ENTERTAINMENT

DIANE REHM, National Public Radio Show Host, March 19, 2002
CZIKOWSKY: If you could pick any guest for one show, who would it be?
REHM: Right now, I’d very much like to sit down with a chat with President
Bush. I hope it will happen before too much longer. There are so many subjects I’d like to discuss with him.

JIM BELLOWS, author, April 26, 2002
CZIKOWSKY: You were involved with “Entertainment Tonight”. I agree there is a need for softer news and the show seems to do a god job at providing celebrity reporting. How do you feel about the show, and are there things about the show, since you left it, that you would do differently?
BELLOWS: No, it was a wonderful experience to get into the TV world. I made it a much harder news operation that it started out to be. It was owned by Paramount and we were doing movie review but we couldn’t just do good reviews of Paramount movies. We would have lost credibility. I watch it very infrequently, so I couldn’t say, but it’s still going. We’re having a reunion this Saturday night.
CZIKOWSKY: The newspaper industry is very competitive and many papers have folded. Are there particular strengths you have seen in the newspapers that weathered those turbulent times and are still publishing? Do you see still more papers folding, and do you see competition from Internet news and cable news stations as major influences in the future of print newspapers?
BELLOWS: I think the print newspapers are going to get together with the Internet and form some kind of morphing process, so you’ve still got your paper and it will give you commentary on what’s going on and you’ve got your hot news on the screen. I think that’s possible. The wonderful PBS documentary covers all that. As far as content, I don’t think the Internet is influencing newspapers that much. I think newspapers are tame. They don’t have the passion. They don’t have the commitment to make a difference.
You need more of a crusading spirit to newspapers, where I don’t think Internet or TV can do that.

TRAVIS FOX, 2002 White House News Photographers’ Association 2002 Camera Person of the Year and Editor of the Year, May 21, 2002
CZIKOWSKY: How did you become interested in digital photography? Did you learn about it in college, on your own, or at work (or some combination thereof)? What advice would you give to others who wish to learn more about it?
FOX: I studied Photojournalism at the University of Missouri, though this was almost entirely geared towards still photography, film, or digital. I only started working with video since I’ve been with washingtonpost.com, which has been for the last three years.
In terms of advice, I’d say go out and do it. There’s nothing like practice. My experience with video would certainly indicate this. I’ve never had any video training, but through practice and (many) mistakes, I’ve learned how to tell stories with videos.

DIMITRI DOGANIS, director, June 14, 2002
CZIKOWSKY: How did you obtain the confidence of your sources (in “The Siege of Bethlehem”) in this remarkable story (of Palestinians who occupied the Church of the Nativity for 39 days), and are how confident are you that the information they provide you is accurate?
DOGANIS: As with any documentary, the confidence of our subjects was gained through a long process of trust-building. I spent 15 days and nights around the clock with them in manger square and was allowed almost unrestricted access to what they did. I feel confident they did not mislead us.

MORGAN FREEMAN, actor, July 12, 2002
CZIKOWSKY: What can we as citizens do to assist the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington?
FREEMAN: Send money. This PSA I filmed today will provide that information.

RICHARD WHITE, actor, voice of “Gaston” in “Beauty and the Beast”. January 10, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: Have you found children recognizing Gaston’s voice? If so, how do you handle it?
WHITE: Yeah, actually you do. It’s very flattering…strangely enough, the human voice is one of the most recognizable things in the world, which is why Disney rarely repeats voices.

KATE BALDWIN, actor, January 10, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: It is great that audiences still respond to revivals of great plays. In this era of creative battles to present something audiences have not seen, it is refreshing to know that sometimes audiences can see adaptations of something with which we are familiar. What do you think audiences are seeking these days?
BALDWIN: As an artist, we’re only interested in presenting good, dramatic stories with a point of view and entertaining. I think it is a mistake to pander to an audience and that audiences are much smarter than we give them credit for. If you set the bar high, audiences will follow and respond. “South Pacific” is one of the greatest musicals ever written and stands the test of time. We’re dealing with the same issues in contemporary life that are presented in the show. It makes me mad when people say something is dated.

ANTOINE FISHER, author, January 13, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: You were a security guard at a motion picture studio and your story gained the attention of important studio executives. How did you get their attention? What were their reactions to your story?
FISHER: I wasn’t looking for attention. I simply had a story working there and I found my family and I hadn’t been there long enough to acquire leave, so I had to tell my boss why I wanted to go. And my boss told people on the lot about my story.
CZIKOWSKY: Derek Luke has never starred in a movie before. Denzel Washington has never directed a movie before. Does this bring fresh perspectives to the movie, or did you find some “rookie mistakes” in how they handled matters?
FISHER: It’s not like I’m an expert. I would depend more on Denzel than myself or Derek Luke. Denzel was the genius behind all of the film. When you see something you like, give Denzel Washingotn the credit.

RON SHORT, Elvis Presley impersonator, January 21, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: Several years ago, there was a reported sighting of Elvis Presley in the Capitol in Harrisburg. Theory in the press: Elvis is alive. My theory: it was an Elvis impersonator that was spotted. Do you find people think you’re the real Elvis?
SHORT: I don’t think anyone has ever thought I was the real Elvis except for a couple of people that the bartender forgot to quit serving after they hit their limit. One guy did have me hold his new baby for a photo pose and told me he was going to tell him when he grows up that it was the real Elvis. People always seem to enjoy the show and compliment me about the way I look and perform. I always enjoy it and the people are great!

CHUCK BARRIS, former television host, January 21, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: How happy are you with the movie version of your book (“Gong Show”)? Would you have included anything you think was missing, or perhaps removed anything that was included?
BARRIS: Okay. I’m over the top happy with the film. I’m proud of it. Clooney and the cast did a wonderful job. I must say that Charlie Kaufman pulled out of the book the best possible screenplay, but there is a lot of Kaufmanisms that are slightly strange and I might’ve insisted that they—like me being dressed as a girl as a little kid—that never happened.

HERSHEY FELDER, actor, star and author of “George Gershwin Alone”, January 31, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: How long did it take you to memorize, prepare, and rehearse for this show?
FELDER: The process took three years. From inception to the point where I was most comfortable to say that this was a complete work, there were several levels of development. The first was discovery, the second, research, the crafting of the material and then the ability to leave go of the writer and become the actor. And for the first six months of performance I couldn’t completely leave go of the writer because I would hear things on the stage that didn’t resonate as true as I wanted, and so continued on my path of discovery with the help of other artists to bring the work to its current form. As a pianist, studying and performing the music came first because it is very clear what George left us. However, presenting the man was an altogether complicated affair which took a great deal of time to discover the theatrical truth. And it is thanks to the public and the play’s director that we were able to assemble a text that resonated with both story and form to create this piece of theater.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post TV columnist, February 6, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: You know what would be very relaxing: a reality television show where you can sit and just watch what most Americans do naturally: sit and watch television. Think of the excitement: what shows will the TV viewers pick to watch? How often do they nod off? Are they aware of their children sneaking out of the house? Throw in arguments over who controls the remote, and it could be on the Fox network.
DE MORAES: I think there was some TV station that did a show like that once, only it was a fish tank…Same thing…

GUIRINDER CHADHA, director and screenwriter, February 19, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: The plot of this movie (“Bend It Like Beckham”) appears to be very creative and interesting. There are several avenues of intriguing conflicts with interesting twists. It has potential appear to many kinds of audiences. How was the ides for this script and movie developed?
CHADHA: I wanted to do something autobiographical about growing up in that part of West London and being English and Indian at the same time. The story lines, though, become very universal. So it’s done will in Britain and South Africa, India, Europe, and has done something like $50 million here—which I never expected. So it has put girls (soccer) game on the map. I wanted to show what it was like to be privileged to be part of two cultures to be how you balance the two.
CZIKOWSKY: Are you hopeful this movie will encourage more women to take up soccer?
CHADHA: When this film came out in England, we had the number for the women’s soccer association in England. They couldn’t handle the calls that came in. These were calls from women wanting to set up their own leagues. Just recently, there was a report on the BBC where the correspondent in Delhi, India said the popularity of the movie has caused a girls’ football league because of the film. So young girls were playing in the street after the film came out. That makes me really happy because I didn’t intend that.
I wanted to make the film because when I was in L.A. in 1999 I bought a pair of Nike trainers and got some free tickets to the Women’s World Cup, so I went and I was absolutely bowled out by watching the U.S. women play China. That was great. On top of that, I’ll ever forget seeing the stadium filled with 90,000 spectators. The looks on their faces—it was a rush and I couldn’t get over the faces of these girls jumping up and down and I really wanted to capture that—women cheering women. I think it is such a bonus.

