Walter Reuben, Inc. Archives - Rare Book Insider

Walter Reuben, Inc.

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Spike Lee (writer, director) BAMBOOZLED (Jun 1999) Third draft film script

Brooklyn, NY: 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, 1999. Vintage original film script, 11 x 8 1/2" (28 x 22 cm), 135 leaves, with last page of text numbered 134, brad bound. Third Draft script for the 2000 film, noted as "June Joint" on the front wrapper. Title page with manuscript ink annotations of the name, address and phone number of film sculptor Fred Arbegast (here listed as "Arbergast") at the top of the page, and two phone numbers at the bottom left, all struck with white-out ink. Extensive manuscript ink annotations of reader's notes throughout. Front wrapper integral with title page, with credits for screenwriter Spike Lee. Xerographic duplication, rectos only. Near fine. Spike Lee's blistering satire of US racism, wherein an African American television writer, Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans), frustrated with the rejection of his scripts which portray black people as positive and intelligent, pitches the most offensive and racist idea he can devise, a 21st century minstrel show, which of course the white network executives love, as does the American public. Released to mixed reception upon release, the film has since been reappraised and is now considered a cult classic. Rolling Stone senior editor and critic David Fear noted in a 2020 article that "the really scary thing is that, 20 years on, 'Bamboozled' feels incredibly contemporary. It doesn't look so extreme at all. and when you consider the content of this film, that's a very troubling thing." (Wikipedia)
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(Feminist cinema) DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE (Dec 29, 1969) Revised draft film script

New York: Frank Perry Films, 1969. Vintage original film script, 11 x 8 1/2: (28 x 22 cm), leatherette Studio Duplicating Service wrappers, brad bound, mimeograph, 148 pp. Script belonged to actress Lorraine Cullen, who played the role of "Sylvie", and has circled her lines and left one brief note. Noted on title page as REVISED and dated 12/29/69, screenplay credited to Eleanor Perry, adapted from novel by Sue Kaufmann. Yapped wrappers worn at edges and along spine, stain to bottom of title page and barely touching the extreme blank area of a few pages, some pages lightly dog-eared. Overall near fine in very good+ wrappers. Diary of a Mad Housewife is a very early and important piece of feminist filmmaking about a frustrated wife portrayed by Carrie Snodgress. Snodgress was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won a Golden Globe award in the same category. Snodgess portrays Tina Balser, an educated, frustrated housewife and mother, in a loveless marriage with Jonathan, an insufferable, controlling, emotionally abusive, social-climbing lawyer in New York City. He treats her like a servant, undermines her with insults, and belittles her appearance, abilities and the raising of their two girls, who treat their mother with the same rudeness as their father. Searching for relief, she begins a sexually fulfilling affair with a cruel and coarse writer, George Prager, who treats her with similar brusqueness and contempt, which only drives her deeper into despair. (Wikipedia) Diary of a Mad Housewife remains a high point in the history of what was the first wave of woman-oriented American cinema.
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Sylvester Stallone (actor, writer) FIRST BLOOD (1981) Revised film script

Los Angeles: Carolco, 1981. Vintage original film script, 11 x 8 1/2" (28 x 22 cm), 118 pp. Heavily annotated in the hand of producer Mario Kassar, who was the co-founder of Carolco Pictures (there are, however, some notes in what looks to be another hand, indicating that Kassar had given the script to others for their comments). Approximately half of the script consists of blue revision pages dated 10/14/81. The extensive handwritten notes are in pencil and ink, indicating deletions, special and makeup effects, costume and other needs. Front cover is hand inscribed with the name Denise [Kassar], Mario Kassar's wife. Following the end of shooting, the script wound up in the hands of a person who lived in Hope, BC, where the film was shot. Script is accompanied by a letter from the previous owner of the script and a COA from collectibles auction house The Prop Gallery. First Blood is a now-classic American action film directed by Ted Kotcheff and co-written by and starring Sylvester Stallone as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. It co-stars Richard Crenna as Rambo's mentor Sam Trautman and Brian Dennehy as Sheriff Will Teasle. It is the first installment in the Rambo franchise, followed by Rambo: First Blood Part II. Based on the 1972 novel First Blood by David Morrell, many directors and studios had unsuccessfully attempted an adaptation in the 1970s. In the film, Rambo is a troubled and misunderstood Vietnam veteran who must rely on his combat and survival skills when a series of brutal events results in him having to survive a massive manhunt by police and government troops near the fictional small town of Hope, WA. (Wikipedia)
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Paul Thomas Anderson (writer, director) BOOGIE NIGHTS (May 1996) Revised draft film script

[Los Angeles]: Lawrence Gordon Productions, 1996. Vintage original film script, 11 x 8 1/2", brad bound, 152 pp. Internally duplicated copy made during production, with copied punch holes, housed in the wrappers of Lawrence Gordon Productions (Gordon produced in association with Ghoulardi Film Company). Title page present, dated May 1996, noted as REVISED DRAFT, with credits for screenwriter Paul Thomas Anderson. 151 leaves, with last page of text numbered 152. Xerographic duplication, rectos only, with revision pages noted as "Revised Pink," dated June, 26, 1996, and "Revised Blue," dated September 26, 1996 throughout. Near fine. Director Paul Thomas Anderson's second film, bringing him to widespread acclaim, about a young man's career in the porn industry during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay for Anderson, Best Supporting Actress for Julianne Moore, and Best Supporting Actor for Burt Reynolds, which reinvigorated his career. This is by now an acclaimed classic of late 20th century American film, and one of the quintessential Los Angeles films. Scripts for all of Paul Thomas Anderson's films are notoriously scarce, and this is the only script for Boogie Nights which I have ever handled. Pagination: [title]; 1-8*, 11-26, "27 & 28," 19-74, 75A, 75, 75B, 76-117, "118 & 119," 120-152. There is a note at the end of page 8 that pages 9 and 10 have been omitted in this draft.