DIRECTOR/WRITER/ACTOR The last scene of Tom McCarthy’s new movie Win Win is now one of my favorite last-scenes-in-a-movie of all time. There’s no spoiler alert – I won’t give anything away here or in the q&a where I ask Tom about it. It’s just really… read more

Writer/Actor/Director/Producer Ed Burns is the poster child of the guy that guys want to be. Talented, down-to-earth, handsome, and the kind of man who seems as comfortable being the shoulder to cry on as he is swilling beers with buddies at a dive. If that… read more

WRITER/DIRECTOR/PRODUCER Tanya Hamilton thinks the ordinary is fascinating. Based on her film, I totally agree. In her critically-lauded debut film Night Catches Us, which was much buzzed-about at Sundance, she focuses on ordinary people in a working class Philadelphia neighborhood in 1976. The film connects… read more

Andrew Nicholas McCann Smith and Rob Stockman (writers/producers) Aaron Phelan (director) It’s official: YouTube has democratized art. Now a talented artist from Bison, Kansas has precisely the same chance as anyone else to see their work presented in a preeminent museum – this is something… read more

OSCAR-WINNER DAVIS GUGGENHEIM’S NEW DOCUMENTARY “This is not just a movie, it’s a movement.” (want to be part of it? there’s an easy way at the bottom of this post) That’s how Lesley Chilcott, producer of the documentary Waiting for Superman, described her film when… read more

ACTORS Films succeed when they have great dialogue, dynamic action, incredible special effects or like-able characters. While I can’t vouch for the dialogue because the film opens on July 1 and I haven’t had a chance to screen it, it’s clear from The Last Airbender’s… read more

FILMMAKER If you’ve seen the films Babe or The Queen, the television shows “24” or “Six Feet Under,” or any number of other films or tv in the past four decades, you’ve seen the work of acclaimed actor James Cromwell. But some of the most… read more

FILMMAKER If you dare to give a child a chance, the possibilities are infinite. That’s what a new documentary, If You Dare, examines movingly through award-winning film maker Norah Shapiro’s lens. Children are natural storytellers, actors, directors (as in “please put the fish stick on… read more

writer/director, Crazy Heart I loved having a chance to sit down with Scott Cooper, an actor-turned-director who’s finding huge success his very first time behind the camera with the fantastic film Crazy Heart. He also adapted the screenplay and worked with T-Bone Burnett to create… read more

Filmmaker You know that game where you say what you’d be if you could be anything? With the exception of my pre-teen years when I wanted to be Julie McCoy, cruise director on “Love Boat,” my answer has long been “rock star.” And now, along… read more