Super 8 director J.J. Abrams says the inspiration for his latest science-fiction thriller came from his own childhood obsession with filmmaking. He shares his thoughts on the film industry and on trying to make movies more enjoyable for audiences.
Ron Hansen's latest novel, A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion, fictionalizes an infamous crime of sexual transgression. In 1927, Ruth Snyder killed her husband, Albert, after falling in love with a lingerie salesman. Hansen's sexy fictionalization of the real-life murder sizzles with the spirit of the Roaring '20s.
J.J. Abrams' science-fiction thriller Super 8 was inspired, in part, by Steven Spielberg's earliest works. Critic David Edelstein says the film hits home in a way more impersonal franchise pictures don't.
Drinking didn't stop in the United States from 1920 to 1933 — it just went underground. Author Daniel Okrent discusses the lasting cultural and political impact of Prohibition in his book, Last Call.
British comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon trade barbs and impressions in the new comedy, The Trip. Coogan, best known for his character Alan Partridge, talks about the improvisational film, which sends the two comedians on a road trip in Northern England.
The History Channel star details how he became an expert in customer relations, human behavior, antiques, economics — and spotting fake Rolexes — while running his family's Las Vegas pawn shop.
To make the electric car viable, manufacturers need to create better batteries. But the road to creating a better, long-lasting battery has not been easy. Science writer Seth Fletcher explains why in his book, Bottled Lightning: Superbatteries, Electric Cars and the New Lithium Economy.
The star is admired for his guitar playing, and for the way he mixes elements of country and rock music without pandering to either audience. Ken Tucker says that Paisley's new album, This Is Country Music, is less a manifesto than an enjoyable way to hear him expand his fan base.
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The former boxing champ won world titles in five weight divisions and received a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics. In his new autobiography, The Big Fight, Leonard details the obstacles he battled — including sexual abuse and addictions — during his career.
Ewan McGregor stars in Mike Mills' film about a young man who learns that his 75-year-old father (Christopher Plummer) is gay. Critic David Edelstein says the movie, based on Mills' own life puts the filmmaker in a category alongside Woody Allen and Charlie Kaufman.
The movie Beginners stars Ewan McGregor as a young man who learns that his 75-year-old father, played by Christopher Plummer, is gay. The movie is based on filmmaker Mike Mills' own life. Mills explains what happened when his own dad came out.
When book critic Maureen Corrigan was a kid, her family would pile into the car for trips to sites of historical interest. For Corrigan, summer has always been the season for traveling back to a bygone age — either by hitting the road or hitting the books.
Fischer, one of the greatest chess players of all time, was also a recluse who made anti-American and anti-Semitic statements and seemed increasingly lost in the depths of his own mind. Filmmaker Liz Garbus examines the life of the troubled genius in the documentary biopic, Bobby Fischer Against the World.
The late Ellen Willis was the first pop-music critic for The New Yorker. A new anthology, Out of the Vinyl Deeps, collects her thoughts on Dylan, Joplin and The Rolling Stones, among others. Critic Ken Tucker says the anthology "resurrects a nearly lost, vital, invaluable voice" in pop music.
Neuroscientist David Eagleman says everything we think, do and believe is determined by complex neural networks battling it out in our brains. In Incognito, he explains what scientists are learning about the hidden world of cognition.
The third season of HBO's vampire soap True Blood is now out on DVD. TV critic David Bianculli says the show's success proves that vampires -- more than werewolves, zombies or witches -- will turn out to be the most durable media monsters of all.
Terrence Malick's film, part creation epic and part Oedipal family drama, recently won the Palme d'Or -- the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Critic David Edelstein says reaction to the film has been mixed, but he "recommends the experience unreservedly."
Animal behaviorist John Bradshaw has spent much of his career debunking bad advice given to dog owners. His new book Dog Sense details what pet owners should expect from their dogs -- and what their dogs should expect in return from their owners.
