Film

Film critic Roger Ebert returns to Fresh Air to discuss the impact VCRs and the home video market has affected an audience's movie watching habits--a topic he explores in the book Roger Ebert's Movie Home Companion. The newest iteration of his television show with fellow critic Gene Siskel is called At the Movies. Fresh Air listeners call in with their questions.

Independent filmmaker Spike Lee's first feature, She's Gotta Have It, has garnered critical adulation and popular success. He joins Fresh Air to discuss his experiences as a black director, having an all-black cast, and making a movie that deals frankly with women's sexual desires.

Sir Alec Guiness may be best known for his roles in films like Star Wars and Bridge on the River Kwai, but he honed his craft in the theater, learning something new with every production.

Terry Zwigoff is the director and producer of the documentary "Louie Bluie," about jazz violinist and mandolinist Howard Armstrong. Armstrong continues the tradition of black string bands in the nineteen-teens and the nineteen-twenties. Armstrong's career was revived in the nineteen-seventies on the college circuit. Zwigoff plays the cello and mandolin himself, including in cartoonist R. Crumb's band, and collects jazz records.

Edward Wilkerson is a jazz musician and composer. He joins the show to discuss his work and career. His ensemble the Shadow Vignettes' most recent album is "Birth of a Notion."

Vito Russo, author of The Celluloid Closet analyzes how gays have been portrayed in films.

Novelist and screenwriter Richard Price is inspired by comedians, singers, television, and movies. He published his first novel, "The Wanderers," when he was 24 years old. He began writing screenplays after being disappointed by the film adaptations of his first two novels. His most recent novel was 1984's "The Breaks." Since then he has been writing the screenplay for Martin Scorsese's upcoming film sequel to "The Hustler," "The Color of Money."

Documentarian and filmmaker Frederick Wiseman's films often dissect institutions. He emphasizes that his films are biased and reflect his own point of view. He joins the show to discuss his career.

EMILE DE ANTONIO is regarded as one of the most important political filmmakers of the American Left.

Pauline Kael is one of the country's most preeminent film critics. She came to the profession in her mid 40s after working in radio and owning a movie theater. She has written for New York Magazine since 1968, and her reviews have been collected in published in book since 1965. Her latest book is "State of the Art."

Playwright, actor, and screenwriter Wallace Shawn wants his theater work to be shocking and confrontational, but he is best known for the 1981 film he wrote, "My Dinner with Andre." Shawn's latest play is "Aunt Dan and Lemon."

Spalding Gray was already famous in experimental theater for his funny and erotically-charged monologues when he made his film debut in "The Killing Fields," about the American involvement in Cambodia. His experiences as a novice making the movie in Thailand inspired his new monologue "Swimming to Cambodia." The monologue contains stories of the real fighting in Cambodia.

Writer and humorist Bruce J. Friedman has written novels, plays, and screenplays. His screen credits include "Splash" and "Stir Crazy." He joins the show to discuss his career.

Film director and writer John Waters is Hollywood's "leading exponent of bad taste," and Waters describes himself as making exploitation films for the arthouse. Waters is also interested in murderers and has taught film in prison. The Baltimore Museum of Art recently held a retrospective of Waters' work, and the mayor declared the opening day "John Waters Day."

Director, writer, and actor John Sayles is one of Hollywood's most prominent independent filmmakers. Sayles began his career writing B-movies for producer Roger Corman. His latest movie is "The Brother from Another Planet," about a black extraterrestrial who lands in Harlem.

Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown joins the show to share backstage Hollywood stories, discuss the use of the Steadicam, and his new invention Skycam.

The playwright's works include "The Zoo Story," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," and the Pulitzer Prize winning "Delicate Balance" and "Seascape."

A collection of Roger Ebert's essays is called A Kiss is Just A Kiss. He co-hosts the television show At the Movies with fellow critic and professional rival Gene Siskel.

After years of making low-budget exploitation movies, John Waters has received major studio backing for his latest film, Polyester. His newfound, mainstream success includes the Mayor of Baltimore naming February 7th John Waters Day and the release of a documentary about him, Divine Waters. His most recent endeavor has been teaching prisoners about channeling their violent tendencies into art.

John Sayles has written, directed, and acted in several independent movies. His films run the gamut from horror to science fiction to serious takes on social issues.