Filmmakers Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini are the team behind American Splendor, which is a hybrid of fiction and documentary. Their previous documentaries are Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's and The Young and the Dead.
Film critic David Edelstein reviews The Magdalene Sisters by Scottish writer/director Peter Mullan. It's based on Ireland's actual Magdalene Asylums where Catholic girls accused of "moral crimes" (anything from getting pregnant, to being too attractive, to accusing a man of rape) were sent to work in laundries to atone for their sins. These virtual prisons finally closed their doors in 1996.
Sun Studios founder Sam Phillips died today in Memphis at the age of 80. He was revered as one of the leading catalysts in post-World War II American music. As a record producer in the 1950s and 60s, his recordings launched the careers of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis, to name a few. This interview first aired September 15, 1997.
A conversation with music writer Peter Guralnick about the death of Sun Studios founder Sam Phillips. Guralnick is the author of a two volume biography of Elvis Presley: Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love.
Krakauer is the author of the book Into Thin Air, about the disastrous 1996 Mount Everest climb in which eight climbers were killed. His new book, Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith, is about Mormon fundamentalism and the story of the two Lafferty brothers who murdered a woman and her infant daughter because they say that they had received a revelation from God to do so. Krakauer reports there are some 40,000 Mormon fundamentalists in the American West, Canada and Mexico. The Mormon Church does not recognize fundamentalists as part of their faith.
Nigerian-born actor Chiwetel Ejiofor stars in the new Stephen Frears film Dirty Pretty Things. Ejiofor plays an immigrant former doctor who now must make his living in London as a cab driver and hotel clerk. Ejiofor graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and was named Outstanding Newcomer in The London Evening Standard Awards 2000. He recently completed a sell-out run at London's National Theatre as Christopher in Blue/Orange. At the age of 19 he had a role in Steven Spielberg's film Amistad.
She is the author of the best-selling book, Seabiscuit: An American Legend, about the horse who became a racetrack sensation in the 1930s. Her book is the basis of the new film starring Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper. The New York Times called the book, "a captivating story... with the detail of good history, the blistering pace of Seabiscuit himself, and the charm of grand legend." Hillenbrand has chronic fatigue syndrome and during the writing of Seabiscuit, she almost never left her home. She has been writing about thoroughbred racing for 15 years.
He was Laura Hillenbrand's editor on the book Seabiscuit. He'll talk about working with Hillenbrand, who has chronic fatigue syndrome, while she was writing the best-selling book.
He's the author of the new book, All The Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror. It's about the 1953 CIA coup in Iran that put an end to democratic rule, and in turn led the way for the Islamic Revolution of 1979. He writes, "It was the first time the United States overthrew a foreign government. It set a pattern for years to come and shaped the way millions of people view the United States."
He is on the brink of becoming the world's first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church. He was elected by the Diocese of New Hampshire, but the appointment must be approved at the church's national general convention next week. His nomination has divided the church. Robinson, who is 56 years old, was married for 13 years. He continues to be close to his ex-wife and two daughters. For the last 15 years he has been in a relationship with another man.
Last January, Clear Channel was the subject of an inquiry by the Senate commerce committee because of claims that Clear Channel "bullies artists, replaces local programming with automated formats and uses hard-nosed tactics against competitors."
Stothard is the author of the new book, Thirty Days: Tony Blair and the Test of History. Stothard chronicles the 30 days leading up to the Iraq war and the early days of the war. Stothard had unprecedented access to Blair during that time. Stothard is currently editor of The London Times Literary Supplement, and is former editor of The Times from 1992 to 2002.
Fashion journalists Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine are hosts of the BBC show What Not to Wear which gives advice to women on what not to wear/what to wear if one has, for instance, big arms, flabby tummy, thick legs, etc. Their book, What Not To Wear is available now in paperback.
He originated the staccato, three-finger banjo technique that became known as the "Scruggs style." He got his start playing with Bill Monroe's band in the 1940s, and then teamed up with guitarist Lester Flatt (fronting The Foggy Mountain Boys). The two penned and recorded the tune "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," which was used on the Bonnie and Clyde film soundtrack and was one of the first crossover hits of the genre. They also recorded "The Ballad of Jed Clampett," the theme song for the sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies. It topped the charts in 1962.
Arn Chorn-Pond is the subject of the new documentary The Flute Player. As a child, Chorn-Pond was held in a Khmer Rouge labor camp where many children starved to death, many others were murdered, and those who survived were forced to work from 5 a.m. to midnight. He was taught to play the flute to play propaganda songs which helped assure his survival. Later at age 14, Chorn-Pond was forced into the Khmer Rouge army to fight the invading Vietnamese. After seeing his friends die, he fled into the jungle.
