Helen O'Hara – författare

Explore an A-Z of everything you need to know about the masterful movies of Quentin Tarantino, from AK-47 to "Zed's dead, baby" and everything in between.With hundreds of entries covering every facet of Tarantino's work - from inspiration and influences to his most frequent collaborators and little-known cameos - A Quentin Tarantino Dictionary is a stylish guide to the wonderful world of this visionary filmmaker.Written by author and film critic Helen O'Hara (Empire, BAFTA, the Telegraph) and with bespoke illustrations that bring the director's vision to life, this is a one-stop shop for all things Tarantino.

'An enlightening page-turner, stacked with stories and stats that will have your jaw on the floor'Anna Smith, host of the Girls On Film podcast'This is the film history we need: one that gives leading roles to people who usually only get to be background players'Pamela Hutchinson, film historian and criticA call to arms from Empire magazine's 'geek queen', Helen O'Hara, that explores women's roles - both in front of and behind the camera - since the birth of Hollywood, how those roles are reflected within wider society and what we can do to level the playing field.The dawn of cinema was a free-for-all, and there were women who forged ahead in many areas of filmmaking. Early pioneers like Dorothy Arzner (who invented the boom mic, among other innovations) and Alice Guy-Blaché shaped the way films are made. But it wasn't long before these talented women were pushed aside and their contributions written out of film history. How and why did this happen?Hollywood was born just over a century ago, at a time of huge forward motion for women's rights, yet it came to embody the same old sexist standards. Women found themselves fighting a system that feeds on their talent, creativity and beauty but refuses to pay them the same respect as their male contemporaries - until now...The tide has finally begun to turn. A new generation of women, both in front of and behind the camera, are making waves in the industry and are now shaping some of the biggest films to hit our screens. There is plenty of work still needed before we can even come close to gender equality in film - but we're finally headed in the right direction.In Women vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film, Empire's 'geek queen' Helen O'Hara takes a closer look at the pioneering and talented women of Hollywood and their work in film since Hollywood began. Equal representation in film matters because it both reflects and influences wider societal gender norms. In understanding how women were largely written out of Hollywood's own origin story, and how the films we watch are put together, we can finally see how to put an end to a picture that is so deeply unequal - and discover a multitude of stories out there just waiting to be told.

'A fascinating polemic' Sunday Times'A powerful, sobering and vital work' The Mail on Sunday'A page-turning read, peppered with humour' Sight & Sound'A must read' Edgar WrightA call to arms from Empire magazine's 'geek queen', Helen O'Hara, that explores women's roles - both in front of and behind the camera - since the birth of Hollywood, how those roles are reflected within wider society and what we can do to level the playing field. Hollywood was born just over a century ago, at a time of huge forward motion for women's rights. With no rules in place to stop them, there were women who forged ahead in many areas of filmmaking. Yet, despite the work of early pioneers like Dorothy Arzner, Mabel Normand, Mary Pickford and Alice Guy-Blache, it soon came to embody the same old sexist standards. Women found themselves fighting a system that fed on their talent, creativity and beauty but refused to pay them the same respect as their male contemporaries - until now . . .The tide has finally begun to turn. A new generation of women, both in front of and behind the camera, are making waves in the industry and are now shaping some of the biggest films to hit our screens. In Women vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film, film critic Helen O'Hara takes a closer look at the pioneering and talented women of Hollywood and their work in film since Hollywood began. And in understanding how women were largely written out of Hollywood's own origin story, and how the films we watch are put together, we can finally see how to put an end to a picture that is so deeply unequal - and discover a multitude of stories out there just waiting to be told.

Master the ideas that have shaped the world of film today.In a series of 50 accessible essays, Helen O'Hara introduces and explains the central ideas, eras and genres of film, beginning with the invention of cinema to the theories and genres that have emerged and evolved since.From concepts such as the mise-en-scène and special effects to Queer Film Theory and the #MeToo movement, 50 Film Ideas You Really Need to Know is a complete introduction to the most important tenets of film and cinema history.