San Francisco is such a modern, progressive city that it is easy to forget just what a rich history it has. The eighth title in Museyon’s Chronicles series, Chronicles of Old San Francisco explores the City by the Bay, beginning when a storm blew English buccaneer Sir Francis Drake and his ship, the Golden Hind, off course. Setting anchor at ... Read More »
Through Alfred Hitchcock’s eyes, San Francisco seemed the perfect place to film a murder mystery. It wasn’t unusual for the director to chose locations before developing a story to be filmed there. The result? His iconic 1958 film, Vertigo, which makes the most of the city’s eerie and claustrophobic cityscapes. See which SF landmarks you can spot in the original Vertigo trailer. ... Read More »
Filmmakers are finding it harder and more expensive than ever to film scenes in the disappearing “dank alleys” of Manhattan. (HuffPo) Refinery29 has a sneak peek of Todd “The Selby” Selby’s new photo-book tours of the fashionable homes of fashionable people. (Refinery29) SXSW will play host to an award honoring what is often the best part of ... Read More »
South African artist Pieter Hugo gives us a somewhat disturbing tour of Nollywood—that’s the Nigerian version of Hollywood for all you Nollywood novices out there. (Vulture) Turns out that both Matt Damon and Jake Gyllenhaal turned down the lead role in “Avatar”, most likely because they read the script. (SlashFilm) If you need to get to Oakland ... Read More »
For those who want to travel the world through a prism of their own obsessions—art, music, or film—our guides are invaluable resource. Where did Jimmy Stewart dive into San Francisco Bay in “Vertigo”? Where’s the best place to see Parisian rap live? What bars and speakeasies have inspired Hong Kong filmmakers? The answers to these and thousands of other ... Read More »
As we learned from Gadling, TripAdvisor, San Francisco’s Hertiage Marina Hotel has beat out the competition to land at the top of the “Dirtiest Hotel In America” list for 2010. A user-generated honor, TripAdvisor offers the review of one former guest: “This hotel is like in a horrible horror movie! The bed was a nightmare. It smelled like urine ... Read More »
Brazil is one of the most culturally diverse countries on the planet, so is it any wonder it keeps producing some of the coolest music in the world? Throughout January, San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts is celebrating Brazil’s cultural contributions with a four-part documentary series, A Bit of Brazilian Music on Film, which runs through Jan. ... Read More »
For contemporary movie-goers it might be tough to imagine a time before movies went on-location. But it wasn’t until the 1976 film ‘Rocky‘ hit the streets of Philadelphia that moviemakers really started to step out of the studio. To find out more about this explosive time in movie-making history, we chatted with Ron Hogan, curator of lit blog Beatrice, and ... Read More »
MUSEYON BOOKS Smart City Guides for Travel, History, Art and Film Lovers