Yale Press at the Oscars

Wondering what to do with your inner film buff now that the Oscars are over?

If you liked Steve Carrell’s portrayal of an aging Proust scholar in the award-winning movie Little Miss Sunshine, let us introduce you to William C. Carter, a real-life Proust scholar and author of Marcel Proust: A Life and Proust In Love. Carter himself hardly resembles his counterpart in the film, but that doesn’t stop him from enjoying it. When USA Today asked him what he thought of Little Miss Sunshine, Carter replied, “It’s a wonderful movie with a great ensemble cast. We could all use some sunshine.”

Fans of Gustavo Santaolalla’s Oscar-winning score for Babel might also enjoy Jack Sullivan’s book Hitchcock’s Music, which traces the long career of one of the most influential figures in the history of movie music. Michael Wood of Princeton University writes, “We might think Hitchcock needed music less than other filmmakers, but Jack Sullivan, in this lovingly researched and articulated book, shows he needed it more. Music said everything Hitchcock couldn't say, even in pictures, and Mr. Sullivan expertly proves that the master's every soundtrack tells an intricate and often romantic story.”

Finally, check out Maria DiBattista’s Fast-Talking Dames for a fascinating history of early motion-picture heroines. With vivid portraits of Katharine Hepburn, Irene Dunne, Rosalind Russell, Barbara Stanwyck, and others, DiBattista celebrates the sassy female leads that dominated the American screen in the 1930s and '40s. The Sunday Telegraph says, “This book overflows with so many superb come-backs and put-downs as almost to constitute an anthology of one-liners . . . captivating.”