Laura Osnes has picked up a Drama Desk award and a Tony nomination for her starring role in the current production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella on Broadway and the Original Cast Recording of the show is on sale now. As the woman playing Cinderella, we thought she might know something about Cinderella stories. She offers up three rags-to-riches tales that bring her particular delight.
Greta Gerwig appeared in last year’s remake of the movie Arthur. She co-starred in Noah Baumbach’s film Greenberg alongside Ben Stiller, and she stars in the new film Damsels in Distress, the first work in 12 years or so from celebrated indie director Whit Stillman.
What’s a classic pop song without a catchy hook? Darlene Love provided harmonies (and lead lines) on some of the biggest hits of the 1960s - singing with artists from Elvis Presley to Sam Cooke to Sonny & Cher. The new documentary Twenty Feet From Stardom digs into the role of background singers and the struggles they face when they try to break out. Brendan joins Darlene and the film’s director Morgan Neville for a conversation about these under-sung stars.
Few filmmakers today have such an instantly recognizable style and sensibility as Sofia Coppola. In her new film, The Bling Ring, she has written and directed a high-energy, satirical piece, based on true events. She talks to Rico about Parisian Pillows, self-made celebrities, and singing in the jungle.
Actress Ellen Page plays Izzy, a member of an eco-anarchist cell with vengeful intentions, in the provocative thriller The East. Ellen talks with Brendan about escaping to the woods (in real life), finding her characters’ voices, and hangin’ with Batman.
Fruit hunters are people who love fruit. And by love we mean they are completely obsessed. Yung Chang directed the documentary Fruit Hunters, and he knows first hand the love of a diverse 'magical' berry or a stinky, spiky fruit.
After a seven-year hiatus, Emmy-winning actress Jessica Walter is back to playing the booze-soaked matriarch Lucille Bluth on the sitcom Arrested Development. She’s played more than a few villains - but while directors cast her as someone audiences love to hate, in real life Ms Walter is perfectly sweet…and she graciously offers up thoughts on favorite sons (in-law), and insufferable dolts.
Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts honed his chops with short films and Funny or Die comedy videos, before taking his debut feature, The Kings of Summer to Sundance. Since the film is all about the sense of freedom the summer evokes, so Jordan offers up a few other things that evoke that seasonal sensation.
Every March, crowds in the hundreds of thousands flock to Austin, Texas for the arts festival South-by-Southwest. Co-founder Louis Black chats with Rico about why it caught fire, the tears that fuel the fest, and a memorable close-up with Johnny Cash.
Actor Laura Dern has wowed audiences in everything from the “Jurassic Park” blockbusters to independent gems like “Citizen Ruth,” “Blue Velvet,” and “Wild at Heart.” Her latest performance - the lead in HBO’s dramedy “Enlightened” - has earned raves, and netted her a Golden Globe. Brendan chats with Laura about the show’s rising political consciousness, David Lynch’s brains, and Scott Baio’s leisure suit.