Irish screenwriter and novelist Shane Connaughton co-wrote the screenplay for "My Left Foot." Now he's written the screenplay for the new film "The Playboys," starring Aidan Quinn and Albert Finney.(Samuel Goldwyn) He also has a new novel out called "The Run of The Country." (St. Martin's Press)
Architect Joe Spear. He was the principal designer of the Baltimore Orioles new ballpark. He's also worked on many other football and baseball stadiums.
Comedian Jon Lovitz. He played the pathological liar on Saturday Night Live, among many other characters, such as Annoying Man and Harry Chanukah. Now he's got a comedy special coming up on May 17th on the Fox Television Network (right after "Married With Children").
Sue Halpern has written the new book "Migrations to Solitude," which explores the other side of privacy: seclusion. She visited a monastery in Kentucky, whose monks have vowed a life of silence, a prisoner in solitary confinement, and others, drawing out what it's like to be inescapably alone, and how people's versions of privacy differ. (Pantheon Books)
Neal Jimenez wrote and co-directed the new film "The Waterdance." (Samuel Goldwyn) It's about the five months Jimenez spent in the hospital following a hiking accident that paralyzed him from the waist down. Jimenez is now in a wheelchair, as is the main character in the film, played by Eric Stoltz. Jimenez also wrote "River's Edge" and co-wrote "For the Boys," starring Bette Midler.
Filmmaker Paul Cox. He was born in Holland, and then settled permanently in Australia. You might remember his 1981 film "Lonely Hearts," which brought him international acclaim and somewhat of a cult following. His latest film, which he wrote and directed, is called "A Woman's Tale." It's about an 80 year old woman who has cancer, and in fact, it was played by an actress with cancer. Since the film was made, the woman who plays the lead, Sheila Florance, passed away. (Orion Classics)
Terry talks with film critic Stephen Schiff about the late director Satyajit Ray from India. Ray died yesterday at the age of 70. His work was internationally acclaimed.
Novelist Toni Morrison. She has a new novel "Jazz," (published by Knopf) and a new book of essays, "Playing in the Dark," (by Harvard). Her novel, "Beloved," won a Pulitzer prize. She's written six novels in all.
Writer David Marc. He's the co-author of the new book, "Prime Time Prime Movers," about how TV's producers are the ones who most influence its creative and ideological direction. They cite such examples as Stephen Bochco, the creator of "Hill Street Blues," and "L.A. Law," and "Cop Rock." (published by Little, Brown & Co.)
Michael Tolkin, who wrote the novel and screenplay for the new Robert Altman movie, "The Player" (Fine Line Features, opening wide tomorrow), gives a screenwriter's take on the way Hollywood works -- or doesn't. Tolkin also wrote, directed and produced the film, "The Rapture," now available on home video.
Conductor and arranger John McGlinn. He re-orchestrated the Irving Berlin musical "Annie Get Your Gun" according to the original 1946 performance. In preparing the remake, McGlinn discovered that the 1966 revival of the show left out several musical numbers, which he incorporated into the current performance. McGlinn also included a song that had been written for the 1946 version, but never before recorded.
Our classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz has a new collection of poems, "Goodnight, Gracie," (published by Phoenix Poets). David Lehman calls this new collection, "a moving and inventive collection, his best and most ambitious to date." LLOYD is also music editor of The Boston Phoenix and is co-director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Massachusetts.
Journalist and professor of environmental studies Donella Meadows. Twenty years ago she co-authored the book, "The Limits to Growth." The book used a computer model to project the impact of growth on the environment. It caused a sensation because of it's eco-gloom and helped spur the environmental movement. Now in the authors' sequel, "Beyond the Limits," they argue that we have shot past the earth's limited resources but that we are in a better position to avoid global economic collapse because of new technical possibilities.
Pathologist, professor, and essayist Lewis Thomas. As an essayist he takes a philosophical look at biomedicine. His books include the "The Lives of a Cell," and "The Medusa and the Snail," which were both best sellers. But he began writing for only the medical community with his 1974 column in the "New England Journal of Medicine." Terry talks with him from his hospital room, where Thomas is recovering from several ailments. He has a new book, "The Fragile Species," (published by Scribner's)
New York Times reporter Elaine Sciolino. She was the first American and the first woman to interview the Ayatollah when he came into power in 1979. She was expelled from Iran ten years ago and recently returned there for the first time since to cover the elections. Terry talks with her about the changes she saw in Iran from the ten years previous.
