First-Ever Book Revealing the History of "Hixploitation"
December 2, 2004 -- Writer and critic Scott Von Doviak has defined
a film genre that, until now, has been largely ignored. With the
publication of Hick Flicks: The Rise and Fall of Redneck Cinema
(McFarland & Co. Inc. / Winter 2004) Von Doviak has
meticulously and humorously chronicled the history of hixploitation
cinema. The foreword was written by IFC's Ultimate Film Fanatic
host and Film Threat creator and editor Chris Gore. This first-ever
look at the popularity of these films during their heyday in the
1970s offers another compelling chapter in film history. While the
pimps and players of blaxploitation movies dominated inner-city
theaters, good old boys with muscle under their hoods and moonshine
in their trunks roared onto drive-in screens throughout rural
America. Written in three parts, Part One explores the "good ol'
boy" mystique from redneck sheriffs, to moonshiners, to honky-tonk
heroes and more. Part Two explores road movies, featuring the
thrilling antics of back-road racers and truckers. And Part Three,
"In the Woods," follows movies about the many and varied beasts
populating the swamps and woodlands or rural America. "I was
inspired to write this book when I went to see a special screening
of Deliverance in the backwoods of the Central Texas hill country a
couple of years ago," Von Doviak explains. "It hit me that there
were hundreds of these rural, Southern-flavored movies in the
1970s, from little-known drive-in flicks to popular hits like
Smokey and the Bandit." Hick Flicks will be available in bookstores
in late December 2004 and is now available for pre-order on most
major online bookstores including amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com,
borders.com and mcfarlandpub.com. For a review copy, contact the
publisher at 336-246-4460 or info@mcfarlandpub.com. To schedule an
interview with Mr. Von Doviak, please contact Jennifer Hill
Robenalt at 512-653-9656, jennifer@wordsbyjennifer.com. ABOUT SCOTT
VON DOVIAK Scott Von Doviak is a film critic for the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram and a freelance writer focusing on the film industry.
His articles have appeared in Hollywood Reporter, Film Threat,
Dallas Morning News and many other publications. His column The
Bottom Shelf appears in the pop culture zine The High Hat and he is
a regular contributor to culturevulture.net. Von Doviak earned a
film degree from Emerson College in Boston, MA. He lives in Austin,
Texas. ABOUT MCFARLAND & CO. McFarland & Company, Inc.,
Publishers, founded in 1979 is a leading publisher of scholarly and
reference books in the United States, with over 2600 titles
published to date, and over 1700 in print. McFarland is an
award-winning publisher recognized internationally for its
outstanding reference and academic titles. McFarland publishes
works in a variety of fields, most notably film, performing arts,
sports and popular culture, among other topics. Visit
www.mcfarlandpub.com for more information.