Movie Exec Jason Fisher on the Next Phase of the Film & TV Industry

To celebrate 15 years of great conversations, we're revisiting Alec's first episode from 2011. Michael Douglas has lived in the same apartment overlooking Central Park for decades. Alec joins him there for a compelling conversation about what makes a great director and why playing the villain is so wonderful. Douglas reveals how competition with his father, legendary actor Kirk Douglas, shaped both his career and his life as a parent. He says he’s much more honest with his young daughter than he ever thought he’d be. Douglas explains how his father’s early brush with death, and his own cancer diagnosis affected them each in different ways. Originally released October 23rd, 2011. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Twain once likened biographies to “the clothes and buttons of the man” saying “the biography of the man himself cannot be written.” The quote is a favorite of Patricia Bosworth, a 1950s model-actor turned biographer known for capturing the lives of Diane Arbus, Montgomery Clift, and Marlon Brando. All three were revered and haunted by internal demons—a narrative she knows too well. Bosworth's own father, Bartley Crum, was a left-wing lawyer who famously defended the Hollywood Ten before succumbing to his own psychological pain. It was her father's suicide, as well as her brother's six years earlier, that instilled a strong desire to seek out the stories of other tormented souls. Patricia Bosworth's book The Men in My Life turns that voyage inward, painting a picture of a resilient woman with a tragic story of her own. Originally released August 22nd, 2017. Patricia Bosworth passed away on April 2nd, 2020. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dubbed “the hottest artist on the classical music planet” by The New York Times, pianist Lang Lang has reached a level of stardom rare for classical musicians. But his prominence is hard-won. Alec, who adores Lang Lang's charisma and talent, elicits from his guest stories of hardship during his childhood in northeastern China, and of his slow climb to the top, via Philadelphia. That's where fish-out-of-water Lang Lang showed up at the age of 15 and enrolled in public high school as well as conservatory. Throughout the interview, Lang Lang plays pieces from his latest album, Piano Book, a collection of pieces normally reserved for young learners, reinterpreted with brilliance and respect by the great master. Originally aired September 17th, 2019. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Illeana Douglas is an Emmy-nominated actress, writer, producer, director, and author whose career spans film, television, and classic-cinema preservation. The granddaughter of two-time Academy Award-winning actor Melvyn Douglas, Illeana Douglas has appeared in acclaimed films such as as “Goodfellas”, “Cape Fear”, “To Die For”, “Grace of My Heart", "Chasing Amy", "Ghost World", and "Factory Girl”. Her television credits include “Ugly Betty” and “Six Feet Under”, for which she received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress. She is also the creator and star of the award-winning web series “Easy to Assemble”. A lifelong devotee of classic cinema, Douglas has hosted several Turner Classic Movies Spotlight series and contributed to numerous film documentaries. Douglas is also an accomplished author. Her memoir, I Blame Dennis Hopper: And Other Stories from a Life Lived in and Out of the Movies, was named one of Entertainment Weekly’s best books of 2015. Her other books include Connecticut in the Movies: From Dream Houses to Dark Suburbia and the recently published Jungle Red! The Making of MGM’s The Women. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Edie Falco says she is nothing like Carmela Soprano. Nor does she have much in common with Nurse Jackie. But Falco made these characters two of the most identifiable and human women in television history. She has an armful of Emmys, Golden Globes, and Screen Actors Guild Awards—and a cadre of dedicated fans—to prove it. Along the way, she's battled cancer, raised two children on her own, and is a recovering alcoholic. But Falco doesn't want your sympathy; she tells host Alec Baldwin that her greatest professional accomplishment is creating a fun, respectful atmosphere on-set. She credits her multiple successes to good luck, great mentors, and says there's no predicting which way her career could have gone—or will go yet. Originally aired April 28th, 2015. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.