Interview: Actor Vern Troyer March 31, 2006 • He's the man behind the Austin Powers character Mini-Me. Vern Troyer talks with Fool Radio about the big business of Hollywood.
Review 'Brick' Takes a Clever Look at Suburban Adolescence March 31, 2006 • Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a young outcast trying to find out what happened to his ex-girlfriend in Brick, a hard-boiled noir set in a suburban high school.
Culture Summary Judgment: Two Sequels and 'Slither' March 31, 2006 • What are critics are saying about the weekend's movie releases? Films on tap are Basic Instinct 2, Ice Age: The Meltdown and the slimy horror film Slither.
Review Culture Stone, Cold in 'Basic Instinct 2' Fresh Air March 31, 2006 • Sharon Stone returns as a gorgeous novelist (and apparent psychopath) in a sequel to her 1992 smash hit Basic Instinct. This time, she's matching wits and sexual techniques with British actor David Morrissey instead of Michael Douglas. David Edelstein has a review.
Culture Clive Owen, 'Inside Man' Fresh Air March 31, 2006 • Actor Clive Owen co-stars with Oscar winners Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster in the new Spike Lee film Inside Man. His previous films include Closer, Sin City, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead and Croupier. (This interview was originally broadcast July 12, 2004.)
Culture Coming of Age in 'ATL' March 31, 2006 • Over the last decade Atlanta has become a mecca for black Americans and it serves as the backdrop for a new movie, ATL. Director Chris Robinson tells Ed Gordon about the coming-of-age tale, and why he set his first feature film in the city known as "Hotlanta."
Review Culture 'Devil and Daniel Johnston' Indulges Singer's Fans March 31, 2006 • A new documentary follows Indie singer-song writer Daniel Johnston's decline into mental illness. It combines standard documentary fare with Johnston's own recordings, taped over the course of 20 years. Los Angeles Times and Morning Edition critic Kenneth Turan reviews The Devil and Daniel Johnston.
Culture 'Beyond Honor': An Egyptian Immigrant Story March 30, 2006 • Filmmaker Varun Khanna's new film tells the story of an immigrant Egyptian family as it struggles to keep traditions from its homeland while embracing American culture. Khanna discusses the film with Farai Chideya.
Music Interviews Beastie Boys, Filmed in Concert: 'I... Shot That!' Fresh Air March 29, 2006 • You may know them as Mike D, MCA, and Ad-Rock. Or as Michael Diamond, Adam Yauch, and Adam Horovitz. Or simply, the Beastie Boys. For their new concert film, Awesome; I... Shot That!, they gave cameras to their fans in the crowd.
Politics No More 'Street Fight': Newark Mayor Won't Run Again March 28, 2006 • Newark Mayor Sharpe James has announced he will not seek a sixth term, ending a 20-year legacy in office. James' slender victory over rival Cory Booker in the 2002 mayoral race was chronicled in the Oscar-nominated documentary Street Fight. Madeleine Brand speaks to Street Fight director Marshall Curry about Sharpe and Newark's political future.
Opinion A Hattie McDaniel U.S. Mail Stamp? March 28, 2006 • The addition of Gone with the Wind actress Hattie McDaniel to the pantheon of postage-stamp honorees has commentator Robin Washington, editorial page editor of The Duluth News Tribune in Minnesota, questioning the standards set for honoring African Americans.
Culture Seymour Cassel, Lead Character Actor Fresh Air March 27, 2006 • Actor Seymour Cassel has roles in the new TV series Heist and the film Lonesome Jim. Cassel, who comes from a showbiz family, has been acting in film and TV since 1959. His mother worked in Burlesque, and Cassel grew up backstage, amid chorus girls and sequins.
Detainees at Guantanamo Bay Docudrama Travels 'Road to Guantanamo' March 26, 2006 • Three young men who left Britain before Sept. 11 and wound up in Afghanistan were held for two years at Guantanamo Bay, but never charged. The story is the subject of a provocative British docudrama, headed for U.S. theaters this summer.
Review Culture 'Lonesome Jim,' Buscemi's Loveable Loser March 24, 2006 • The latest directorial effort from actor Steve Buscemi presents Casey Affleck -- Ben's brother -- as a depressed man who returns home to nowheresville and life with his parents after striking out in New York City as a dogwalker.
Performing Arts Dave Chappelle, Back in the Spotlight March 24, 2006 • Dave Chappelle may be the hottest comic on the block. He has a new documentary in theaters, a hip-hop concert film called Block Party. He's still doing stand-up. And DVDs of his cable TV show are selling at a fast pace.