Hollywood on Lake Michigan: 100 Years of Chicago & the Movies (Illinois) [Paperback]

Arnie Bernstein (Author), Holly Pluard (Photographer)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0964242621 | ISBN-13: 978-0964242623 | Publication Date: September 1998 | Edition: 1st

Author Arnie Bernstein combines history, site guide, trivia, photos, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and celebrity interviews to chronicle (for the first time) the significant contributions of Chicago and Chicagoans to a century of American filmmaking. Among Chicagos unique honors in this history are the development of early film technology, home to the first African American owned and operated film studios, the production site of one in five movies during the silent film era, the birthplace of "slasher" flics, the origination and growth of movie palaces and related theater amenities, the Second City, Goodman, and Steppenwolf theaters as the training ground for comedic and dramatic talent, and the current support for independent filmmaking (e.g. Hoop Dreams, Go Fish, Soul Food, love jones) and television series (Early Edition, Cupid, Turks).

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A must-read for local movie buffs..." -- Chicago Sun-Times, Bill Zwecker

"Chicago African American Filmmakers featured in new book," (Chicago Tribune, January 7, 1999)

Chicago Tribune, #1 at Bookends in "From the Precincts" (Book Section), December 27, 1998. -- (Chicago Tribune)

"Chicagos role on silver screen" (feature article, Beverly Review, by Kevin Kredens, December 21, 1998. -- (feature article, Beverly Review, by Kevin Kredens, December 21, 1998)

"In Print: the history of Hollywood on the lake" -- Section One, Chicago Reader, by Ted Kleine, January 8, 1999

"The Hollywood of the Midwest: Author details the many movies filmed in Chicago" and "A look like no other sets Chicago apart"(On the Go), -- The Times, By Alison Skertic, January 21, 1999

"Tribute to citys film stature" -- Book Look, The Star by Terry Loncaric, December 24, 1998

About the Author

Author and Film Historian ,Arnie Bernstein As a high school senior, Arnie Bernstein happily forged notes that got him out of afternoon geometry class. This left him free to concentrate on a more important aspect of his education: watching movies. In the days before cable channels or VCRs, Arnie sated his movie needs through creative writing, a quick walk home, and complete absorption in the afternoon classic films regularly shown on Chicagos public television station. After high school, Arnie studied film and theater at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, where he also reviewed movies for the school paper, The Daily Egyptian. He returned to Chicago after graduation, earned a Masters Degree in Fiction at Columbia College, and settled into the life of a freelance writer. Bernstein has written for numerous anthologies, biographical indexes, CD-ROMs, and other venues. His work includes the Blockbuster Video Guide to Movies and Videos, The Encyclopedia of the Old West, and the Columbia University World of Quotations. He has won several awards for his writing, including a Puffin Foundation grant for his fiction. Arnie was also selected as one of just 13 participants out of more than 300 entrants for the prestigious Warner Brothers Television Midwest Comedy Writers Workshop. Hollywood on lake michigan--the chronicling of Chicagos place in motion picture history--has been a long-time dream of Arnies. His list of great Chicago movies is as wide as it is varied. Among his favorites are Soul Food, Medium Cool, Bullet on a Wire, Hoop Dreams, The Package, Within Our Gates, and Risky Business. His number one choice? A film he once skipped high school geometry class to watch: Call Northside 777, starring Jimmy Stewart. Mr. Bernstein is a member of the National Writers Union.

Product Details

• Paperback: 364 pages
• Publisher: Lake Claremont Press; 1st edition (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964242621
• ISBN-13: 978-0964242623
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,126,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lights . . . Camera . . . Chicago!, April 27, 2004

By 

Cricket in the Corner (Virtual North Woods) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hollywood on Lake Michigan: 100 Years of Chicago & the Movies (Illinois) (Paperback)

What a delightful gripper this book is, chock full of impressive facts and tasty trivia rolled into a well researched sampler that's part cinematic history, part travel guide. You can thumb through for location addresses set off in bold type, followed by brief descriptions of the films associated with each, and then you can plan a proper movie maniac's pilgrimage. Just don't expect directions to private residences: You won't get to ring the doorbell where Macaulay Culkin was left "Home Alone" (1990) or hang out at the house where Tom Cruise ran his "Risky Business" (1983). You can, however, eat breakfast where Timothy Hutton and Dinah Manoff met for coffee in "Ordinary People" (1980) or have a "cheezbooga, cheezbooga" at the Billy Goat Tavern, made famous by John Belushi on "Saturday Night Live" and revisited in his 1981 romantic comedy "Continental Divide."