ERIC BRACE, musician, February 21, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: How far along have your planned your next album? Do you have any songs prepared and, if so, what are they like?
BRACE: We’ve got a bunch of songs ready to go…some already recorded in fact…so we could make the next record tomorrow, if we wanted to …but we want to see where our “thing” goes over the next few months, and try different things…different styles (you’ll hear many new sounds on the new record, as compared to the last couple) but mostly they’re just solid pop-songs, rooted in some accepted forms of “American popular music…country, rock, swing, pop, bluegrass, tin pan alley…but I want to get even more ambitious…we’ll see…

STEPHANIE SLEWKA, filmmaker, February 24, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: If you had never been to Maine before this film (“On This Island”), what brought you to desire to do a film in Maine?
SLEWKA: Viewers in places as diverse as the Islands of Lake Erie and a canal in Paris have said the film resonated with them because of the story it tells. It was the story that drew. Had it been as far away as Timbuktu, I’d have been drawn to make it. Of course, if North Haven were closer to Washington, D.C., it would have made it all the easier. Maine now has a place in my heart and I hope to get up there before the winter is over. That’s when I first went and I prefer it in all its bleakness.
CZIKOWSKY: It was a great compromise to allay the fear of residents of exposing children to the arts by directing the children to explore their own heritage within their arts. Was most local opposition quieted after the presentation, or are there some die hards left who still dislike the idea of instilling arts within the education of their young?
SLEWKA: Maybe with a few people. What really changed the atmosphere on the island, it seems to me, were the town meetings held to discuss whether to take the show to New York after 9/11. Everyone who had something to say was allowed to say what was on their heart or on the mind—it was an epic meeting, lasting hours. The fact that everyone was listened to seemed to bring about a change in feeling towardst he Islands show and the arts program.
CZIKOWSKY: A movie agent once told me “No one in Hollywood will ever set a movie in Maine, unless you’re Stephen King”. What would your advice be to Hollywood about doing more filming in Maine?
SLWEKA: It sounds familiar. If you know for how long many people had told me this film was not commercial and would never make the air, I’d invite you to help me pluck out my gray hairs, but I save that activity for airplane rides.
“But it’s a magical story”, I told one TV executive. “Magic doesn’t sell”, he answered and changed the subject.
I wouldn’t presume to tell Hollywood what to do but all I can advise you is: Never say die!

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Television Columnist, February 27, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: I confess I did not watch “Joe Millionaire” and only know what I’ve read and seen on commercials. Wouldn’t it have been an interesting plot twist if some second character, say the butler, really was worth $50 million and it was his mansion all along? The woman would then have a choice: does she wish to marry Joe or the rich millionaire? Which do you think most of the women would have chosen?
DE MORAES: I’m with you. I was hoping for a more Fox-lie twist at the end and was disappointed that the surprise ending was so trendy and Disney-lie---I think some of the women absolutely would have picked Paul and cash over Evan…the butler was far more charming.

BILLY JOE SHAVER, singer, March 13, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: What can you tell us about Elvis? How many times did you meet Mr. Presley, and what was he like towards you?
SHAVER: I met Elvis the day I turned 17 in Dallas, Texas. I had just joined the Navy and he was getting on a plane, August 16, 1956. And he died on my birthday, too. We was on a plane and guys I knew said he was a really nice guy. Later he recorded one of my songs “Long Ago and Far Away:. But he was already dead before I knew he had recorded it.

DOE MAYER, Film Professor, University of Southern California
CZIKOWSKY: Since you are the Mary Pickford Professor, let me please ask out of curiosity: did her estate endow this chair or was this created out of respect for this important figure in film?
MAYER: Yes, the estate endowed a chair in her name through the Mary Pickford Foundation. Their job is to promote Mary Pickford’s legacy to the broader world. They also support students and scholarships and have an interest in disseminating her films more widely.

EMANUEL CRIALESE, director, May 7, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: Have people in Lampedusa seen the film (“Respiro”)? If so, what have been their reactions?
CRIALESE: The reaction has been the most amazing for me. They showed up in an improvised theater that we brought in on the island to screen the film and they sat throughout the whole film like statues with no noise. Just like statutes. Considering this is a community that doesn’t sit still for a moment, this reaction was amazing. They didn’t move.
After seeing it, the ones who worked on the film were very moved and enthusiastic. Especially moved. The other ones who weren’t in the film, some of them thought I gave too old of images of Lampedusa. They said, “We have cell phones, we have TVs, why weren’t they in the move” and I said I didn’t need to see them because I wanted to concentrate all of my attention to them, to the people and their relationships.

MARK MOSKOWITZ, filmmaker, May 8, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: Your story reminds me of a true life, although vastly different, situation that faced my father. Years ago, he edited a book and wishes to use a chapter written by another. Unfortunately, they had difficulty tracking down the author to request his permission and to determine where to send royalties. They tracked down the author’s former agent who then tracked him down to discover he had moved out of the country. While the agent and the author were talking, the agent mentioned a role in a movie. The author was persuaded to return to try for the role, received the role, and had a successful career in supporting roles in movies and television. I also think: that would not have happened if so much effort was not spent trying to discover what happened to a writer that had mostly been forgotten. Do you think about the “what ifs” in life, which appears to be a theme in your work?
MOSKOWITZ: I love this question. I think about this all the time. In the movie we talk about Harold and the Purple Crayon, a kid’s book where Harold draws his own world in as he goes. Kind of Truman Show in reverse.
The movie very much takes this approach. We don’t find any answers ahead of time, just kind of twist and turn to where impulse takes us and we find that’s ok—life goes on, we find answers, ask more questions.
It is far different than journalistic work where the task is find or create news and provide answers for the audience. I much prefer the audience to participate and bring their own intelligence to stuff.

ZAY HARDING, “Globe Trekker” Program Host, May 15, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: Have you ever feared, during your travels, that your life was in danger? How do you prepare for unexpected emergencies?
HARDING: The Boy Scout motto is “Be Prepared”. I try to picture my worst fears and counter them with a remedy that I need to bring along with me. Also, common sense plays a huge part in my journeys. And always, always, always, ask the locals, “What areas are safer and what can I do to stay safe?” Somehow, locals always know these things. Why make the same mistake twice? Learn from someone who has already seen or experienced something or someone who learned the hard way so you don’t have to.

