HLA Agency

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The Yellow Peril: Dr Fu Manchu & The Rise of Chinaphobia | Christopher Frayling | 2014

A hundred years ago, a character made his first appearance in the world of literature who was to enter the bloodstream of 20th-century popular culture: the evil genius called Dr Fu Manchu, described at the beginning of the first story in which he appeared as ‘the yellow peril incarnate in one man’. Why did the idea that the Chinese were a threat to Western civilization develop at precisely the time when that country was in chaos, divided against itself, victim of successive famines and utterly incapable of being a ‘peril’ to anyone even if it had wanted to be?

Here, Sir Christopher Frayling assembles an astonishing diversity of evidence to show how deeply ingrained Chinaphobia became in the West – so acutely relevant again in the new era of Chinese superpower. Along the way he talks to Edward Said, to the last Governor of Hong Kong, to Sax Rohmer’s widow, to movie stars and a host of others; he journeys through the opium dens of the 19th century with Charles Dickens; takes us to the heart of popular culture in the music hall, pulp literature and the mass-market press; and shows how film amplifies our assumptions, demonstrating throughout how we neglect the history of popular culture at our own peril if we want to understand our deepest desires and fears.

Hatchet Job: Love Movies, Hate Critics | Mark Kermode | 2013

A hatchet job isn’t just a bad review, it’s a total trashing. Mark Kermode is famous for them – Pirates of the Caribbean, Sex and the City 2, the complete works of Michael Bay.

Beginning with his favourite hatchet job ever, Mark tells us about the best bad reviews in history, why you have to be willing to tell a director face-to-face their movie sucks, and about the time he apologized to Steven Spielberg for badmouthing his work.

But why do we love really bad reviews? Is it so much harder to be positive? And is the Internet ruining how we talk about cinema? The UK’s most trusted film critic answers all these questions and more in this hilarious, fascinating and argumentative new book.

The Good, The Bad and The Multiplex | Mark Kermode | 2011

If blockbusters make money no matter how bad they are, then why not make a good one for a change?

How can 3-D be the future of cinema when it’s been giving audiences a headache for over a hundred years?

Why pay to watch films in cinemas that don’t have a projectionist but do have a fast-food stand?

And, in a world where Sex and the City 2 was a hit, what are film critics even for?

Outspoken, opinionated and hilariously funny, The Good, The Bad and The Multiplex is a must for anyone who has ever sat in an undermanned, overpriced cinema and wondered: ‘How the hell did things get to be this terrible?’

It’s Only a Movie | Mark Kermode | 2010

In It’s Only a Movie, the incomparable Mark Kermode takes us into the weird world of a life lived in widescreen. Join him as he gets lost in Russia on the trail of a low-budget horror flick, gasp as he’s shot at in Hollywood while interviewing Bavarian director Werner Herzog, cheer as he gets thrown out of the Cannes film festival for heckling in very bad French, and cringe as he’s handbagged by Helen Mirren at London’s glitzy BAFTA Awards. Written with sardonic wit and wry good humour, this compelling cinematic memoir is genuinely ‘inspired by real events’.

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Contact HLA Agency

T: +44 (0)7801074181
E: hedda@HLAagency.co.uk

About HLA Agency

HLA Agency provides sole agency to its clients and produces live events and audio and video content.
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