Photographer/director Anton Corbijn and our hero Tom Waits were originally set to unleash Waits/Corbijn – Photographs 1977-2010 about a year ago, but the scheduled release date was delayed… until next month. The good news, though, is that their 220-page, 30-year spanning effort has become even more epic in the meantime: What was once described as simply a collection of portraits adorned by lyrics from the Waits songbook now includes a 48-page spread of words and images by Waits himself, in addition to around 200 Corbijn-shot portraits. In other words: Best coffee table book ever.

Check out a preview (including a link to pre-order Waits/Corbijn for the current October 29 release date) over at Corbijn’s site — where the director of forthcoming George Clooney-starring thriller The American is also peddling hardcovers on that film, Ian Curtis biopic Control, U2, and more. By the way, still no update on Corbijn documentary Shadow Play, save for the teaser trailer embedded below:

When rock photographer and music video director Anton Corbijn took on the daunting task of helming the Ian Curtis biopic Control, he had a lot to overcome: Corbijn had never directed a feature film before and attempting to portray a beloved band like Joy Division would be a precarious proposition for even the most seasoned filmmaker. He was, however, up to the task, delivering a solid directorial debut that pleased both critics and Joy Division fans alike.

In the upcoming documentary Shadow Play: The Making of Anton Corbijn, Corbijn’s famous friends and collaborators tell “the story of the ultimate insider who now finds himself outside the Hollywood system and far enough away from the dizzying orbits of fame to make things a little uncomfortable… and very interesting,” a description on the production company’s site reads.

Corbijn, who is publishing a photo/lyric book this fall with longtime portrait subject and friend Tom Waits, wouldn’t get just anybody to tell the story of his transition from photographer to director: the cast list includes Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Bono, Michael Stipe, Brandon Flowers, Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode, and more.

Shadow Play is currently doing the festival circuit, but with famous names like those mentioned above, a wider release (and a trailer?) should be in the near future.

*Update: This book’s release was delayed by a year. New details here.

Dutch photographer/director Anton Corbijn has been taking iconic photos of Tom Waits for over three decades at this point and now the pair are releasing a hardcover book of their collaborative efforts, combining Corbijn-shot portraits and lyrics “from major Waits albums.” The book, titled Waits/Corbijn, contains 160 pages, including 75 color and duotone plates, and will drop this fall from publisher Schirmer/Mosel.

Meanwhile, Both Waits and Corbijn have been turning their attention towards film of late, with Waits opting for a starring role as Mr. Nick, aka the Devil, in Terry Gilliam’s forthcoming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and Corbijn is following up his solid feature film directorial debut, the Ian Curtis biopic Control, with A Very Private Gentleman. According to IMDB, the latter film has George Clooney signed on as both a producer and lead actor. Waits is also doing a movie with Denzel Washington due out next year called The Book of Eli.

For more info and to pre-order Waits/Corbijn, click here.