SISTER SLEDGE, vocal group, May 21, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: Please tell us more about the America’s Heroes of Freedom. What are their goals and how did you become involved with them?
CATHY (manager): America’s Heroes of Freedom is a non-profit organization which approached Sister Sledge to participate in this evening’s event to honor women who have served in the Armed Services. Sister Sledge was honored to be asked to participate in recognizing these American heroes. You can find out more about the organization by visiting their Web site at www.americasheroes.com.
JONI: Thank you for asking.
CZIKOWSKY: Do the members of Sister Sledge devote their lives to performing with Sister Sledge, or do you have other careers? If so, what do you do when you are not performing as Sister Sledge?
DEBBIE: First of all, I’m a mom of some wonderful children and that’s a career in itself. We all are soloists but we find it extremely rewarding to sing together as a unit. I feel this increases the power four-fold.
KATHY: I have a 10 year old soccer playing, basketball shooting kid who wants to build cyberhomes. Sister Sledge gets squeezed in between. (SMILES) Thank God I love to sing.
KIM: I love to sing with my sisters and I do have other things that I do: attend basketball, softball, field hockey, piano recitals and it goes on and on. Can you guess that I’m a mom? Also, I’m active in church and I have a solo gospel CD project called “Peaceful” which is out now.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post TV columnist, May 22, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: I have a question about those reality shows. A major theme in most of these shows is one person is eliminated from the show every week. Yet, the idea of most television shows (except for “The Practice”, but I digress) is to build characters with whom the public creates appreciations for. In a reality show, many people get like a character only to find that character suddenly removed from the show. Has anyone studied this premise: would the public appreciate a reality show where the characters remain through the run of the show and are either rewarded through competition or only rapidly eliminated towards the very end of the show’s run?
DE MORAES: I think that’s called a newsmagazine…

IAN WRIGHT, “Globe Trekker” Program Host, May 29, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: If you could pick just one place to go, right now, where would you pick, and why would you decide to go there?
WRIGHT: Cairo…It was my first non-Western country visited and it blew my socks off. Or Broadsteps in Kent, England. I adore English sea side stuck in the fifties, it must be a throw back from my childhood.

MEGAN McCORMICK, “Glove Trekker” Program Host, June 5, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: You have seen many fascinating places. If could leave, right now, for anywhere, where would you go, and why?
McCORMICK: Bhutan, because it is still untouched and I imagine it to be a very beautiful inspiring place.

GREGOR JORDAN, filmmaker, June 17, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: There are many different ways to approach the military black market. “Catch 22” presented one aspect. Is there a particular point of view or message you wish this movie (“Buffalo Soliders”) to portray?
JORDAN: Just looking at the idea of how soldiers focus their violent energy. You know, guys who are trained to kill, in the art of warfare, and then there’s no war—where do they focus all that energy? When you think about it, the training is all based around what would be highly illegal in any other context. And considering that the Army at that time had gone through an incredible period of development, after Vietnam the Army was very unpopular and they had a hard time getting recruits, so 40 percent had high school diplomas and they had this program where you could choose the Army or jail. Added to that, on the other side of the world in a country you’re unfamiliar with and there’s no war, it shouldn’t surprise these people are up to no good.

NINA GILDEN SEAVEY, SILVERDOCS Film Festival Director, June 19, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: Is there a guide or a web site or something you could recommend where people have reviewed the movies you are offering?
SEAVEY: There is not a specific place to do movie reviews for the whole festival but there have been a number of write-ups that include descriptions of our offerings. The entertainment section of the washingtonpost.com includes a good deal of information about the festival.
CZIKOWSKY: What is the screening process for determining which films are shown at your festival?
SEAVEY: There are over 1,000 submissions from 68 countries that applied to SILVERDOCS this year. We are screening 74 films.
We had over 50 screeners from around the Washington metropolitan area who did a first look for us with written evaluations and then a national programming committee, headed by our Program Director, Mary Kerr, selected approximately 130 films from which our staff made the final selections.

LeVAR BURTON, actor, June 25, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: You have testified regarding online piracy on movies before the California legislature. Is this a state issue, a federal issue, or both? What can state governments do to combat online piracy? BURTON: Another great question. I think state legislatures have an opportunity and responsibility to navigate this issue fairly on behalf of both consumer constituents as well as those of large business. One of the enjoyable things for me in going to Sacramento was meeting with lawmakers who seemed to be absolutely up to date on both the technology aspects, as well as the issues of creative and economic rights.

JACK VALENTI, President, Motion Picture Association of America, June 26, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: LeVar Burton discussed that state governments could become involved in combating online piracy. What precisely do you recommend that state governments could do to fight what is a national and international problem?
VALENTI: Eight states have already passed anti-piracy laws which make it illegal to steal a copyrighted product. I hope more will follow suit.

PAM HOUSTON, Writer, July 7, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: Please tell us about “Sighthound”. What is it about?
HOUSTON: Sighthound is about an Irish Wolfhound, and all of the human lives he changes in his seven years on Earth. The working title of Sighthound was “The One Right Dog” and the book is based on the idea that if a human is living correctly the dog will come to them that will teach them everything they need to know. I had such a dog in my life, and like Martha Washington, he taught me about love, and loss, and how you can’t have one without the other, and how that is a bargain absolutely worth making.
CZIKOWSKY: It is dark. It is dreary. It is night. I want to write. What are the most common mistakes new writers make?
HOUSTON: I don’t think of it as “mistakes”. What gets in the way of all writers, new and seasoned, I think, is fear. I try to get around my fear by focusing on the physical world. The smells and sights and sounds all around me. I suppose one thing I see in new writers is that they don’t trust their reader quite enough…they tell too much (surely you’ve heard the old show don’t tell maxim). Readers are smart, and they love to enter a story and solve its mysteries themselves.

STEPHEN FREARS, director, July 14, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: What is your career path that led you to direct? I realize it is a difficult field to enter. Other than your obvious talent, how did you get others to recognize your talent?
FREARS: You won’t believe this, but it’s all been sort of an accident. It was never my intention to be a film director not my intention to come to Hollywood. I would make a film and then see what job I could get from it.
CZIKOWSKY: Knowing how long it takes to produce a movie, I presume you are actually onto other projects. What are your current or planned movie projects?
FREARS: I thought I was going to make a film called “Monkey Face” but it collapsed on Friday which means I have to get a job which means I have to find a film I want to direct.
So what I’ll do is read scripts that people send me all the time.

LIZA MUNDY, Washington Post Staff Writer, July 21, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: I saw Colleen Haskell acting once without knowing who she was, and I thought she did a very good job. If people judged her alone, besides her celebrity, I think she would be well thought of. How does her acting future appear?
MUNDY: I agree about Colleen. She is smart and telegenic and for a person with no acting training, does well on camera. I asked her what she thought might have happened if she had been cast, say, in a good indie film, rather than a dumb, superficial show-biz vehicle like the Animal. She agreed that she might have felt differently about acting if she could have found more interesting material. But basically, she says she just never had the desire to act—in college, she ran lights backstage—so the auditions just didn’t seem worth it to her. I think the whole thing just felt ludicrous and weird to her. She does want to be a producer—she likes that aspect of entertainment—but I don’t think she’s going to change her plans and seek a way to get back on camera.
CZIKOWSKY: We have seen people hurt during reality shows. Have the producers of reality shows planned ahead what to do should someone be killed or seriously injured during a show? If so, what preparations have they made?
MUNDY: I wonder that myself. I know that on Survivor, there were doctors present on the island in case anybody got seriously sick. As for the shows you’re talking about—I assume you mean the action-competition shows—I don’t know for sure, but I would think that anybody competing on these shows must sign some big-time liability waiver. I do recall that a couple of women were genuinely, seriously injured on one show, don’t recall which one. I agree with you that many of these shows seem to be a lawsuit waiting to happen. Wait till somebody on Fear Factor turns out to be deathly allergic to earthworms, and just never knew it before.

MICHAEL MEDVED, film critic, August 6, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: Which is more offensive, “The Passion” as an offense towards Jews, or “Gigli” as an offense towards the filmgoing public?
MEDVED: You know the answer to that. Gigli isn’t just an offense to moviegoers—it’s a crime against humanity.
CZIKOWSKY: Has there been any word from scholars on how well the Aramaic language is presented (in “The Passion”). If this film appeals to every one on Earth who speaks the language, it will still need a few more viewers to break even. It is interesting, though, that the film attempts to capture the original language. Did you find this brought anything to the movie that the audience could appreciate, or is it just something of interest to note?
MEDVED: I study in Aramaic several times a week, of course, because that is the language of the Talmud and of many prayers in the traditional Jewish liturgy. The pronunciation of Aramaic in the film is wildly uneven. Some of the actors seem to speak the language with authority, others seem to struggle and to garble the words. A few dozen movie goers may notice this but I’ll plead guilty to being one of them.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, August 7, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: Can we put all 400 candidates for Governor in a Big Brother house and just eliminate them, one by one, each week? At least that would be a show with a good seven year run.
DE MORAES: I would watch that show!

