Film

Kaige is the director, writer, producer and acts in the new film Together, a coming-of-age tale about a 13-year-old Chinese boy who plays violin. The boy's father takes him from their provincial Chinese city to Beijing, seeking prominence. But plans change as the boy grows up and ultimately chooses his own path. Kaige is best known for his film Farewell My Concubine, which was nominated for an Oscar. His other films include Yellow Earth, The Big Parade and Killing Me Softly.

He's best known for his cult films Tales From the Gimli Hospital (1998) and Careful (1992). In 1995, Maddin was the youngest person to receive the Telluride Medal for Lifetime Achievement. His short film The Heart of the World won a special award from the National Society of Film Critics and was voted one of the 10 best films of the year by J. Hoberman of The Village Voice and A.O. Scott of The New York Times. His new film, Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary, transforms the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's interpretation of Bram Stoker's classic story into a silent film.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews X2: X-Men United.

Writer, actor, director, comedian and host of Le Show, Harry Shearer. He's starring in the new folk music mockumentary A Mighty Wind, directed by Christopher Guest, who also directed Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman. Shearer also starred with Guest in the classic heavy metal parody This is Spinal Tap. Shearer's public radio show is now in its 19th year.

Mark Woollen and Michael Greenfeld are both in the business of creating film trailers – the two-and-a half minute edited teasers that promote upcoming feature films. Woollen is the founder of Mark Woollen and Associates and their recent movie trailers include About Schmidt, Pianist, Antwone Fisher and The Ring. Greenfeld is partner and co-CEO of Antfarm. Recent Antfarm campaigns include Chicago, Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Catch Me If You Can and Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets. The Golden Trailers Awards were held last week.

Gordon is a sports journalist and Bonner is a specialist on North Korea. They collaborated on the documentary The Game of Their Lives about the most shocking upset in World Cup History: It was July 19, 1966, and the scrappy underdog North Korean team beat the favored Italians, whose players were some of the finest in the world. Later the Korean team lost in the quarterfinals to Portugal. Then the players returned home and disappeared from view.

He directed and co-wrote the satirical films Citizen Ruth and Election. His newest film, About Schmidt, is also a social satire. It stars Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates who have both been nominated for Academy Awards for their roles. About Schmidt is loosely based on the novel of the same name by Louis Begley. Payne and co-writer Jim Taylor won the Golden Globe for best screenplay for About Schmidt.

His new film is Lost in La Mancha. It's a documentary about Gilliam's failed attempt to adapt the story of Don Quixote to the screen. The film Gilliam was supposed to make was titled The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, starring Johnny Depp, Vanessa Paradis and Jean Rochefort. Gilliam is a former member of the legendary Monty Python comedy troupe and was responsible for the Monty Python TV show's quirky animation.

He discusses Gangs of New York, his new film set in pre-Civil War New York City about the street warfare between immigrant groups. It was inspired by the book The Gangs of New York published in 1927 by journalist Herbert Asbury.

His best-known films include My Left Foot and In the Name of the Father. His new film, In America, is based in part on his own experience immigrating to the United States with a family of four. They moved to Hell's Kitchen in New York, flat broke in the midst of the summer heat.