Cinematic Time
In the movies, a single cut can jump several decades. Bullets stop and linger onscreen. What do those leaps in cinematic time reveal about our own, daily experience? Three film critics dissect how...
View ArticleHong Kong Cinema
The best heroes and villains are often reflections of each other. Think of Sherlock Holmes versus Professor Moriarty or even Luke versus Darth in Star Wars. There's something of each in the other....
View ArticleSpecial Guest: Robert Altman
Kurt Andersen talks to movie director Robert Altman about art that challenges the audience.Robert Altman is one of the most respected directors in American film. A maverick who came to prominence in...
View ArticleSpecial Guest: John Waters
John Waters' films have been shocking — and amusing — audiences for 40 years. His 1972 Pink Flamingos earned him notoriety for its pure filth. But by the late 80s and 90s the mainstream was flowing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Who Should Direct an Opera Production?
At a press conference announcing New York City Opera's next season on April 18, I asked George Steel, its general manager and artistic director, what criteria he uses to match a particular stage...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Golden Age for Women in Hollywood?
A couple years ago, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Oscar for directing The Hurt Locker. It wasn’t quite the tipping point for women many in the industry had hoped for: of the 250...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What Would David Lynch Look Like as a House?
Italian architect-turned-graphic designer Frederico Babina makes funky, minimalist infographics that meld the world of architecture with music, fine art, and the animal kingdom. In a recent series of...
View ArticleMore People With Disabilities in the Arts
The 8th annual ReelAbilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival kicks off this week: a celebration of actors, filmmakers, and people with disabilities in the arts. Here to discuss more and preview their...
View Article'Office Christmas Party' Directors Josh Gordon & Will Speck
Directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon join us to talk about the new comedy “Office Christmas Party” starring Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, TJ Miller and Olivia Munn. They also tell us about their...
View ArticleA Touch of Lubitsch
Some of the wittiest, most sophisticated comedies of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s, WNYC's Sara Fishko tells us, were directed by Ernst Lubitsch - who was the idol of his fellow directors during...
View ArticleWeekly Music Roundup: Directors and Dos Santos
Week of July 2: This week, Drake, Directors, and Dos Santos. Plus a new video from Meshell Ndegeocello.PREMIERE: The NY-centric Video By Directors, Featuring Sahr NgaujahThe New York band called...
View ArticleDirectors – "So Fly" (Weekly Music Roundup)
Directors – "So Fly" (Weekly Music Roundup)The New York band called Directors features the voice of Sahr Ngaujah– you may have seen Sahr acting and singing a few years ago when he played the title role...
View ArticleFilmmakers with Disabilities
Emmy Award-winning director Jon Alpert and filmmakers Jonathan Novick, Benjamin Rosloff, and Donna Cappella discuss the U.S. theatrical premiere of All For One: Media Enabled Musketeers. The film...
View ArticleInside Tehran, America's Forgotten Border, Unruly Women
Thomas Erdbrink discusses how private life in Iran can often be at odds with its conservative clerics and leaders. Porter Fox discusses exploring 4,000 miles of the North American border between Maine...
View ArticlePakula's Paranoia
New York-born master filmmaker Alan Pakula died just 20 years ago in an auto accident. Pakula produced "To Kill a Mockingbird" and directed "Sophie's Choice," among many others. As WNYC's Sara Fishko...
View ArticleThe State of Gender (In)Equality on Broadway
As the winner of eight Tony awards, "Hadestown" has been one of the biggest Broadway shows of 2019. But the success of the musical, written by Anaïs Mitchell, has drawn attention to a perennial problem...
View ArticleErrol Morris on Steve Bannon, Self-Loathing, and Life as a Private Eye
Errol Morris’s documentaries are visually unmistakable, whether they’re about pet cemeteries or the morally bankrupt "great men" of American history. Thanks to his optical invention, the...
View ArticleAnd Another Thing, with Errol Morris
Alec wanted to know a few more things about Errol Morris's work -- so he set up a call!
View ArticleNicole Kassell on Directing 'Watchmen'
[REBROADCAST FROM NOVEMBER 18, 2019] Nicole Kassell joins us to discuss directing episodes of the HBO series "Watchmen." Kassell received the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing...
View ArticlePakula's Paranoia (2020)
New York-born master filmmaker Alan Pakula produced To Kill a Mockingbird and directed Sophie's Choice, but, as WNYC's Sara Fishko and guests tell us, he's also known for a trio of dark and urgent...
View ArticleThese Are a Few of My Favorite Things, Part 1
Today, Alec announces that Here’s The Thing is moving from WNYC to iHeartRadio. For nearly a decade, Alec has spoken with some of the greatest artists, musicians, actors, writers, thinkers, public...
View ArticleThese Are a Few of My Favorite Things, Part 2
Here’s The Thing is moving from WNYC to iHeartRadio. Over the past several years, Alec has talked with some of the greatest artists, musicians, actors, writers, thinkers, public policy makers, and...
View ArticleFilm at Lincoln Center illuminates the many facets of a South Korean auteur...
The Hong Sangsoo Multiverse, running April 8th through May 10th at Film at Lincoln Center, focuses on the intimate, disarming and structurally playful cinematic canon of South Korean director Hong...
View ArticleThe Art of Set Design
If you love theater, you've likely seen a set designed by Tony Award-winner Beowulf Boritt, from "Come From Away" to "Flying Over Sunset" to "Merry Wives" to "POTUS." Now he's drawn back the curtain on...
View ArticleOscar-Nominee Docs 2023
Here are the interviews with the makers of the five outstanding -- and very different -- films nominated for the Best Feature Documentary Oscar. How would you vote?"Navalny" directed by Canadian...
View ArticleThis Year's Oscar-Nominated Documentaries
Here are the interviews with the makers of the five outstanding -- and very international -- films nominated for the Best Feature Documentary Oscar. Check them out in advance of the March 10...
View ArticleThe Film Critic Justin Chang on What to See in 2024
The New Yorker’s newest staff member, Justin Chang, shares three films that he’s excited to see released in 2024: “Janet Planet,” the début feature film directed by the Pulitzer Prize-winning...
View ArticlePre-Tony's Conversations With Some Nominees
Loading...Ahead of the Tony Awards this weekend, we present highlights from six conversations about some of the nominated shows.[REBROADCAST FROM January 9, 2024] In the Broadway staging of the Branden...
View ArticleEmmy Awards Nominees: Reservation Dogs; Feud: Capote vs. The Swans; Mike...
Loading...*[REBROADCAST FROM January 29, 2024] The second season of the Ryan Murphyverse series "Feud" centers on the antagonistic relationships between writer Truman Capote and a group of high society...
View Article