THE O’JAYS (Eddie Levert, Walter Williams, and Eric Grant), vocalists, August 11, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: OK, Eddie. Walter, and Eric, please answer this question individually: if the three of you were competitors at a singing talent contest, who would most likely win, and why?
GRANT: I think it would be a sing-off between Walter and Eddie.
LEVERT: I don’t think I’d wanna in that. I just do what I do. Walter can do a lot of things with his voice, he’s just a little lazy.
WILLIAMS: Walter would probably concede. (Because he’s lazy.)
CZIKOWSKY: Has the record industry become more respectful of artists since when you began? Did you feel you were treated fairly by the record companies when you started? Who have been some of the people who have treated you the best?
LEVERT: I don’t think as an artist the dues that you have to pay to get where you want to go…you have to come in under somebody else’s umbrella. That’s never fair. That’s yours, that’s what you thought of. But now you’ve gotta share that. You have to bring something for a company in order for it to want. It’s a constant thing. It never stops. They can give you so much more money per album. You got this money. But if you’re smart, then they’ll say you have to pay for all the recording costs. They get you with little slick things like that. They should be paying for that. If I paid for the record and paid for it out of my advance, then I should own the masters. That’s unfair. I don’t want to sound like I’m crying. This business has been very good to The O’Jays. We’ve come from obscurity to where we are now and it looks like we’ll be here until we die. Just little things like that, if you don’t know, you can get caught up in. Those are the little traps.
Like the hip-hop artists, they own their own thing and that’s good. But it all depends on how good it is depending on how was to get on the way out the door. To get on the air. To get it played. To get it on a labor with a major distributor.
WILLIAMS: The record companies advance you the money to record and normally it’s a lot of money, anywhere from $200,000 up. They’re taking a big gamble and it’s hit or miss. Unless you are known to sell a million or two million out the door.
LEVERT: The radio stations are concentrated now. They have a format that they stick to. That’s why you hear the same thing every day in every town. I don’t know who dictates who this list is but it’s why they’re able to sell all those records.
WILLIAMS: I can tell you who dictates that record list. Franklin…He’s the guy.

RICHARD STRATTON, “Street Time” Executive Producer, August 12, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: Parole? What is that? I have read about it in history books. Yet, ever since Willie Horton and since Tom Ridge in Pennsylvania beat up on his opponent for Governor for paroling someone who then committed murder, no politician dares parole anyone in Pennsylvania. So, please explain to me what this “parole” is? My serious question: do you deal with the issue of how politics gets involved in parole? No system is perfect, yet there are problems when people are locked in prisons with no chance of parole (why should they then behave while in prison?). Thus, so long as parole is political, at least in Pennsylvania, forgettaboutit. Any comments, please?
STRATTON: It’s very true at the state and federal level, parole has become a political football. It is being passed and forth amongs politicians to gain support from the public’s fear of crime and the whole issue of what to do when people break the law. I would agree with you that without parole, you don’t have the incentives for people to rehabilitate themselves in prison and get out earlier. Another point is that if you get someone who has been locked up for 10-15 years and you cut them loose straight into the street without any support system or no supervision, this is a recipe for disaster. Finally from the law enforcement perspective, parole is the last line of defense against the criminal class so the parole officer by virtue of the fact that he has an intimate relationship with the parolee is also able to gather a lot of intelligence as to what the people on the brink of breaking the law are up to.
For assistance, after Sept. 11 people coming out of parole who had associations with various terrorist organizations who were on parole led astute parole officers into a world that they might not otherwise had access to. I think parole can work from a law enforcement standpoint and the standpoint of an ex-offender who wants to go straight. And it can help the community against the people who are a real danger.
CZIKOWSKY: Having researched issues of women’s health care in prison, I don’t think most people realize how this is often among the most neglected population in our country when it comes to providing health care. What are some of the themes of your wife’s book, and your movie, and what messages, if any, would you like to get across to the public?
STRATTON: I would agree with you that this is one of the most neglected populations in the country. There is a great quote from Dosteyevsky that does something like “to judge the degree of civilization in its country, enter its prisons”. We have over 2.2 million people in prison, the highest incarceration rate in the world, yet we are the land of the free and many of those people are ordinary people who made mistakes and got caught. The war on drugs is responsible for over 60% of the people in prison and drug use and abuse is a health care issue.
CZIKOWSKY: What are some things you would like state legislators to know about prison life, including prison violence? There is a debate in Pennsylvania on the staffing compliments of our prisons. I have toured one prison where three guards are left to supervise large work areas where the inmates showed us how they use of the work area to make knives. What would you want your legislators to know about prisons?
STRATTON: I would like to see my legislators all to do some time in prison and see first hand from their own experience what a dehumanizing experience it can be. I think about a Pennsylvania Attorney General who went to prison and who used to be for the death penalty but after he served in prison, he did a complete change of face. There are a number of these judges and politicians—people who have gone to prison and changed their entire thinking about it.

GILLIAN GRISMAN, director, and ALICIA SAMS, producer, August 15, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: Thank you for bringing this music before so many more people. It is good for all of us to learn more about different kinds of music. What was the selection process in determining which music made it into your series?
GRISMAN: We selected our artists mostly by word of mouth. Having grown up in the American roots music scene, I already had quite a few personal relationships with these musicians and then it built out from there. Similar to one of your friends saying “Hey check out this band” or “buy this CD”. That’s how it was for Alicia and I.
SAMS: One thing we learned doing the series is that musicians are always eager to turn you on to other musicians. So, we also learned from our artists and from the web.
The shows are theme-based and so part of our criteria was finding artists that were not only breaking out and innovative and playing good music but also had something to offer within the window or scene that we were presenting. We also tried to look around the country and spread it out regionally. So we’re really just beginning. For every artists in the show there were a handful more that could have been in there—which is inspiring to us. The overall quest that there are more artists that we can use and answers the question in our mind if traditional music is a dying breed or is the torch being carried on. These shows are answers to me that there are many musicians that are carrying the tradition of American roots music on and redefining it and making it accessible to younger and broader audiences.

ERIC BYLER, filmmaker, August 22, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: I have not seen your movie, yet it touches on an interesting topic. I have found that it is possible for men and women to develop a close relationship without physically attraction. Yet, what happens when one party becomes physically attracted to the other over time, and the other does not reciprocate? Does your movie address this theme?
BYLER: Yes, this is a topic that interests me. It’s only interesting though if both people are compassionate and care about the others’ feelings. Like, if a woman has a crush on me, but I don’t feel the same way, I’m worried about how she feels, and try not to hurt her feelings, but then end up getting myself in trouble. There’s a girl in the film who does this…
In my experience, there isn’t so much a development over time, it usually happens at the start or never. If you need eight years to convince someone they love you, maybe they aren’t the right person for you. Well, what do I know…forget I said that.
CZIKOWSKY: What would you like audiences to gain or take away for themselves after viewing your movie?
BYLER: Hmmm, that question seems to come up more often when the story has ethnic people in it. But the truth is there is no lesson, or moral, or educational value—at least not n my intended artistic approach.
The creed and the aim for me and my collaborators was “be honest and reveal”.
I guess I’d like people to watch and say, wow, that was really real.

RIC BURNS, filmmaker, September 5, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: And now for a question of critical importance to many New Yorkers and those born in New York currently elsewhere: do you think the Yankees will win another division title in 2003?
BURNS: I’m sure they’ll win a division title. I don’t think they’ll take the pennant.
CZIKOWSKY: As one who loves New York City, I agree that it is a fascinating city to learn about. Have you considering examining another city and producing films and books about its history?
BURNS: I’m working on a series on the history of Los Angeles right now, so yes.

