Film

Actor Greg Kinnear (kin-EAR). He plays a soap opera star in the new film “Nurse Betty.” Kinnear’s other films include “As Good As It Gets” (for which he was nominated for an Academy Award) and “Sabrina.” Kinnear got his start as host and executive producer of “Talk Soup” on E! Entertainment. Later he hosted his own late-night talk show, “Later with Greg Kinnear.”

Founder of the American Film Institute, George Stevens Jr. The 1952 classic western “Shane”, directed by his father George Stevens has been reissued on DVD, with new special production features. George Stevens Jr. was a production assistant on the film.

British actress Brenda Blethyn (like “Beth” – ‘BLETH-in’). She’s starring in the new comedy “Saving Grace” about a middle aged widow whose irresponsible husband left her in huge debt. She decides to start growing marijuana in her greenhouse instead of orchids. Blethyn’s other films include Mike Leigh’s “Secrets and Lies” (she was nominated for an Oscar) and “Little Voice.”

Actor, singer and drag queen Ru Paul. The six-foot seven entertainer is even taller in heels and has fashioned for himself a supermodel persona. He attributes his mainstream appeal to his non-threatening sexuality and his “non-bitchy” drag queen personality. Ru Paul is appearing out of drag in the new comedy “But I’m A Cheerleader.” He plays an ex-gay rehab counselor. Ru Paul’s other films include “Crooklyn,” “The Brady Bunch Movie,” and “Wigstock the Movie.” (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW).

Roger Ebert interviews Willem Dafoe. This is a special broadcast of a live event that took place at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Ebert explores Dafoe’s 17-year career of more than 40 films, including his upcoming film, “Shadow of the Vampire.” Dafoe’s films include “The Last Temptation of Christ,” “Affliction,” “The English Patient,” and “Platoon.”

Screenwriter/actress Polly Draper and jazz pianist Michael Wolff have co-produced “The Tic Code.” The new film is about a mother and her son, a musical prodigy with Tourette’s syndrome. The syndrome is a nervous disorder that produces uncontrollable facial tics and jerky muscular spasms, as well as causing strange noises to be emitted from those who have the disorder. Polly Draper wrote the film based on the life of her husband, Michael Wolff.

Actor Christopher Walken. He got his start in the business as a tap-dancing kid and went on to play some of the most menacingly evil characters around. His films include “At Close Range,” “The Comfort of Strangers,” “King of New York,” “The Dead Zone,” and “Annie Hall” (in which he played Annie’s creepy brother who had an impulse to drive his car into oncoming traffic.) His new film is “The Opportunists.”

Filmmaker John Waters. His latest film is “Cecil B. Demented” about an underground filmmaker and his cult following who declare war on bad cinema by kidnapping a starlet and forcing her to star in their own film. Waters other movies include, "Pecker" about a young amateur photographer who becomes the darling of the New York art world; "Cry Baby," a juvenile delinquent love story set in the 1950's, which brought together such performers as Patty Hearst, Johnny Depp, Ricki Lake, David Nelson, and Polly Bergen.

Actor Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson stars in the new film Shaft, a sequel/update of the 1970s blaxploitation films starring Richard Roundtree. Jackson’s performance in Pulp Fiction (1994) earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. His other films include Rules of Engagement, Star Wars: Episode One- The Phantom Menace, The Negotiator, Jackie Brown, Eve’s Bayou, A Time to Kill, Die Hard With a Vengeance, and a number of movies by Spike Lee.

Chinese independent film producer and native New Yorker Peter Loehr. He became China’s first independent film producer. His film “Spicy Love Soup” in 1998 was the second only to “The Titanic” in box office receipts in China. Loehr’s third feature “Shower” is currently a hit in China, and is due in the U.S. next month. Loehr founded the company Imar to produce and distribute his films.