hub Screen Classics Discussion Video Series with University Press of Kentucky, and co-host Aurora from Once Upon a Screen!
The event premiered earlier tonight on Facebook, and featured author Alan Rode leading a discussion with two children of Hollywood legends – Victoria Riskin and William Wellman Jr – who shared some wonderful and very personal stories about growing up in Hollywood with their very famous parents.
That said, to celebrate, we will be giving away one prize package of three classic movie biographies, courtesy of University Press of Kentucky:
- Alan Rode’s Michael Curtiz: A Life In Film
- Victoria Riskin’s Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir
- William Wellman, Jr.’s Wild Bill Wellman: Hollywood Rebel
In order to qualify to win this Prize Package via this contest giveaway, you must complete the below entry task by Saturday, April 17 at 6PM EST.
- April 17: One Winner (wins all three books)
We will announce one lucky winner on Twitter @ClassicMovieHub, the day after the winner is picked around 9PM EST — in other words, we will announce the winner on Sunday April 18 around 9PM EST on Twitter. And, please note that you don’t have to have a Twitter account to enter; just see below for the details.
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And now on to the contest!
ENTRY TASK (2-parts) to be completed by Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 6PM EST —
1) Answer the below question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog post
2) Then TWEET (not DM) the following message*:
Just entered to win the “Growing Up Hollywood” THREE-Book #Giveaway courtesy of @KentuckyPress & @ClassicMovieHub – biographies from Alan Rode @alancinephile Victoria Riskin @vriskin & William Wellman Jr — #EnterToWin here: http://ow.ly/Eoro50Ei9fL
THE QUESTION:
In your opinion, what would be the most exciting or coolest thing about growing up with famous parents during the Golden Age of Hollywood?
*If you do not have a Twitter account, you can still enter the contest by simply answering the above question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog — BUT PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU ADD THIS VERBIAGE TO YOUR ANSWER: I do not have a Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.
NOTE: if for any reason you encounter a problem commenting here on this blog, please feel free to tweet or DM us, or send an email to clas…@gmail.com and we will be happy to create the entry for you.
ALSO: Please allow us 48 hours to approve your comments. Sorry about that, but we are being overwhelmed with spam, and must sort through 100s of comments…
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If you missed the premiere event, you can catch it here on YouTube:
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About the Books:
Michael Curtiz: A Life in Film: In the first biography of this colorful, instinctual artist, Alan K. Rode illuminates the life and work of one of the film industry’s most complex figures. He explores the director’s little-known early life and career in his native Hungary, revealing how Curtiz shaped the earliest days of silent cinema in Europe before immigrating to the United States in 1926. In Hollywood, Curtiz earned a reputation for explosive tantrums, his difficulty with English, and disregard for the well-being of others. However, few directors elicited more memorable portrayals from their casts, and ten different actors delivered Oscar-nominated performances under his direction.
Fay Wray and Robert Riskin: A Hollywood Memoir: A love story, memoir, and dual biography of two of Hollywood’s most famous figures, Fay Wray and Robert Riskin explores the fascinating lives of two exceptionally talented people at the center of Hollywood’s Golden Age. In this moving and masterful work, Wray and Riskin’s daughter, Victoria, interweaves the story of their lives and connects them to one of the most interesting periods in Hollywood history. At the heart of Fay Wray and Robert Riskin is a great love story, backed by a cast of characters that includes the greatest stars, filmmakers, screenwriters, and moguls of the era.
Wild Bill Wellman: Hollywood Rebel: Drawing on his father’s unpublished letters, diaries, and unfinished memoir, William Wellman, Jr. presents a boisterous portrait of the handsome, tough-talking, hard-drinking, uncompromising maverick. Wellman emerges as a juvenile delinquent, a professional ice-hockey player, and a World War I flying ace in the Lafayette Escadrille. As a highly decorated pilot, he fought the enemy. As an in-demand director, he fought producers and the great studio moguls — some with his fists — for the right to make his films his way. His passionate and roguish personality comes vividly to life in his son’s hands. Wild Bill Wellman offers an unprecedented look at a man who directed “like a general trying to break out of a beachhead” and explores his years working with stars including Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Gregory Peck, John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, and Clint Eastwood. Full of humorous anecdotes and behind-the-scenes insights from the Golden Age, this riveting biography sheds new light on the life and legacy of a true Hollywood legend.