TOM McCARTHY, film writer and director, September 5, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: What research did you do to develop this script? Did the actors have any input into dialogue changes? What did the actors think of the characters they were playing? This appears to be a fascinating theme for a movie (“The Station Agent”), and I look forward to seeing it. In general, I am wondering how you developed the theme of the need for connecting with other people, and whether you added to this theme at all within your movie while making the movie.
McCARTHY: I spent three months researching the railroad and trains and through my research, began to explore the themes of connection and isolation, primarily because of the unifying effects trains had on this country.
Yes, I wrote the parts specifically for my three lead actors and therefore relied on their input throughout the process.

MARCIA BELL, singer and pianist, September 8, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: I am glad the blues is receiving greater recognition. How did you become involved in this (“Piano Blues”) project?
BELL: Well, the mechanics of it, I think, were probably that the producers were working with Rounder and Alligator records—my labels—and that’s where they started to explore the current blues artists and my name came up. It’s not a huge club, especially among piano players. Then one of Clint (Eastwood)’s producers called and that always gets your attention. When someone says “Mr. Eastwood wants to talk to you.”

PHILIP GLASS, conductor and composer, September 9, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: I recall several decades ago in Philadelphia when there were people who did not understand and appreciate your work who were very critical. I recall some critic claiming you[re music was too simple. I heard your music and loved it. If that was simple, then there is musical beauty in simplicity. Do critics bother you? If they do, just recall, their comments do draw people like me to learn about you and hear for ourselves.
GLASS: Critics have a very difficult job and mostly they have to hear work that they are unfamiliar with and most of the time they don’t have the education, background, and sophistication to know what they are listening to. I think they are often well-intended but poorly equipped to write about the things in front of them. There are some good writers in the music world and they have been very helpful in making known to the general public, work that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. But to be truthful, these kinds of people are very rare.

BOBBY RUSH, musician, September 11, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: It is great there is a series (“The Road to Memphis”) focusing on the blues. You are an obvious choice for this program. How did you come to be involved with the show?
RUSH: A gentleman called and asked if I’d do an interview. I almost passed then found that BB King was involved and Bobby Bland. So I wanted to be involved. I wanted the three Bs together for the first time. I believe I’d just be a small part of this until someone thought hey, that’s the real deal—I think it was Martin Scorcese. And here I am with a main part of it. I believe I play a big part of it as an entertainer. So I’m hoping the public will see me in the same fashion that the producers do.

CHRIS THOMAS KING, musician, September 15, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: It is great the blues is getting so much attention. How did you become involved with this project (“The Soul of a Man”)?
KING: I got a call from the director Wim Wenders about 18 months ago and he told me about the part of the film he was going to make. When I was in L.A., he invited me to his studio/house and we talked about the film where he was going to have Skip James as his main subject. At that time, “O Brother Were Art Thou” was still in theaters and I had already sang Skip James songs in the film and for the soundtrack. For those that don’t know, that is the best selling blues recording that I know about. I think it’s about 8 million copies sold now.
When Wim told me he wanted the actor to lip synch Skip James’ original recording I lost interest. But when he mentioned Blind Willie Johnson, doing a piece on an artist I felt passionate about, Blind Willie Johnson ended up being the main narrative and the Soul of a Man comes from his song. For me as an actor, playing a blind man was more of a challenge and I also felt passionate about his music.

ROBERT DUVALL, actor, September 16, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: You are very talented and I look forward to seeing this movie (“Secondhand Lions”). Knowing the length of time involved in film projects, I am wondering what projects you have been involved with since or are planning to be involved?
DUVALL: I have no specific plans and I’m taking a vacation from doing four projects this year.
CZIKOWSKY: How did you come to be involved in this project?
DUVALL: New Line Productions called me and I was working on “Open Range”. And by day I was doing the movie and by might I was memorizing the lines for “Secondhand Lions”. It worked out okay and I got the part that I wanted.
Hub is an interesting guy as a mercenary and he gets to know this kid to make him a better man. Growing old in life and not trying to be tabbed useless, he finds this kid who teaches him to live his life out a little longer.
Overall, you have to put what’s in you into a character. Sitting around and holding court, sharing stores on the front porch are some of the things I could identify with. There is always some part of you in a character. I contacted some universities to research the whole concept of sleepwalking and dreaming and how to play that part of the script.
CZIKOWSKY: Unless this is a secret, what is your movie on northern Argentina about?
DUVALL: There’s no movie and it’s just a faint idea.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post TV Columnist, September 18, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: This is probably a question more for David E. Kelley than for you, but perhaps you may have some opinions. Despite the “same old, same old” feeling some of us have for television, I believe many viewers develop an affiliation with their favorite television shows. They may not want to see the same story lines over and over and view characters who never grow, yet I believe some characters almost becoce a friend who enters their homes on a regular basis and we want to know what is new with these characters. That said, why did “The Practice” shed so many of its characters only to add new characters? Even if it had to reduce characters to meet a lower payroll, wouldn’t it have been better to save a familiar supporting character than to introduce a new supporting character? Or, do you believe I am off base, and the audience demands fresh, new characters?
DE MORAES: Money and viewers. The show had a lot of viewers, which enabled ABC to pay a much smaller license fee to renew the show. Kelley then turned around and slashed many of the high-price cast members, much to their surprise. I think Kelley is hoping that new cast members brings new viewers.

RICHARD PEARCE, director, October 1, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: B.B. King, Bobby Rush, and American blues have international followings. Does this series (“The Road to Memphis”) consider the worldwide impact the blues has had?
PEARCE: I think in so far as we are looking at the blues as an American phenomenon. We may at first glance be ignoring it as an international phenomenon but wait until Mike Figgs’ film about the British rockers and the blues and you’ll get a sense of how important the international response was to the awakening of the blues for Americans.

MARC LEVIN, director, October 3, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: How did you become involved with this project (“Godfathers and Sons”)? Will it be shown on European television?
LEVIN: My understanding is yes and it is an international effort. I was in Venice three weeks ago and I know that the CDs and DVDs are going on sale in October. But I don’t know the airdates in Europe.
I have a good friend I went to college with Reaffaelle Donato who worked for Scorsese for twenty years and it was through him that I brought Marty and Alex Gibiney the program. I was there at the creation of the whole thing and I immediately put in my request for Chicago.

PETER MAX, artist, October 3, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: One portion of your career included working with The Beatles and their Apple label. How did you find working with the people at Apple and what did you think of the experience?
MAX: I never worked with Apple direct but I met the Beatles, one-by-one, independently. I met Paul first in 1966. I met him over the phone when he called to tell me how much he and John liked my work. I then got to meet John through my good friend Yoko who I knew for a year and a half before she met John. She’s a fabulous conceptual artist and has wonderful museum shows everywhere. Then years later in the late 70s/early 80s, one night late in a penthouse Indian restaurant on Central Park there was Ravi Shankar with George Harrison and the owner of the restaurant took me to them and introduced me. I sat down with them at about 10:00 at night and about 11:30 Ravi Shankar left and George and I sat there ‘til 4 in the morning talking. Talking about Indian gurus.

DAYTON DUNCAN, filmmaker, October 7, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: How did Horatio Nelson Jackson get back to California? Anything worthy of a sequel on the return journey?
DUNCAN: He didn’t go back and he went home to Vermont. His wife had left San Francisco by train so his drive was one way drive west to east to reach New York City and then his home in Vermont.

