New Releases by Mark Cotta Vaz

"Cooper was one of the first bomber pilots in World War I. After the war, he helped form the famous Kosciuszko Squadron in battle-torn Poland. He then turned his attention to producing documentary films that chronicled his hair-raising encounters with savage warriors, man-eating tigers, nomadic tribes, and elephant stampedes." "In addition to producing King Kong, he was the first to team Fred Astaire with Ginger Rogers, arranged Katharine Hepburn''s screen test, collaborated with John Ford on Hollywood''s greatest Westerns, and then changed the face of film forever with Cinerama, the original "virtual reality." He returned to military service during World War II, serving with General Claire Chennault in China, flying missions into the heart of enemy territory.".

The Art of The Polar Express celebrates the transformation of Chris Van Allsburg''s celebrated children''s book The Polar Express into a full-length, animated feature film through a fascinating collection of concept art, production storyboards, and computer-generated renderings. Production designer Doug Chiang shares his original, never-before-seen artwork that evolved into the final motion picture. Weaving these pieces together are candid interviews with the star-studded cast and crew, including Robert Zemeckis and his team of filmmaking visionaries, that deliver rare insight into the film as they divulge the secrets behind their creative process.

Now available in paperback, The Invisible Art provides an unprecedented retrospective of matte art painting -- the unsung hero in the fast-paced world of cinematic visual effects. Until recently, matte-painting techniques were closely guarded secrets kept locked up on studio lots. The Invisible Art flings open the gates to reveal the finest representations of matte paintings from rare examples seen in epics such as Gone with the Wind and Citizen Kane to prove that the brush is mightier than the computer, as seen in such blockbusters as Star Wars and Titanic. Lavishly illustrated, the book''s tremendous scope unveils a century''s worth of fascinating stories, legendary personalities, and cunning movie craft from the first pioneering "glass shots" to the dawn of digital technology. Including a foreword by George Lucas, The Invisible Art conjures a never-before-told story of film wizardry.

An in-depth look at how the movie Spider-Man 2 was made. It features interviews, hundreds of photos, sketches, storyboards and production art chronicling every aspect of the movie''s design, but paying special attention to the work that went into creating Doc Ock.

Describes the characters, planets, weapons, heroes, villains, aliens, and droids in the Rebellion''s fierce struggle against the forces of the evil Empire.

A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the new Columbia Pictures film "Spider-Man" combines photographs and illustrations with interviews of cast and crew, excerpts from the actual shooting script, and information on the visual effects.

The only all-access AUTHORIZED behind-the-scenes look at the making of the smash TV show, with reflections and anecdotes that readers won''t find anywhere else - from cast members, writers, and creator/executive producer J.J. Abrahams.

Visual tour of the sequel to Star Wars episode 1 : the phantom menace.

An award-winning science fiction novelist takes a detailed inside look--complete with eye-catching color photos--at the extraordinary creative efforts behind the special effects that supercharge the major new SF feature film Lost in Space. Full color throughout.

On the cusp of the new "Lost in Space" major motion picture release comes the first full-length book to pay homage to this classic SF series. "Lost in Lost in Space" takes a nostalgic look at the spacebound castaways and the way the year 1998 was envisioned in the sixties. Classic images from the original TV series juxtaposed against their modern-day counterparts offer a hilarious view of how the future was supposed to be. Full color.

Collects photos and scenes from all three Star wars movies, relating the story of the battle between the Imperial forces and the Rebel Alliance.

The way that special effects are designed and then created in films is explained in this lavishly illustrated book that traces the development of the ILM company of George Lucas.

Lavishly Illustrated with hundreds of full-color photographs, this treasury captures the remarkable imagery, as well as the wonder, of the Lucasfilm Universe.

Traces, in text and illustrations, the evolution of the cartoon superhero through the fifty years since his creation, recording changes in his appearance and character and those of his enemies and profiling his many progenitors