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Living Dangerously: The Adventures of Merian C. Cooper, Creator of King Kong
Explorer, war hero, filmmaker, and cinema pioneer Merian C. Cooper–the adventurer who created King Kong–was truly larger than life. “Pictures cannot be made from an executive’s desk,” “Coop” declared, and he did more than talk the talk–he walked the walk to the far corners of the globe, with a motion picture camera in tow, in an era when those corners were truly unknown, u...more
Hardcover, 496 pages
Published
August 2nd 2005
by Villard
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Just to clear things up, the reason I read this was because Maud Hart Lovelace, the author of the Betsy-Tacy books, was married to a guy named Delos Lovelace, and he and Merian Cooper were close friends and Delos and Maud ended up naming their daughter after him. So, onward. I really had no idea that Merian C. Cooper had done so much. He was a fighter pilot in WWI, and then started into film -- first with documentaries, and this was so fascinating that I'm going to try to watch all of his early ...more
There's a big story here. Cooper, apparently, lived a life lifted straight from his swashbuckling, jungle-clearing, ace-piloting movies. There's no shortage of romantic material here; where the shortcoming is, is in the telling. Vaz focuses on the life of Cooper outside of his most famous film, but I found that choice strange and a little disappointing: most readers will be familiar almost exclusively with the film, and would probably appreciate a little more inside information on its making. In...more
Merian C. Cooper was a Manly Man. This isn't meant as ironic commentary and the caps are intentional because this thought kept creeping into my brain as I read each chapter of Mark Cotta Vaz's biography. Forever known as the creator of KING KONG, that fact could almost be a footnote compared to his exploits as a flying ace in both World Wars, explorer of exotic lands, head of RKO Studios, producer of some of John Ford's greatest films (including THE SEARCHERS AND THE QUIET MAN), developer of Cin...more
Besides creating one of the ALL TIME GREAT FILMS, King Kong, Merian C. Cooper lived a life as big and bold as his signature ape. A veteran of both WWI and WWII, a visionary of cinema and television and an early proponent of commercial aviation - these are just a tiny fraction of the accomplishments of Cooper. Along with his pal, Ernest Schoedsack, Coop traveled the world, adventuring and capturing historic moments on film, made amazing fantasy/adventure movies and seems like an all-around swel...more
Merian C. Cooper did a lot more than make "King Kong," which is what I remembered him for. His exploits as a pilot in World War I were exciting and dangerous - more so than his movies. Netflix carries two of his most famous silent movies, "Grass" and "Chang." They are definitely work checking out.
Really good. Well researched and very interesting. It'd be hard to make Merian Cooper not sound interesting, but the trick Vaz pulls off so well is keeping it humming. Cooper did so much stuff with his life, it'd be easy to either plod along or get bogged down. I never felt like Vas did that. Hard to believe this is all true...
With the fever pitch surrounding all things Kong thanks to Peter Jackson's remake, probably anyone who cares already saw the Merian C. Cooper documentary "I Am Kong" which pretty much goes over everything in this book so it might be a little redundant in terms of a read. The life Cooper lead is nothing short of remarkable and its interesting to note darke aspects of his character, like the fact that he was rabidly pro McCarthy.
Really, really enjoyed this. Merian Cooper lived many lives--fighter pilot, POW, filmmaker, visionary. . . Engagingly written, fascinating subject, and exhaustive research that doesn't get bogged down in the details. Gave me new respect for King Kong (a movie I already admired for its technologocial breakthroughs), but that's such a small part of his life.
Well worth the read.
Well worth the read.
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King Kong was my grandfather's favorite movie but it pales in comparison with the real life exploits of its director.
A very enjoyable read, fighter pilot,explore,director and dreamer extraordinaire.
A very enjoyable read, fighter pilot,explore,director and dreamer extraordinaire.
A vivid and thorough account of the life of the extraordinary adventurer, fighter pilot, movie mogul, author and creator of King Kong -- Merian C. Cooper, with an introduction by director Peter Jackson.
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Mark Cotta Vaz is the author of over twenty-one books, including four New York Times bestsellers. His recent works include Mythic Vision: The Making of Eragon, The Spirit: The Movie Visual Companion, and the biography Living Dangerously: The Adventures of Merian C. Cooper, Creator of King Kong, which was a Los Angeles Times bestseller.
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