ROB BECKER, comedian, October 10, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: How did the idea of “Defending the Caveman” originate and evolve from conception onto the stage?
BECKER: I was doing sand-up comedy. Then, I got engaged to my wife Erin. We had grown up in the 70’s and had bought the idea that men and women are alike. But, soon we realized we were very different and trying to be alike was killing our relationship. So, we started talking about our differences. Immediately, we started laughing instead of fighting. So, I included these things in my comedy and people laughed so hard I couldn’t believe it. So, I started doing some research, added more—came up with the hunter gatherer thing from studying Anthropology and decided put all this together in a one person show. It was an immediate phenomenon and it has been to Broadway and set the record the longest running solo show in the history of the Great White Way!! Stop me—I’m bragging.
CZIKOWSKY: How do you get the spear through airport security?
BECKER: Easy—no metal. Only rock and wood. Plus, since it isn’t in my shoes, this seems to confuse security,

MARTIN CAMPBELL, film director, October 16, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: When a script goes through 12 drafts and usually several different screenwriters, how do you avoid losing the cohesiveness that an original author has for his or her works?
CAMPBELL: “Beyond Borders” was written by Caspian Teadwell-Owen and Oliver Stone. The only other writer was someone I hired to do the final draft. So essentially, the movie basically reproduced the intentions of Oliver and Caspian.

SARAH KELLOGG, Executive Director, Reel Affirmations, October 17, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: What is the criteria for a film to be considered a “gay and lesbian” film? Must it be about issues of interests to the gay and lesbian community? May it be produced by gay and lesbian filmmakers and deal with other subjects not directly related to the gay and lesbian community?
KELLOGG: Well, the criteria has changed over the years. Since GLBT folks have become more visible, their stories are more prominent than ever before. That means there is room for us to be both the center of the story or to be an important counterpoint to it. We try to view it from the most liberal interpretation, because we’d hate to miss a great film because we were too narrow. That’s why we have a category as “of interest to” gay and lesbian people. And guess what? We care about a lot of different things. I think we’ve got a pretty wide latitude as long as there is something at the heart of each film that gives us some insight into the lives of GLBT people.

NORM COLEMAN, United States Senator, October 20, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: It is my understanding the music industry has chosen a few unfortunate people and decided to make examples of them by suing them for large amounts of money in hopes of deterring others. Wouldn’t it be more effective, and fairer, if the industry sought smaller fines from a larger number of people? If people thought they could get caught and could face reasonable penalties, wouldn’t that deter more people?
COLEMAN: That is a very reasonable approach and one we are looking at closely. The punishment needs to fit the crime.

TINA BROWN, Washington Post Style Columnist, October 23, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: In Lyme (Connecticut), a local actors union member donates the “for your consideration” movies to the local library. Not that this should be a major consideration, yet some of the movies do wind up in good hands. Where do most of the “for your consideration” movies end up, usually, and is it that the industry is concerned they are being resold, or is it that the industry just finds it all too expensive to mail them out?
BROWN: I think that it’s all a big plot of the studios to foil the independent guys from all the Oscar nominations.

ROB ZOMBIE, hard rocker, October 28, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: How will you feel many years from now when you’re on an elevator and you hear the Muzak version of one your songs?
ZOMBIE: I will feel great. Because I will be earning money while riding in an elevator. Can’t beat that.
CZIKOWSKY: How are you decorating your home for Halloween?
ZOMBIE: I cover the entire house in candy corn, then releasing the rats. Needless to say I then have a house cover in rats. The trick or treaters love it.
CZIKOWSKY: If your band had fizzled out, what else might you have done in life? Indeed, you already have had success in several different careers. Are there any other careers you might like to try?
ZOMBIE: Crash test dummy.
CZIKOWSKY: What is the scariest thing you think you could show in a movie?
ZOMBIE: The inside of Richard Simmon’s hot pants.
CZIKOWSKY: What can you tell us about your upcoming graphic novel? What is the plot and what are the characters like? How far along are you and is there a scheduled date when it will be published?
ZOMBIE: Not really a graphic novel. First is “Spookshow International” which is horror comic that hits stores this weekend and then “The Nail” (which I am co-writing with my buddy Steve Niles). That is violent masterpiece.
CZIKOWSKY: What are your thoughts on Ozzie Osborne? Does King of the Dark Side outrank a Prince of Darkness?
ZOMBIE: Only when playing Foosball.

JAN EGLESON, director, November 17, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: What projects have you worked on since “Coyote Waits”, and what projects do you plan to do in the future?
EGLESON: We just finished “Coyote Waits” about a month ago, so that’s the most recent. We all hope to do more of them.
CZIKOWSKY: Please explain to us some of the distinctions and similarities with Navajo police and state police and who has jurisdiction over what types of police matters?
EGLESON: I am really the wrong person to ask, but as it pertains to the show, police jurisdiction on the reservations is restricted to the Tribal Police from that particular reservation, except for certain major felonies, in which case the FBI has jurisdiction, hence the presence of Kennedy in “Coyote Waits”.

JOHN FLANSBURGH, They Might Be Giants musician, November 18, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: What hints may you provide us about “Bed Bed Bed”? How was the concept for it developed, and how much of the story can you tell us about?
FLANSBURGH: We just wanted a set of songs that would lend themselves to cool illustrations.

MELISSA LEO, actor, December 17, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: There was a medical expert on television who claimed it was not true that one loses 21 grams of weight upon death. I recall finding that interesting because I recall my eighth grade Science teaching telling us this was fact (which could be debated as either the soul leaving the body or just the weight of immediate cellular body decay). Have you heard any discussion as to whether this is true or not, and if so, what have you heard?
LEO: I know it to be a theory. That’s all the factual information I have. What the film (“21 Grams”) does with that theory is one of the most beautiful messages I’ve ever heard. It’s really up to the viewer to determine what that weight is.
CZIKOWSKY: Were you interested in acting when you were young, and what led you to go into acting?
LEO: The only thing I’ve ever wanted to be is an actor. The only thing I’ve ever known how to do is act. I was a horrible student. I didn’t learn how to learn. As an actor, for a role, I can learn anything. Acting is the key to my life. You must find your key and educate yourself in that.
CZIKOWSKY: What is it like being famous and working with famous people? Do you stand around casually discussing things like “so, ever hear from your ex-wife Madonna?” Or does everyone avoid those potentially uncomfortable situations and not discuss such things that all fans know, yet may not be the best of topics to pick with other stars?
LEO: Actors are people, too. Movie stars have complicated realities, just like all human beings. Some of us behave with consciousness and some without.

EVE ENSLER, playwright, December 17, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: You are one of the most successful and well-known modern playwrights. What led you to write plays, and how did you break into the field? Did you work at other professions or did you jump right into playwriting?
ENSLER: I wrote initially because it was a way of saving my sanity. I began to write plays because of the form of drama and theater is so visceral, political, and immediate. The way I broke into the filed is by writing and writing and writing so that they couldn’t get rid of me. I did many things early on to support my habit of playwrighting such as being a teacher, waitress, running workshops, etc.

BRUCE CAMPBELL, actor, January 9, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: I loved your book (“If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor”). Are you writing any other books? You know, someday, you’ll have to describe what it is like to be the star of A movies!
CAMPBELL: I have a new book coming out in ’05 called “Make Love the Campbell Way”. Fortunately, for all of us, it’s fiction.

LEE MERIWETHER, actor, January 29, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: You’ve been very successful at different types of acting: films, television, and theater. Do you approach each any differently from the others? If so, how? What aspects of each do you enjoy, and what aspects of each do you dislike?
MERIWETHER: The work ethic for the theater is rather demanding and it is a much longer process than television, certainly, or film. The rehearsal time for a play can be as long as a month but then you’re doing the same show over and over and over again. Film and television, for the most part, is filmed out of sequence and in a much shorter period of time with little and sometimes no rehearsal.
I prefer working in the theater. It’s more rewarding because the audience is always with you and especially doing a comedy the audience is like another character. In “Nunsense”, this is very true. We, the nuns, interact with the audience. We are putting on a show for them and so they are indeed our other main character.
I don’t dislike any field of work. I haven’t been asked to do any television or film or play that wasn’t a great deal of fun and I pray that I never have to do any that I’m not happy in. I’ve been very, very lucky.

