One of the side effects of doing a long-running annual book like The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide is that we at least have an idea of what goes into doing one. Last week we mentioned Antique Trader’s newest edition, and now we turn our attention to the latest volume from noted critic, historian and collector Leonard Maltin.

Leonard Maltin’s 2014 Movie Guide: The Modern Era is now on sale, and it remains an indispensable aide for film enthusiasts.

So, what’s new in this year’s edition?

“Mainly what’s new is 300 new entries covering key releases of the past year–up through the beginning of this summer’s movie season. But just for fun we decided to add a number of spaghetti westerns of the 60s and 70s that we never had a chance to include before. One of them (Tepepa) even costars Orson Welles,” Maltin told Scoop.

With an annual project like this every year, does anything ever actually surprise him?

“What never fails to surprise me is how hard it is to get concrete facts about brand-new movies–simple things like accurate running time, the billing order of the actors, or specific details that relate to plot (the year the story takes place, etc.). Even with all the information sites online we run into brick walls all the time. Our salvation is ready access to the movies themselves online or DVD within weeks (or at most, months) after their theatrical debut,” he said.

So, now that this book is done for the year, what’s next?

“I have a number of irons in the fire, but the only one up and running is my website, www.leonardmaltin.com, where I love writing about whatever I please, from new movie reviews to retrospectives of vintage films on DVD or coverage of events like the current World 3-D Film Expo in Hollywood.”