John Dunning may not be well known, but along with Andre Link, he was a groundbreaker in Canadian cinema. Directors like Ivan Reitman and David Cronenberg began their careers with his company and he is affectionately regarded as the 'Roger Corman' of Canada.
You're Not Dead Until You're Forgotten is a comprehensive biography beginning with Dunning's early days in Quebec growing up with parents who owned movie theatres. He began a company which brought racy European titles over to be dubbed into French, before beginning to produce his own, most famously the hit comedy Meatballs and Ilsa She Wolf of the SS, which both spawned several sequels. In the 80's Dunning and Link produced Happy Birthday to Me and My Bloody Valentine which Paramount distributed worldwide. Later, he distributed Miramax product throughout Canada, as well as dubbed films for the French market.
With anecdotes from Reitman, Cronenberg, and many others, this is an engaging tribute to Canadian producers and directors. Dunning hustled as hard as Roger Corman and was a major player in the industry, being inducted into the Canadian Film and TV Hall of Fame and winning lifetime achievement awards. This ranks up there with many other film biographies of John Waters, Roger Corman, Sam Arkoff, Robert Altman, Golan & Globus, and William Castle - if these are names you know or if you are interested in film production, especially the Canadian scene over the past 40 years, you will want to check this out.
2014 / Hardcover / 225 pages
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