JOHN BORLAND and BRAD KING, authors, January 30, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: A screenwriter teacher, Terry Borst, has suggested that screenwriters should study writing scripts for video games. Many games have elaborate plots and storylines, and they need screenwriters. Do you agree that there is a market opening up for screenwriters in video games?
BORLAND: There is certainly room for writers in gaming today, but it’s not exactly the same things as screenwriting. There is increasing similarities between movies and games, and indeed most games now have long cinematic scenes that advance the plot with pre-scripted dramatic moments. But a game is interactive, which means writers have to think about plot development in a very different way. The player has the ability to choose their actions as they work their way through a world, and that means that a writer has to be able to develop dramatic tension—or at least interest—while juggling a huge set of possibilities at any given moment. That effect is even stronger in multiplayer games, where the actions of many different people can change the potential storyline.
I personally think people are just getting their minds around this kind of creation, even now. Storylines in games are usually pretty simple, and many of the best ones are still very linear, ultimately giving players very little real freedom of action. By contrast, the online worlds where they is the most freedom of action don’t have tightly developed stories. It’s hard to write in a non-linear way, but think people are getting better at it.
KING: There is definitely a market for writing screenplays for games, but it’s not as simple as sitting down and banging out a linear story. The idea behind the modern game is interactivity, which means you have to write a script that can be delivered in a variety of ways, depending on the players’ actions. It also helps to know a little programming code so you can talk with the people who will be bringing your game to life.
Game companies have hired science fiction and fantasy writers to flesh out plots, but many have struggled because they don’t grasp the intricacies of interactivity. There is a great blog on this topic: Grand Text Auto. If you’ve got some time, you should check it out. It’s an academic blog with news about the latest in interactive fiction.

The Very Rev. DAVID ,M. O’CONNELL, President, The Catholic University of America, February 25, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: As this movie (“The Passion of the Christ”) is in the Aramaic language that was spoken during the worldy life of Christ, do you find this adds to the attempt of authenticity (realizing no portrayal will be totally accurate), does this detract from the viewer’s appreciation of the film, or do you find the story so universal that it does not make much of a difference?
O’CONNELL: It depends on the viewer. “Subtitles” do not bother or distract me. And even when I am completely unfamiliar with a language, a story can capture my attention. I find this to be the case in viewing/hearing opera. Most people really are familiar with the story of Jesus, enough that the language does not really make much difference.

MAIA MORGENSTERN, actor, February 27, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: How difficult was I to learn the Aramaic dialogue? What are your thoughts on filming the movie (“The Passion of the Christ”) in the language that was spoken during the life of Jesus? MORGENSTERN: It was not difficult to learn Aramaic, a Latin language, first of all, we had wonderful teachers—Evelina and Father Bill Fulco. On the other hand, it was like all of us were speaking the same language of art. It was like music.
An example of a word in Aramaic is “Amen”, which is a word that everyone understands.

KARL HOHNES, host on HGTV, February 27, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: I know nothing about where to place furniture. Generally, my philosophy has been: if it is accessible and out of the way, it stays put. Otherwise, it gets moved. Friend of mine who have a better knowledge of these things cringe when they see inside my house. Are there any basics someone like me should know to get me started on how to arrange furniture? HOHNES: My philosophy on arranging furniture is to keep things in proportion. Your sofa should always fit comfortably on the shortest wall in your room. Keep upholstery fabrics to no more than three and make sure that the patterns are in proportion to the size of the furniture. The biggest pattern on the biggest piece like the sofa..the smallest pattern on small pieces like the ottomans and side chairs. Never try to seat more people in your living room than your dining room can hold. Always have the furniture directed towards a focal point in the room which could be a fireplace, a television, or the view to outside.

GLENN FRANKEL, Washington Post London Bureau Chief, March 8, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: In my life, I have met one Beatle: Pete Best. I understand that the club The Beatles essentially formed was a club in his mother’s house. And the club still stands. Did you visit it, and, if so, what was it like?
FRANKEL: When you read the piece, you’ll see that we did get a brief tour of the Casbah Club, which Mona Best opened in the basement of her Victorian mansion in 1959. Mona died two decades ago and her sons have been restoring the club and are hoping to open it to the public later this year. Roag Best, who is Pete’s younger brother, showed us around. The rooms are small but evocative. John, Paul, and George helped paint the place, and added a few touches as well, and the original artwork remains, as do artifacts like an old Dansette 45-record player and an acoustic guitar all the boys played. To me it certainly seemed like a place that Beatles fans would want to visit. Because it was the least restored, it was one of the most evocative of the sites we visited.
CZIKOWSKY: Do you find much resistance amongst today’s youth towards the Beatles music? I see today’s young, even if they are mixing their music as in the Grey Album, still embracing their music. Youth oriented radio stations stay play Beatles songs, and many current artists produce their own versions of their songs. The Beatles sold more albums after their breakup than while they were together. Do you find the Beatles, at least thus far, are remaining timeless?
FRANKEL: I’m totally in the Beatles-as-timeless camp, but not everyone agrees. I’ve got two daughters in their 20s who enjoy the Beatles a lot, but among my son and his friends the group seems to have less sway. It’s not so much resistance as ignorance—and maybe the fact that, sad to say, for many of these kids the Beatles are the voice of the culture establishment. They need to create their own icons. Also, the Beatles have yet to go through a stretch where they have slipped in popularity so they can be rediscovered.

JOHN KORNBLUTH, monologist, March 9, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: Americans have relatively lower taxes than Europeans? Does that mean Europeans are better lovers? KORNBLUTH: I think the crucial question is: How taking is the sex that Europeans have compared to ours? My sense is that there is some “value added” in their lovemaking that we would do well to emulate.

LISA DE MORAES: Washington Post Staff Writer, March 11, 2003
CZIKOWSKY: It was written that the staff of “Everybody Loves Raymond” would like to keep the show going so long as they can keep the show fresh. Yet, somehow, “The Simpsons” staff seems to be able to figure out how to keep a show strong after airing many years. What’s the secret with “The Simpson”? (Maybe the Raymond people will read it and keep their show going.)
DE MORAES: The secret of “The Simpsons” is that the writing staff churns and the stars are cartoon characters who never make $2 million per episode, keeping the costs down. That is the key to a successful series…They should animate “Raymond” and find someone who can imitate his voice at a fraction of the cost, and then all their problems would be solved.

JOHN PODHORETZ, author, March 15, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: Are you able to please tell us more about your work on “West Wing”? I presume you do not agree with the politics of President Bartlett. What type of consultation do you provide for the show?
PODHORETZ: I joined “The West Wing” at the beginning of this season. The writers and producers expressed concern at making sure that the arguments of conservative characters be reflected in an honest and straightforward way. I think that this season the creative team at the show has made substantial efforts not to caricature and belittle the conservation characters and their ideas.

NELLIE McKAY, singer, March 17, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: How supportive is your family towards your becoming a singer? Do they want you to continue, or are they pushing you to, say, sing for awhile and then go to med school or law school?
McKAY: They watch TV a lot so they’re very happy. If I’m on TV it must be going well.
CZIKOWSKY: Do you consider yourself a rebellious teenager?
McKAY: I think the nicer the child, the worse the teenager, and that’s certainly true in my case. Ask my college professors. The most I ever rebelled was making it this far—I’d still be in school if I weren’t rebelling. Don’t listen to the experts.
CZIKOWSKY: You have been compared favorably to the Beatles, which is one of the highest praises there is. How does it feel to be receiving such positive reaction to your music, or do you ignore reviews and comments?
McKAY: Boy, do I wish I could ignore reviews and comments! I take everything personally. I adore the Beatles, I really like that comparison. Thanks a lot.

