We all have our favourite movies: indeed the love of film can drive us to obsession - with particular stars, directors, genres and styles. Now, out of the depths of this movie mania, Faber and Faber present 'Ten Bad Dates with De Niro' - a celebration of film like no other.
Within its pages is a wealth of movie lists that offer answers to some of the great questions in cinema history. Do really good films ever win Academy Awards? What is the saddest moment in film history? How about the most convincing sex scene? The greatest ending? The cleverest plot twist? The grisliest murder? How do the three 'Lord of the Rings' films compare to Kieslowski's Three Colours Trilogy? Is Richard E. Grant's 'Withnail' a 'far superior' screen drunk to Jimmy Stewart in 'Harvey'? Have Kevin Costner's 'Waterworld' and the acting of David Bowie been unjustly maligned? Which male movie star looks best in a dress? Where have you been most surprised to meet a severed head? And how do you make a great movie without a movie camera? All this and more, not forgetting 'Ten Bad Dates With De Niro' itself - lessons from the screen legend's greatest characters on how NOT to treat a lady. Contributors range from the directors of Oscar-winners - the Coen brothers, Steven Soderbergh, Kevin Macdonald, Mike Figgis - to an array of acclaimed writers including David Hare, DBC Pierre, Mavis Cheek and George Pelecanos.
Richard T. Kelly is the author of 'Alan Clarke' (1998), 'The Name of this Book is Dogme 95 (2000), 'Sean Penn: His Life and Times (2004), and the novel 'Crusaders' (published in 2008).
Andrew Rae is an illustrator, art director, animator and member of the illustration collective Peepshow. He has a weekly slot in the Guardian, is a regular contributor for US Esquire, and has worked for clients including the BBC, MTV, the New York Times, Orange and many others. He currently lives and works in London.
Gilbert Adair
A Mysterious Affair of Style (Evadne Mount Trilogy)