Click here for the full contest rules.
Please note that only United States (excluding the territory of Puerto Rico) and Canada entrants are eligible.
Good Luck!
And if you can’t wait to win the books, you can purchase them on amazon by clicking below:
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–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub
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I think it would be the evolving movie era and going to see your parents on the big screen and see all the upcoming fans who adore their work. What a sense of pride they must have felt.
I do not have access to my Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.
The ability to know other famous people and their children.
Going to the studio, see how the movie is made. Meeting movie stars, and going places. My parents would be so cool. Having famous kids over , too. Telling stories to my friends.
The most fascinating thing would be WHO one would be able to meet. I’ve read instances where one was taught to swim by an Johnny Weismeuller, or to ride by Ben Johnson, or sat on the lap of ‘Uncle’ Clark Gable. That indeed would have been something to write about in a journal. And if you didn’t have a journal–it would have been reason to GET one!
The coolest thing about growing up in Hollywood with famous parents in the Golden Age would undoubtedly be the exposure to all of the people and places of that time. As Reginald Gardner as Beverly Carlton said in The Man who came to Dinner… “Miss Norma Shearer -Claudette Colbert and many others!” Oh the people!! Ciro’s, Brown Derby, The Trocadero, Cocoanut Grove Nightclub, The Hollywood Canteen! To have a time machine to go back to that era…the studios, the parties…sigh!
I think meeting all the big film stars of the day would be pretty exciting. It would certainly leave one with a treasure trove of stories to tell if nothing else. Thanks for the chance to win this beautiful book bundle.
I would like to be able to watch my parents working on their film sets, and to be able to meet the great stars they co-star with. Watching the technicians would be just as fascinating to see how they do their magic!
I do not have a Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.
Getting to see how movies were made and meeting other movie stars!
I would soak in all that the movie industry is all about. Just the good stuff of course. I would want to learn about the end to end of what goes into making a movie!
I think the greatest aspect of growing up with famous parents is being able to attend Hollywood parties with them. It’s a great to see how they are when they’re not on a set. You can relax with them, and meet their famous friends/and or co-stars.
Probably I think the most exciting or interesting thing is seeing all the different type of characters or people the parents could be, some characters could be nice and funny, and other characters can be evil and mean, but I think the children know that they know that its just pretend.
I think it would be awesome seeing your parents on the big screen and having everyone be inspired by them. I love how you can inspire people to continue on by just playing a character they relate with. I would soak up the positive aspects as much as I can. The best part is meeting your TV heros by having your parents in the spotlight. You can meet and be friends with different on screen performers.
With famous parents, the stars who would come to visit would be a highlight. Being on close terms with celebrities, having a support system of Hollywood royalty, would be a wonderful thing.
I think one of the coolest things would be having Hollywood parties in my house. Seeing all those huge celebrities letting loose and having a good time would make the best memories. The other cool thing would be being able to have all the fantastic clothes I could imagine.
The coolest thing would be experiencing all these familiar and famous people who appear larger than life on the big screen behaving like regular folks when they drop by your house: coming over for dinner, hanging around the pool, drinking and misbehaving day and night, but the topper would be all the exotic and expensive gifts they’d bring for birthday parties. “Thanks Aunt Bette, you’re the best. I always wanted a pony!'”
Getting a behind the scenes look at filmmaking as well as seeing all the classic movie stars offscreen!
I think as a little girl, I’d have loved all the glamour! The pretty gowns, jewels, seeing all of that on the ladies coming over to visit for a party. It must have been fun to go to visit the sets, too. Imagine seeing the Emerald City in Oz for instance! Last year I read Todd Fisher’s book “My Girls” and he actually brought sets home and made his own movies with them. That would’ve been great fun.