READER REVIEWS
"When have I enjoyed a book so much that I never wanted it to end? Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic is perhaps the best movie book ever printed. I'm surprised a book of this quality can still be made. The wealth of photographs is astounding and shows what a great self promoter DeMille was. His own pictures are as good as any of the actors.
"The book has also reminded me of all the qualities I used to love about DeMille films, many of which I would enjoy seeing again."
- Ken Dixon
"What an amazing book! I love the art influences represented, the sketches, renderings, and objects. I love the behind-the-scenes pictures and stories. I love learning why I sometimes see the name spelled de Mille and other times DeMille.
"I love learning about the philanthropy connected to The King of Kings. I love the quote 'Truth has to be doctored before it appears real through a camera.' And the best line: 'It is the story that will make or break a picture.' That coming from the “spectacle” director! Congratulations on an incredible achievement."
- Kristen Kentner
Senior Manager, World Animal Protection
Cecilia de Mille Presley and Mark A. Vieira present George Clooney with a copy of Cecil B. DeMille. Mr. Clooney was the 2015 recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Photograph made by Patrick Prather on January 4, 2015, at Craig's Restaurant. Courtesy of Theo Kingma, president of the HFPA.
Cecilia de Mille Presley and Mark A. Vieira sign a copy of their book Cecil B. DeMille for Leonard Maltin at the Lasky-DeMille Squaw Man Museum on December 12, 2014. Photo by Darrell Rooney.
Rita Braver interviews Cecilia de Mille Presley on CBS Sunday Morning, December 7, 2014.
PRESS
To read the article, left-click on its title (unless it is print-only).
THE NEW YORK TIMES
"'Made in L.A.,' at the Hammer, Excavates Hollywood's Past"
Lori Finkel, The New York Times (June 19, 2016)
"It’s where Cecil B. DeMille filmed the Exodus scenes of his 1923 silent spectacle, “The Ten Commandments,” building an elaborate set that he later buried so that no competing director could use it.
WGN CHICAGO
“Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic”
Dean Richards, Dean Richards’ Sunday Morning (February 22, 2015)
“I asked my grandfather what he did for a living. He said: ‘I tell stories.’"
CANADA GLOBE AND MAIL
“The Time for Old Hollywood Is Now"
Nathalie Atkinson, The Globe and Mail (February 20, 2015)
"After Gone With the Wind, the highest-grossing film of 1939 was Cecil B. DeMille's Union Pacific."
KNEW RADIO
“Live Interview with Cecil B. DeMille Book Co-author”
Bill Feingold, The Bill Feingold Show (January 28, 2015)
“This is the most beautiful book I’ve seen!”
YAHOO MOVIES
“From Sketch to Screen”
Meriah Doty, Yahoo Movies (January 21, 2015)
“Cecil B. DeMille belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Hollywood.”
LIBRARY JOURNAL
“Cecil B. DeMille”
Teri Shiel, Library Journal (January 12, 2015)
“This volume opens the vault to reveal the man who has been subsumed by popular culture and brings the director-as-artist to the forefront. . . . For anyone interested in early film, costume design, set design, or the history of Hollywood epics, this is an exciting find. For DeMille fans, it is a must-have.” - Teri Shiel, University of Connecticut Health Center Library
L.A. WEEKLY
Zachary Pincus-Roth, L.A. Weekly (January 9, 2015)
L.A. WEEKLY
Michael Nordine, L.A. Weekly (January 7, 2015)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
“The Stars Come Out for DeMille”
Publishers Weekly (January 7, 2015)
VARIETY SPECIAL EDITION
“DeMille Now Synonym for 'Studio Epic'”
Carole Horst, Variety (January 7, 2015)
HUFFINGTON POST
“Best Film Books of 2014”
Thomas Gladysz, Huffington Post (January 5, 2015)
HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION
“George Clooney Meets a DeMille”
John Hiscock, HPFA Blog (January 5, 2015)
“Cecilia de Mille Presley, who was with her grandfather on virtually every one of his film sets since she was three years old, surprised George Clooney by presenting him with the coffee table book Cecil B DeMille. 'My grandfather would have loved George Clooney,' she said. 'He's fun, he has a wonderful sense of humour and he’s a good actor. What’s not to like about Clooney?'”
