Monday, September 7, 2015

Louise Brooks inspired character in 2 new novels, The Roaring Road


Louise Brooks is a character in two new works of historical fiction, The Roaring Road: Book 1 The Road West and The Roaring Road: Book 2 The Road East, by Johann M.C. Laesecke. Both are now available on Amazon in ebook and paperback format.

The Roaring Road: Book 1 The Road West description: "1924 – Prohibition has been the law since 1920 but that did not stop people from wanting alcoholic beverages nor did it stop the organizations that supplied them. Lack of good alcoholic beverages causes many speakeasies and gangs to manufacture low quality substitutes made from dangerous ingredients. Violence is on the rise as the gangs protect their turf and their products. Dan and Laure grew up in small villages in the far north and south areas of Chicago. They meet in unusual circumstances and Dan loves her at first sight. Laure has the same feelings for him but a past relationship causes her to be cautious and Dan is forced to undertake an impossible mission. Thus begins the adventure of The Roaring Road. Take a prototype Duesenberg and a Road Trip Dog - add mayhem, a mob chief, a group of highwaymen and a gang of bank robbers, a pair of kidnappers and assorted other villains, throw in visits to speakeasies plus the lure of Hollywood in the form of a prank devised by the infamous actress Louise Brooks that turns out to be wildly successful, and Laure is offered a role in the 1926 movie 'The Great Gatsby'. Automobiles, trains, aeroplanes, flapper glamour, adventure,mayhem and lust on the roads and rails and in the speakeasies and blind pigs of Prohibition. What could possibly go wrong?

The Roaring Road: Book 2 The Road East description: "1926 - Laure and Dan are being drawn into Hollywood even as their challenge of moving their contraband inventory becomes critical. Laure is a dancer on the 1926 production of The Great Gatsby movie, while Dan has an offer to become a movie producer. There are others who want Laure, and not for her dancing. Trouble looms as kidnappers are sent to grab Laure and send her to Chicago where her life expectancy will be very short. The railcar full of wine and booze is hijacked and their friend Scott is taken as a hostage and is forced to become a morphine addict. Dan's crew captures the train and Scott back and they send him to the rehab clinic Scott and Dan helped fund. Trouble continues to come at Dan and Laure but they gather a small group of people with unusual talents to help. The Chicago gangs become more involved and more mayhem leads to a confrontation in Cherryvale, Kansas which happens to be the hometown of Louise Brooks. Come with us on our adventure tale of captures, rescues, recapture, speakeasies, mayhem and lust on the roaring roads and rails of the Prohibition era. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?"

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Louise Brooks Society celebrates 20 years on the web #1

This Fall, the Louise Brooks Society celebrates 20 years on the web. Launched in 1995, the LBS was a pioneer among silent film websites, and today it remains the #1 source for all things Lulu. Pictured below is LBS founder Thomas Gladysz at "LBS Headquarters" in 1997. How many images of Louise Brooks can you spot in this photograph? The answer is hidden just below the picture.



HIDDEN ANSWER: ----> SIX IMAGES OF LOUISE BROOKS

Twenty years is a long time to be on the internet…. The first media the website received was in May, 1996 when USA Today named the LBS a “Hot Site”, stating “Silent-film buffs can get a taste of how a fan club from yesteryear plays on the Web…. It also draws an international audience.” In 1996, the LBS was named one of the five best sites devoted to actresses by Net Directory, an English computer magazine. And in 1998, Wired ran a feature on the site, “Fan Site Sparks Biopic“. 

Mosaic, the first web browser, recognized an early incarnation of the LBS by including it on its “What’s New” page on June 27, 1996. The LBS was similarly honored by Netscape, another early browser. The earliest archived LBS homepage, now part of the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, dates to April 11, 1997.


The first Internet honor the LBS received was a four-slate rating (best possible) from the North Carolina Institute of Film Arts. Since then, the LBS received numerous designations, including inclusion on Yahoo’s “Desert Island List” in November, 1996. The LBS is especially proud to have been named a recommended site by the online version of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

This site was also included in the Art & Music Pavilion of the Internet 1996 World Exposition, a “world’s fair for the information age”. The LBS has, as well, been named a “Celebrity Site of the Day” and “Hollywood Site of the Week”.



To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Louise Brooks Society is soliciting short essays from the actresses' many fans asking them to describe how and when they first came across Louise Brooks, and what the actress means to them. The length of the piece is up to the writer, with the only requirement being that it be detailed and individualized. Pieces that range from short anecdotes to full fledged compositions are welcome.

