Academic Writing (Books)

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(Continuum, March 2002)
Alice Guy Blaché, Lost Visionary of the Cinema

This is the story of the first woman filmmaker and a critical analysis of her work, based on her Ph.D. thesis, which won the Union Circle of Scholars Award in 1997 and the Women in Film Award at the St. Louis International Film Festival in 2004. See www.continuumbooks.com/book_details.cgi?bid=2385&ssid=O3098PI5DA39RFC5MVD03L

Revised paperback edition October 2003.

Spanish translation by Plots Ediciones, Madrid, Spain.

Reviews of this book appeared in:

Cineaste, November 2003
LA Times, August 15, 2002
American Cinematographer, August, 2002
The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 2002
(Reviews have also been published in German and in Chinese)

Television Interviews:

Reel Women: The First Ladies of Film interviewed McMahan extensively for this documentary featuring Barbara Streisand, Shirley McClaine, Hilary Swank, Susan Sarandon, and Minnie Driver. Aired on AMC Channel in the U.S. on May 30 and August 1st 2000, for which McMahan also did the research.

Time Warner Cable, Nov 13th, 2002
Interviewed as an expert on Alice Guy in anticipation of a lecture/screening of Guy films McMahan gave at the Fort Lee Historical Society/Fort Lee Film Commission.

The Forgotten Garden: The Life and Work of Alice Guy-Blaché 52 min. documentary directed by Marquise Lepage for the National Film Board of Canada, released Nov. 1995 in French and English. McMahan did the research for this film, was line producer for the New York shoot, and was interviewed as a silent-film scholar in the film. First aired on Turner Movie Network August 2000.

Unveiling:

The Fort Lee Film Historical Society invited McMahan to unveil a large permanent sign describing Guy's contributions to cinema on the site of her Solax studio in Fort Lee on March 13, 2004.

Radio Interviews:

"Earthworms" KDHX St Louis, Jean Ponzi, Producer, November 9, 2004.

"The Arts Today" Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Jesse Wente, Producer, April 24, 2002.

"The Tom Pope Show" Powernomics Radio Network, June 3, 2002.

WEVD-AM "The Sam Greenfield Show" Wednesday, June 5, 2002.

WNYC-AM/FM, Interviewed by Lenny Lopate about book on Alice Guy, "New York and Company", Melissa Eagan, Producer, June 27, 2002.

(Continuum, May 2005)
The Films of Tim Burton: Animating Live Action in Holllywood

This book explores the relationship between 2D and 3D animation, simulation, and live action cinema using the work of Tim Burton as a context. McMahan argues that cinema and animation have always had a different relationship and interdependence than we have supposed and that this relationship can be observed in changes to horror and fantasy film genres as well as changes in the use of special effects.

Reviews of this book appeared in:

Cineaste, The Films of Tim Burton: Animating Live Action in Contemporary Hollywood. Book review by Rahul Hamid 22 September, 2006
goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-5808609/The-Films-of-Tim-Burton.html