The Drunk Projectionist

Todd Melby is joined by David M. Lubin to talk about “Sunset Boulevard,” a Hollywood classic. A quick plot summary for those who haven’t seen it: an aging silent film star (Gloria Swanson) falls in love with a struggling screenwriter (William Holden) while her butler watches (Erich von Stroheim). Billy Wilder directed the film. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Charles Brackett and D.M. Marshman, Jr. Host: Todd Melby Guest: David M. Lubin, author of Ready for My Close-Up: The Making of Suns

When Hormel cut wages like a buzz saw on a pork shoulder, unionized workers rebelled. Director Barbara Kopple traveled to Austin, Minnesota to document the 1984-85 meatpackers strike. In this episode, Kopple reveals how she gained behind-the-scenes access to key strategy sessions, how she struggled to tell a complex story involving many factions, and just how darn cold it was when workers took to the picket lines. The result was American Dream, an Oscar-winning documentary that has just receiv

In 32 Sounds, director Sam Green listens. He listens to the last male bird of a dying species chirp for a mate that will never arrive. He listens to a man who can almost hear the voices of dead lovers and friends. He listens to a musician who burned a piano in her youth for art and now records underwater sounds. And he spends a day with a foley artist who manipulates a shammy to mimic the sounds of fighting, fucking and feasting. In this episode, we talk to Green and Joanna Fang, a foley artist

In 32 Sounds, director Sam Green listens. He listens to the last male bird of a dying species chirp for a mate that will never arrive. He listens to a man who can almost hear the voices of dead lovers and friends. He listens to a musician who burned a piano in her youth for art and now records underwater sounds. And he spends a day with a foley artist who manipulates a shammy to mimic the sounds of fighting, fucking and feasting. In this episode, we talk to Green and Joanna Fang, a foley artist

In "Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker's Life," author James Curtis chronicles the silent star’s private life and pictures, including The General, One Week, The Navigator and Steamboat Bill, Jr. But it’s Keaton’s days as a performer that captivated me so we begin the episode with tales from the vaudeville stage, including details about which foot Buster's father preferred to kick him with.

In "Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker's Life," author James Curtis chronicles the silent star’s private life and pictures, including The General, One Week, The Navigator and Steamboat Bill, Jr. But it’s Keaton’s days as a performer that captivated me so we begin the episode with tales from the vaudeville stage, including details about which foot Buster's father preferred to kick him with.