Selected submissions will be run here on the Louise Brooks Society blog, and the best piece (in the eyes of the LBS) will be awarded some Louise Brooks swag - like the just released KINO Diary of a Lost Girl Blu-ray bundled together with a signed copy of the Louise Brooks edition of The Diary of a Lost Girl (PandorasBox Press). The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2015 with the prize awarded later that month (before Christmas). Send submissions to LouiseBrooksSociety@gmail.com

Saturday, September 5, 2015

London Silent Film Meetup to see Louise Brooks play "American Venus"

On Friday, September 18th, there is a London Silent Film Meetup to see the new Louise Brooks-inspired play American Venus. The meet-up will take place at the 6 Frederick's Place, off the Old Jewry, London EC2R 8AB, London. More about the "Meetup" meetup can be found HERE.

More about the new play can be found on the September 2nd Louise Brooks Society blog entry found HERE. How can you resist?

Friday, September 4, 2015

Ex-Sex Pistol John Lyndon of P.I.L. name checks Louise Brooks in new lyric

John Lyndon of Public Image Limited (P.i.L.) name checks Louise Brooks in the lyrics to his new song, "Betty Page."

Lydon and the band released their 10th studio album on September 4th in the UK and September 11th in the USA. The new album, titled What The World Needs Now…, is the follow-up to This is PiL, from 2012. The 11-track album follows the critical success of that earlier album, which was the band's first album in 17 years. Commenting on the new album, Lydon says, ''Buy now while stocks last.'' Lydon also painted the cover for the new record.

"Betty Page" is the B-side to "Double Trouble, the first single from the new album. The single was released on August 17.

Widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential bands of the last few decades, PiL's music earned them 5 UK Top 20 singles and 5 UK Top 20 albums. With a shifting line-up and unique sound, Lydon guided the band from their debut album First Issue in 1978 through 1992's That What Is Not. After a 17 year hiatus, Lydon reactivated PiL in 2009. Last year, the band returned to Steve Winwood's Wincraft studio in the Cotswolds in the UK to record this new album, What The World Needs Now…

In an interview with  journalist Thomas H. Green, Lydon commented on the song:

THOMAS H GREEN: In the song “Betty Page”, you refer to Page, Mae West, Louise Brooks and the “greatest pornographic country in the world” – what’s behind the song?

JOHN LYDON: Becoming an American citizen. America more than happily accepted me. I now carry an American passport. That’s three to my name – Irish, English and American. I hope they knew what they were inviting in. I like the history of a place to be accurate and this is the greatest pornographic country in the world but it pretends to be an evangelist state. Those women were absolute individuals and, for me, there’s a sense of hero worship around what they did and what they achieved in very severe times. They’re the people that gave women the vote, much more so than “burn the bra”.
PiL have also announced details of an upcoming tour of the UK and Europe, with North American shows to be announced.


Thursday, September 3, 2015

#TBT Wired magazine on the Louise Brooks Society

#TBT : Journalist Steve Silberman's brilliant new book on autism, Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, is number 8 on the New York Times bestseller list; yesterday he was on "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross.

Back in 1998, Silberman wrote an article, "Fan Site Sparks Biopic," about the Louise Brooks Society for Wired magazine. It's a great piece. I encourage everyone to check it out.


Wednesday, September 2, 2015

New UK stage play about Louise Brooks "American Venus"

The Stage, an English theatrical publication, has an article about a new stage play about Louise Brooks which has just opened in the UK. The play is titled American Venus and it's by Leslie Mildiner, a Canadian playwright.

The article starts this way: "One of the most luminous stars of the silent era, Louise Brooks has been all but erased from cinema history. Only a handful of movie buffs keep her memory alive, mostly through the 20-year-old Louise Brooks Society, whose aim is to honour the charismatic actor and stimulate interest in her life and work."

American Venus opens September 2 and runs through September 27th at 6 Frederick’s Place, London, as part of the Ever Hopeful Rep Season. More information at www.everhopefullrep.com

The description of the play on the theater's website reads this way: "'Fictionalized' from the true life story of Louise Brooks, the silent movie queen, star of 1929's Pandora's Box and lover to Charlie Chaplin, AMERICAN VENUS, is a moving and funny exploration of growing old...ungracefully. Set in 1985 Louise, now a recluse in her shuttered apartment, does daily battle with her primary care-givers, neighbours Phyllis and Frank. To her chagrin, the more she rejects her past, the more her mistakes of youth come back to haunt her."

The older Louise Brooks is played by Susan Penhaligon, while the younger Brooks is played by Angharad George-Carey.

Pictured here is an image of Angharad as Louise. I'm convinced.

The Louise Brooks Society would love to hear from anyone who attends this play. And of course, you are encouraged to do so!

Powered By Blogger