Film

Fear of spiders -- and the infestation of rain forest arachnids in a small California town -- drive the new Frank Marshall horror film. Film critic Stephen Schiff says that it captures producer Stephen Spielberg's charm and humor -- but also his blandness.

As a Vietnam veteran, Stone was able to enroll in film school on the GI Bill. His success as a screenwriter opened the door for him to direct. He talks about the trajectory of his career, and how he learned to work within the Hollywood system.

Part I of the Fresh Air interview. Stone's newest movie, about the rock band the Doors, will soon be in theaters. The director is a Vietnam War veteran who earned a Purple Heart; his was experiences informed his early movie, Platoon.

The African American film director is best known for Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which added a political dimension to the black action movie genre. Van Peebles says that, unlike his own work, the blaxploitation films that came later were apologies for systems of oppression, not critiques of them. Prior to his career in film, he lived in France as a writer. His new book, coauthored by his son Mario, is called No Identity Crisis.

Critic Owen Gleiberman says "Ghost" is a tense, touching, and funny love story starring Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg. Swayze's character dies, and Goldberg channels his spirit to communicate with his still-living love Demi Moore.

Peter Bart was a senior vice president of the MGM/United Artists studio, and has just written a new book called "Fade Out." He discusses his efforts to turn the company around as the Hollywood studio system came to a close.

Critic Owen Gleiberman reviews The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, which stars comedian Andrew Dice Clay as a rock and roll detective. Gleiberman calls the movie monotonous; Clay's performance, like his standup, is crass, but not without charisma.

Film scholar Douglas Gomery has a new essay in the anthology Seeing Through Movies, in which he discusses the history of the movie theater, and how theater owners designed the audience experience over the decades.

Film critic Owen Gleiberman says the original Die Hard succeed in part because it was tightly plotted and plausible -- for an action movie. But it's hard to imagine Bruce Willis's John McClane fighting terrorists throughout the sprawl of Washington, D.C.

Lee says his substantial height kept him from landing leading man roles. During his long-running career, he's appeared in over 150 films. Lee made a name for himself in horror, playing both Dracula and Frankenstein's monster. He's starring in the forthcoming sequel to Gremlins.