POP TWENTY # 1 and # 2

[Bob Birchard]

"POP TWENTY" a journal devoted to 210th century pop culture with emphasis on movies, TV, radio and music is here! The first two issues are available on Amazon:

<http://www.amazon.com/Pop-Twenty-Centur ... .+Birchard>

<http://www.amazon.com/Pop-Twenty-Centur ... .+Birchard>

Of the first issue, Michael ("Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror") Mallory wrote:

"POP TWENTY is a true blast to the past, and I'm not simply talking about the old, Golden Age movies and subjects it covers. What I mean is it's a real throwback to the 1960s and 1970s, when film journalism itself launched its own Golden Age. Back then a young kid named Leonard Maltin published a magazine called Film Fan Monthly, whose articles were later collected into a series of fragile paperback books, but those books laid the groundwork for all the carefully-documented books that followed. It was a time when the studio system--including the studios' publicity machines, which fed largely fanciful "news" stories and biographies about the stars to slick columnists--was on the way out, leaving room for actual film journalists who not only knew what they were talking about, but knew truth from fiction. Unfortunately, we are currently living in a time when make-it-up scandal mongering is once more replacing Hollywood film and biography writing, which is why "Pop Twenty" is such a treasure. Authors Michael Bifulco, Robert S. Birchard, Jim Dawson, Elizabeth McLeod and Nick Santa Maria have done their research to the nth degree, they love their subjects, and they know what they're talking about. The book doesn't really have an overall theme; it's something of an olio of articles, a book-bound magazine about people, places and things. But each of the articles presents meticulously researched information that hasn't been seen anywhere else. POP TWENTY is a breath of life-giving air in a pool that is far too polluted with Darwin Porter/Boze Hadleigh-style cess. May it live long and prosper! "

Leonard Maltin offered this assessment:

"Pop Twenty is an exceedingly handsome publication, bound like an oversized paperback and filled with rare and beautiful stills. It’s the brainchild of Bob Birchard and Mike Bifulco, who have pooled their resources to create a home for interviews, articles, and photo features focusing on all aspects of 20th Century pop culture, with an emphasis on the golden age of Hollywood. Bob’s lead article details the making of Footlight Parade, including the revelation that Busby Berkeley didn’t direct all of its musical numbers. Mike recounts the history of Old Tucson, the Western town erected for the 1940 Columbia Picture Arizona, which then served as a location for scores of other films and television shows. There are also illustrated features on the pioneering sitcom I Married Joan, an ode to Charley Chase, an interview with Fred Waring, and much more."