Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 2, 1994 TAG: 9412030008
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT WILLIAMS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
``It's not easy,'' he acknowledged. ``I get dragged into these new technologies and have my fun.''
That's especially true of the 1995 edition of his ``Movie and Video Guide,'' which is available this Christmas season in a boxed set: One 2-inch-thick paperback, and two floppy diskettes of the ``electronic edition.''
``It wasn't my idea,'' he said cheerfully. ``The book's actually been on CD-ROM for three years.''
High-tech computerheads can find Maltin's book in the Microsoft ``Cinemania'' CD-ROM package. The electronic edition's lower-tech diskettes are intended for a different kind of user, Maltin said.
``Lots of people don't have CD-ROM drives, or they're afraid of the new technology and equipment - or maybe they're low-tech like me,'' he said. ``But EVERYBODY who has a computer these days has a hard drive.''
Yeah, but you also need eight megabytes of free memory on your hard disk drive, an 80386 (or faster) processor and Microsoft's Windows software, to get access to all 19,000 entries on film, home video, and made-for-TV movies.
(A version for Apple's Macintosh computers is due early next year.)
OK, if I need eight megabytes on my IBM-compatible computer's hard drive, a 386 or faster chip, and Windows software, why not just pick up the book?
In the book, ``You can't look up every film set in Denver or every film about robots,'' Maltin said. ``You can now.
``And there are lots of places to look up the films of Fred Astaire. But there're not a lot of places to look up the films of Edgar Buchanan or Strother Martin, or even contemporary actors like Christopher Walken and Johnny Depp.''
Low-tech Maltin permits himself a little enthusiasm for his electronic edition's ability to use multiple criteria in a single search:
``How many films,'' Maltin begins, ``did Jack Lemmon make for director Billy Wilder between 1960 and 1970, that were nominated for Oscars and get at least three stars in my book? That's one keystroke.''
Maltin, the former editor-publisher of Film Fan Monthly magazine, was already a noted film historian, writer and lecturer when he assumed his first full-time critic's job at ``E.T.'' in 1982.
He since has syndicated his ``Leonard Maltin on Video'' radio spots and has written and produced many TV specials about films and filmmaking.
``I'm in every medium known to mankind!'' he rails in mock despair.
``Apple bought my book to put on a card for the Newton [notepad-sized handheld computer],'' Maltin said. ``Take it to the video store, and say, `Gee, I liked `Unforgiven.' I want to see another Western.' ... Or `I want another Warren Beatty movie.'''
Each year Maltin updates his 25-year-old film ``database,'' to prepare for next year's edition of the guide. A high-tech update, right?
Well, no. ``The publisher makes a set of full-sized page proofs, with margins,'' Maltin said. ``When we're making an addition to a page, we take a ballpoint pen and write in the margin. ...
``I say to my computer friends, `If you have a faster, more efficient, more clear-cut way to do this with a machine, I'll do it,''' Maltin said. ``But there isn't.'' Maltin grins mischievously and speaks further.
``We have also been known to use - hold your breath! - Scotch tape.''
Elsewhere in television ...
The C-SPAN School Bus has won this year's Golden CableACE Award, the cable TV industry's highest award for a special project or program.
The 45-foot mobile TV production studio and classroom has been touring the nation since 1993, touting the educational value of the medium, and videotaping local events and interviews for use on C-SPAN.
The Learning Channel has won the National Academy of Cable Programming's Creators Award for its ``Ready, Set, Learn!'' - a daily, six-hour, commercial- and violence-free programming block aimed at preparing preschoolers for school.
by CNB