Read it!

The Mailroom
Hollywood History From the Bottom Up
David Rensin
Ballantine Books, $37.85
Ever wonder how Hollywood power brokers such as David Geffen and Mike Ovitz made it to the top? They, like many others, started at the bottom in the mailrooms of some of Hollywood's most fabled talent agencies including William Morris and International Creative Management. For his book, Rensin interviewed more than 200 people who started as long ago as 1937 and as recently as 1999 and used their internship as a launch pad for their career. While the technology might be different, the interviews illustrate that the job itself has not - from the lousy pay and long workdays to the ego-busting grunt work such as walking a client's dogs to taking a senior agent's urine sample to the doctor. The payoff? To one day be plucked from obscurity to become an agent's assistant and maybe one day, an agent. A great read for anyone with dreams of working in Hollywood or just curious about how the system works.




The Art of Finding Nemo
Mark Cotta Vaz
Chronicle Books, $66
Just in case you think all animated films are now completely computer generated from start to finish, a look at The Art of Finding Nemo might be in order. This lavish book includes simple pencil renderings and charcoal sketches from Pixar's latest offering Finding Nemo. The book explains how this story of two fish - a father and son separated from each other in the vast Great Barrier Reef - came together. With quotes from the director, artists and the production team interspersed with the art, this is a book for movie and animation fans alike.

Use it!

Elliptical Autoscan FM Radio
Check out the Elliptical Autoscan FM radio, available in blue, yellow and orange. Lightweight and portable, just hit the scan button to find your favorite frequency. Comes with bud earphones, belt clip and a CR2025 battery. Check it out at chapters.indigo.ca


Hear it!

The Matrix Reloaded
Maverick/Warner
This 2-CD set features new or exclusive material from Linkin Park, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Deftones, P.O.D. and a barnburner from the now-defunct Rage Against The Machine. The collection also contains music from the film's score, including collaborations between returning Matrix composer Don Davis and electronic music combo Juno Reactor. The real treat is the multimedia content on Disc 2, which gives you a preview of The Matrix Reloaded, The Animatrix (with special attention given to the breathtaking Final Flight of the Osiris episode) and a look at the making of the Enter The Matrix video game. Now THIS is cross-promotion at its apex!

The Good Thief
Universal/Island
At the heart of this film set amidst the seamier side of Nice, France lies a tremendous score by innovative composer Elliot Goldenthal. The smoky, muted jazz of songs like "Lucky Eyes" and "Endorphin Spoon" perfectly capture the mood of both the picture and its protagonist (a riveting Nick Nolte). Six more distinctive pieces by Goldenthal are complemented by selections from heavyweights like Leonard Cohen, Serge Gainsbourg and Bono. Here, the U2 frontman leers his way through Goldenthal's arrangement of "That's Life" - the tune made famous by Mr. Francis A. Sinatra - and it's a fantastic combination.
A Mighty Wind
Sony Music Soundtrack
Following the success of O Brother, Where Art Thou?, executive producer T. Bone Burnett has assembled another winner. It doesn't hurt that he had such an immensely talented group of people to work with on this "mockumentary". The musicians/actors include The Folksmen (the trio of Michael McKean, Harry Shearer and the film's director Christopher Guest), as well as Mitch & Mickey (Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara). The songs are wonderfully catchy; the arrangements and instrumentation are authentic, and the lyrics poke gentle fun at folk music's unique combination of earnestness and banality. Most impressive is Mitch & Mickey's genuinely lovely "When You're Next To Me".