Film

Singer Wilhelmenia Fernandez is best known for playing the role of Bess in the Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess. She makes her film debut in the new movie Diva.

Patrick and Michael Wayne are commemorating the iconic Western actor's life with a gun featuring his likeness.

Baltimore-based filmmaker John Waters has released a new book which explores his love of bad taste in film. With a new movie, Polyester, soon to be released, he join Fresh Air to explain his transgressive aesthetic and share his experiences working on set with a regular crew of actors.

Writer and director Garson Kanin's new book explores the success of certain actor pairings in Hollywood history, arguing that the team members brought out the best in one another.

Fresh Air film critic Bill Van Wert speaks with Terry Gross about the new movie, Take This Job and Shove It!

The jazz and film critic believes that all the methods and techniques filmmakers use to tell a story were ether pioneered or refined by D.W. Griffith. Despite the pervasive racism in the director's art, Williams argues for the preservation of Griffith's legacy.

Cinematographer Garrett Brown worked on the new Brian de Palma film Blow Out. His invention, the Steadicam, has facilitated new production techniques in cinema, particularly with point-of-view shots in thriller and horror movies.

Historian Erik Barnouw's new book looks into how the dawn of trick cinema and depictions of magic in films undermined the popularity of live magic shows. He later talks to Terry Gross about the pressure television broadcasters experience from boycotts and sponsors to highlight or remove certain kinds of content.

Film director Martin Scorsese delivering a commencement speech this year at the University of Pennsylvania. He discusses what he has discovered through and learned from movies and his belief in "integral education."

Author and screenwriter Terry Southern joins the show to discuss writing "Dr. Strangelove," "Easy Rider," and "Barbarella."