NEWSTALK RADIO (IRELAND)
“Cecil B. DeMille”
Moncrieff with Sean Moncrieff Newstalk (December 31, 2014)
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
“Scion of a Movie Legend Pays Tribute”
Peter Larsen, Orange County Register (December 26, 2014)
“Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic is the work Presley and Vieira have created as co-authors, and it’s important that the emphasis be placed firmly on 'Art' and 'Epic.'”
VARIETY
“Devour”
Pat Saperstein, Variety (December 23, 2014)
“An extensive collection of costume photos, concept paintings, and historic photographs.”
DENVER POST
“Features Staff Members Share Favorite Books”
Lisa Kennedy Denver Post (December 20, 2014)
“This volume — rife with gorgeous photos of DeMille and his stars, movie sets and vivid costumes — could buckle a lesser coffee table.”
NEW YORK SOCIAL DIARY
“Cecil B. DeMille Rediscovered”
Liz Smith, New York Social Diary (December 19, 2014)
“This book is everything DeMille’s movies were—stupendous, lavish, colorful, too much and not enough.”
BRIGHT LIGHTS
“The Wickedest Movie in the World.”
Gary M. Morris, Editor, Bright Lights Film Journal (December 18, 2014)
“How did Hollywood’s most powerful filmmaker, a master of religious epics, make a film so lascivious that it led to the famous Production Code?”
DAILY MAIL
“Relax with the Picture Books of the Year”
Marcus Berkmann, Daily Mail (December 18, 2014)
“More than 50 years after he died, DeMille and his everything-but-the-kitchen-sink filmmaking style have proved more durable than anyone could have foreseen.”
VANITY FAIR
"A New Coffee-Table Book for the Serious Film Snob”
Marley Brown, Vanity Fair (December 16, 2014)
"Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic [is] an opulently beautiful photographic history of the director . . . The volume is thick with descriptions of the making of DeMille’s films, and features never-before-seen stills from the sets of classics."
BUFFALO NEWS
“Gusto’s Holiday Gift Guide”
Jeff Simon The Buffalo News (December 14, 2014)
“This is a magnificent movie book by any assay—gorgeously presented in still photographs and often riotously entertaining, as written by DeMille’s granddaughter and Mark A. Vieira.”
INDIEWIRE
“New and Notable Film Books”
Leonard Maltin Movie Crazy (December 10, 2014)
“This lavishly produced book is worthy of its subject: a giant volume celebrating the work of a man who looms over film history, larger than life. . . . this beautiful tome is well worth owning.”
CBS SUNDAY MORNING
“The Legacy of Cecil B. DeMille”
Rita Braver, CBS Sunday Morning (December 7, 2014)
"He was once the very definition of a big time Hollywood producer-director, creating such epics as The Ten Commandments. CBS News' Rita Braver spoke with the granddaughter of Cecil B. DeMille, who has co-authored a book about his life and his cinematic legacy."
LOS ANGELES TIMES
"Cecil B. DeMille's 'Amazing Vision' for Filmmaking"
Susan King, Los Angeles Times (December 6, 2014)
"Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic . . . features a treasure trove from the filmmaker's archives of concept paintings, images of costumes, props and breathtakingly beautiful still photographs from his first film, the 1914 Squaw Man, to The Ten Commandments."
THE OHIO STATESMAN
"Gifts for Movie Lovers "
Sandy Cohen, The Ohio Statesman (November 26, 2014)
"With an intro by Martin Scorsese, Cecil B. DeMille: The Art of the Hollywood Epic tells the history of film through DeMille's work. Peek behind the scenes with film stills and personal recollections by one of the authors, DeMille's granddaughter, Cecilia DeMille Presley."
CLASSIC IMAGES
"Fact and Fable: The Making of The Squaw Man"
Bob King, Editor, Classic Images (November 2014)