"Steven M. Levine. a veteran Hollywood property master, through both humorous recollections and poignant stories over a 39-year span, not only takes the reader onto a Hollywood set as a crew member but he is also ... informative about the art department and props in particular - any item handled or used by actors during the filming of a show ... explains what property masters do, how a script is 'broken down', why props must be throroughly researched, how the props master interfaces with other departments, and how to deal with the inflated egos he or she will certainly encounter. He also opens up about the toll that 14-16 hour days and being away on location for months at a time can take on family"--Publisher's description.

Movies have replaced the circus and the carnival as the traveling sideshow for the masses of America today, providing longed for escape from day-to-day reality. In the actual movie business, one is either above the line or below the line, the demarcation where the real money and power starts and stops. In a personal attempt to separate fact from fiction, the author takes a look at the beautiful, and the not-so-beautiful, people who work in films, in a behind the scenes account of "movie magic" from the thoroughly kissed bottom.

Eccentric private eye Charlie Waldo is back in another wildly fun and fast-paced thriller lampooning Southern California. Former LAPD detective Charlie Waldo was living in solitude deep in the woods, pathologically committed to owning no more than one hundred possessions, until his PI ex-girlfriend Lorena dragged him back to civilization to solve a high-profile Hollywood murder. Now Waldo and Lorena have their hands full with a new client, a wild and privileged L.A. teenager named Stevie Rose who tells lies as easily as she breathes. When the teacher Stevie claims seduced her turns up dead, the LAPD pegs her as the prime suspect. Then Stevie disappears, and her self-involved Hollywood parents turn to Waldo to find her—a task that draws him down into Orange County’s dangerous and complex worlds, both opulent and seedy, where nothing is as it seems. With treachery and deception at every turn, and with Waldo’s eco-obsessed rules for living complicating his already complicated relationship with Lorena, Waldo fends off enemies old and new as he races to find Stevie and solve the murder.

Considers the work of television set assemblers, soft-core cameramen, reality-program casters, and public-access and cable commissioners in relation to the globalized economy of the television industry

In between gigs as a Hollywood movie Teamster, self-proclaimed sailing bum Mike Millek moonlights as a freelance, armed chauffeur to the stars. When Mike arrives one night to pick up his deadbeat client, rap music producer Pays Lee, at his private jet Mike finds him freshly murdered with a satchel full of cash. Mike makes the critical decision to take what is owed him before reporting anything to the police. More money than he ever expected, this turns out to be Mike’s biggest payday in his life, but not without consequences. Opening this Pandora’s box not only costs him his best friend’s life and leads him down a road of deception with his newly found love Molly, but thrusts them both into a dangerous conspiracy entrenched in the sordid underbelly of the Hollywood power elite. Praise for BELOW THE LINE: “If Michael Connolly were an ex-Hollywood agent who knew the cream of show biz and the sour milk of its lowlifes like he knows the back of his brass-knuckled hand, he might have created Mike Millek and his foot-to-the-floor dark ride, Below the Line. Set along the seams of the real movie business—as its street-savvy author Jankowski has lived and savored it—with an A-list casting call of characters so real they're scary, Mike Millek is as hardboiled as a shark in hot water and his Los Angeles is a City of Angles. So if you take your java noir with a double shot of espresso, take just one bite of Below the Line and it will reel you in…hook, line and sinker!” —Rupert Holmes, multiple Edgar and Tony-winning author, creator of the AMC-TV series Remember WENN, and author of Where the Truth Lies “Batten down the hatches for a hard-boiled storm. Below the Line is an impressive debut, a suspenseful Nautical Noir on the fringe of Hollywood’s dream factory. Taut, vivid tough-guy pulp in the tradition of John D. MacDonald and Mickey Spillane.” —John Shepphird, Shamus Award-winning author “Babes, boats and betrayal! Steve Jankowski’s thrilling debut crime novel jets through the gritty sets of Hollywood to the deadly Pacific in a riveting tale worthy of Travis McGee.” —Lawrence Maddox, author of Fast Bang Booze

For Fans of Hollywood Noir and novels by Elmore Leonard and Michael Connolly comes a new crime novel from a Hollywood insider and true crime writer. Former Detroit homicide detective Edwin Blake broke into show business as a script consultant on cop movies. Now living in Los Angeles five years later, Blake is suffering from clinical depression, is no longer in demand in film and TV – and money is short. But things look up when Blake gets a call from wealthy, oddball producer, Jason “JP” Perry, telling him he wants to hire him for a future cable TV series. But there’s a catch. First he wants Blake to locate the missing ex-wife of a “friend of a friend” from Chicago. Blake will be working for free on a promise – a typical Hollywood hustle. But Blake’s not the only one on the case. Hired gun Warren Poole has also been contracted to find the woman. When a corrupt Hollywood producer, an ex-cop with a conscience, and a career criminal without one all have the same quarry, trouble is bound to ensue. And it does, with remarkably satisfying results, thanks to Blake's girlfriend, Carla, a former roller derby queen who has turned more than her own life around. Filled with rich characters both easy to love and hate, BELOW THE LINE skewers Hollywood in a deliciously fresh way. With his expert eye for true crime detail and his prowess at executing elaborate plot, Cauffiel gives us a thrilling ride on the dark side of Hollywood that lingers long after the credits roll.

"In a race to capture new audiences, Hollywood moguls began courting Chinese investors to create branded entertainment on an international scale--from behemoth theme parks to blockbuster films--after China's 2001 World Trade Organization entry. Hollywood Made in China examines this compelling dynamic, where the distinctions between Hollywood's "Dream Factory" and the "Chinese Dream" of global influence become increasingly blurred. What is revealed illuminates how China's influence is transforming the global media industries from the inside out"--Provided by publisher.