Bernstein delves into the early years of moviemaking, before Hollywood's crass monopolization of it, when the burgeoning film industry was nurtured in Chicago. Among the developmental milestones: the invention of the first cameras and projectors, the establishment of two of the world's first film studios, the practice of creating movie adaptations out of contemporary news events, the first African-American owned and operated film productions in the United States, the genesis of the independent film community, the weekly film serial, and the gore flick that typified the drive-in era.

The book covers an amazing list of films and TV shows shot in Chicago and traces the contributions to celluloid history by actors, writers, and directors who have roots in the city -- an illustrious roster too long to post here. Rounding out this special chronicle are interviews, film profiles, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of a specialized Chicago art, the innovative technology it demanded, the visionary gumption that birthed an industry, and the tough dreamers behind it all.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lights . . . Camera . . . Chicago!, February 14, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Hollywood on Lake Michigan: 100 Years of Chicago & the Movies (Illinois) (Paperback)

What a delightful gripper this book is, chock full of impressive facts and tasty trivia rolled into a well researched sampler that's part cinematic history, part travel guide. You can thumb through for location addresses set off in bold type, followed by brief descriptions of the films associated with each, and then you can plan a proper movie maniac's pilgrimage. Just don't expect directions to private residences: You won't get to ring the doorbell where Macaulay Culkin was left "Home Alone" (1990) or hang out at the house where Tom Cruise ran his "Risky Business" (1983). You can, however, eat breakfast where Timothy Hutton and Dinah Manoff met for coffee in "Ordinary People" (1980) or have a "cheezbooga, cheezbooga" at the Billy Goat Tavern, made famous by John Belushi on "Saturday Night Live" and revisited in his 1981 romantic comedy "Continental Divide."

Bernstein delves into the early years of moviemaking, before Hollywood's crass monopolization of it, when the burgeoning film industry was nurtured in Chicago. Among the developmental milestones: the invention of the first cameras and projectors, the establishment of two of the world's first film studios, the practice of creating movie adaptations out of contemporary news events, the first African-American owned and operated film productions in the United States, the genesis of the independent film community, the weekly film serial, and the gore flick that typified the drive-in era.

The book covers an amazing list of films and TV shows shot in Chicago and traces the contributions to celluloid history by actors, writers, and directors who have roots in the city -- an illustrious roster too long to post here. Rounding out this special chronicle are interviews, film profiles, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of a specialized Chicago art, the innovative technology it demanded, the visionary gumption that birthed an industry, and the tough dreamers behind it all.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Stuff I Know......, July 15, 2001

By 

gail k. powers (homewood, il United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hollywood on Lake Michigan: 100 Years of Chicago & the Movies (Illinois) (Paperback)

Having lived in the Chicago area for most of my life, I really didn't need this book. However, I enjoyed it anyway. It does not contain everything (and doesn't tell you interesting stuff like how they distort locations in movies by traveling in the wrong direction in movies, etc.), but it does provide accurate information on shooting locations, etc. and how Chi played a minor role in the early film industry. The problem is one of Chicago being used in many movies.....so many, in fact, that you can't cover everything (and this book doesn't try to do it, either). Obviously, one of the great things about living here is that anything can happen. You can get off an early train and see Robert DiNiro looking like Al Capone.....or find out they are shooting a Tom Hanks movie two miles from your house. The really positive aspect of what this book does, is that it reminds you of the regional prominence Chicago has played in the movie industry. It makes me appreciate something I have always taken for granted. Wonder if Angelenos feel the same way? This is a book a Chicagoan or a traveler to Chicago can enjoy.