GREGORY NAVA, PBS Executive Producer, April 19, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: It is good to see someone showing the Latino experience in America. Despite Latinos being such a large part of America, it seems their history and culture is not shown as much as it should. Do you have ideas, or perhaps are working, on further projects that may show more of the Latino culture on film?
NAVA: I have made a lot of films, “El Norte”, “My Family” and “Selena”. I plan to do more. Right now I am doing this T.V. series (“American Family”). I’m working as hard as I can! Thank you very much for your comment!

JENNIFER DWORKIN, filmmaker, April 22, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: Were other people followed during the ten years this film (“Lvd & Diane’) was shot? Did you decide to focus on one person, or who is always the intent that Ms. Hazard would be the focus of this film?
DWORKIN: I started following many people. My first idea at the start was to film four families and then I narrowed it town to Diane’s family and her many relatives: her nieces, nephew, brother…but as the film went on, I began to see that Love and Diane were really the center and in the editing room, I decided to really use them as the focus of the film. Otherwise, it would have been a 20 hour film.

SAM GREEN, filmmaker, April 28, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: What projects have you worked on since this film (“The Weather Underground”), or plan on working? Have you considered further documentary work on the revolutionary times of the late 1960s and 1970s?
GREEN: Since finishing this film, I made a short experimental documentary about the street-car that passes in front of my house in San Francisco. It’s called N JUDAH 5:30. I’m also rolling ideas around in my head for a longer, more experimental documentary about utopia.

PETER SAGAL, “Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me” host, May 10, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: Have you ever been stuck for ideas, or do the ideas flow more than you could possibly do them all?
SAGAL: Actually, our curse and our glory is that it’s really not up to us…our show is dependent on the week’s news. If people out there in real life do funny things, then we’re golden…if they’d don’t…well, let me put it this way. We are not above sometimes wishing, on a Thursday, that some prominent person might mildly injure themselves in a really funny manner. Or, sometimes, trying to entrap them into doing so: “Here, Senator, stick your finger in this.”

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post TV Columnist, May 13, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: If the Survivor All Stars were forced to live on a Big Brother set, which All Star do you believe Donald Trump would fire first?
DE MORAES: All the ugly men. That’s too easy.

AMY GOODMAN, author, May 19, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: Are you (Democracy Now!) strictly interested in news, or do you also cover arts and cultural events that have a political or protest statement to them?
GOODMAN: We deal with all these issues. On Democracy Now! And in our new book, we talk about the crackdown on artists. Take hip hop artist Michael Franti, whose band mate’s mother had military police visit her because of the antiwar nature of Spearhead’s music. We reported on the memos and directives at ClearChannel and MTV around the time of the war. MTV sent a memo to artists warning them about antiwar lyrics. The media should be a sanctuary for dissent. It makes us all safer.

MICHAEL KIRK. Filmmaker, May 28, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: If the modern music business is dying, then please tell us this: what was the total sales of CDs, and how much profit did recording companies make on these sales? Can this business survive at this level of profitability? Can it allow music to evolve so the music doesn’t die?
KIRK: The advantage in economic terms is very much in favor of record companies if the CDs sell at high enough numbers to repay the following rule of thumb costs: $1 million to sign an artist and record their first album, at least half a million dollars to promote it. Therefore using simply mathematics, how many units must be sold to make a profit on a $1.5 million investment at $10 a unit. The simple answer is—especially given the fact that one out of 10 albums (units) is marginally successful—so the simple fact is this is worse than gambling on longshots at the racetrack for the record companies. And if that album is downloaded illegally or not available because of the record sales stores all over America are going bankrupt, it’s a real uphill struggle to find profitability in the current marketplace.

ELMO and ANNA E. HOUSLEY-JUSTER, “Sesame Street” Assistant Content Director, May 28, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: Elmo, you’re too young to be this old. You’re as old as you feel. How old do you feel? ELMO and HOUSLEY-JUSTER: Elmo’s mommy says that he’s three and half going on 42.

TERI GARR, actor, June 2, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: How is it raising a 10 year old (as Ms. Garr has multiple sclerosis)? Is she understanding of your limitations, or do you think sometimes she doesn’t totally understand it all?
GARR: These days ten year olds are very wild!
She keeps me going.
She doesn’t think of me as having limitations and neither do I.
Since she is only ten she doesn’t understand a lot of things about life, but I am trying to teach her that it is how you look at something that makes it good or bad.
I think she gets that and I do too.
I am grateful to have her…most of the time!

JOHN IRVING, author, and TOD WILLIAMS, film director, June 14, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: Frequently the most intriguing or exciting parts of novels happen inside a character’s heard. How can you translate those inner thoughts or epiphanic moments to the screen?
WILLIAMS: You have to accept that you can’t be as specific but you gain so much by seeing a real human actor feeling these things in front of your eyes.
IRVING: The actor does make the difference between so many times in a novel you need to describe and describe how someone looks. You have to say what he’s feeling: you have to show how he feels by want he says—give him dialogue. If an actor’s good enough in a film, you can lose the dialogue and just see the actor reacting and that reaction goes a long way to compensate for what you can’t do from a novel.

GENE WEINGARTEN, Washington Post Staff Writer, June 15, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: I was with Bill Murray once when a teenage girl ran up to him and begged him to help her. She was pleading how it was her life dream to become an actor and she wanted his assistance. Bill was wonderful: he stopped, took out a card, and wrote down a name and phone number, and told her to call this person, state that he said to call, and this would help.
He wrote down a psychiatrist’s phone number.
WEINBARTEN: Hahahahaha. I hope this is true.

TERRY WRONG, “NYPD 24/7” Executive Producer, June 21, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: It is good for your show to tie into “NYPD Blue”. It will be interesting how the public takes to real life police officers compared to fictious ones. How aware are you about how close to reality “NYPD Blue” is? While I know most cases are not solved as quickly as storylines require, is it true that “NYPD Blue” uses retired New York police officers as consultants, that many of the procedures as similar to what is actually done, and that some storylines mimic actual cases?
WRONG: Actually, to get to Mr. Franz, I was on the set of Blue and I was amazed by how carefully they pay to detail. The actors do spend much time with the cops and even include some ex cops in the cast. I think it’s a show that is very faithful to reality except, as you say, in the way plot lines nearly resolve at the end of each hour.

DAN WEINGARTEN, Gene Weingarten’s son, June 22, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have siblings and, if so, which one is your father’s favorite?
WEINGARTEN: I have a sister. Once, I asked my father a similar question. I asked him to rank his pets and children, as to his favorites. I thought he was going to have two lists, but he lumped us all together. At the top of the list was Matthew the Parrot.

CARLOS SANDOVAL and CATHERINE TAMBINI, filmmakers, June 23, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: Does having the film (“Farmingville”) set in Long Island seem to have any impact on viewers? I mention because I have worked for migrant farm labor protections in Pennsylvania, and a typical reaction I receive is people are unaware there are migrant farm laborers in Pennsylvania. There is a perception this is something found only in Southern states. Does the reality of migrant farm workers in Long Island strike against people’s prior conceptions, and does that make any difference in your film?
SANDOVAL: In reply to your first question, yes, it does seem the film is having some impact on Long Island. We have had several screenings. At each some people seem to come away with a slightly better understanding of the other side, which in turn we hope will lead to productive discussions.
As to the visibility of “migrant” laborers, there may be a difference between Long Island and your situation in Pennsylvania. On Long Island, particularly in Farmingville, the presence of the day laborers has been highly controversial and so has received a lot of media attention.
CZIKOWSKY: What was the division of labor between two filmmakers, or was everything primarily a collaboration between you both?
SANDOVAL and TAMBINI: Primarily a collaboration. Catherine handled the camera and Carlos mapped out the story. There was significant input from our two editors John Bloomgarden who did a masterful job in helping us shape the film cutting down over two hundred hours of material into a cohesive story, and Mary Manhardt who helped us hone it down further and polish it into what you saw last night.

ZACH BRAFF, actor, July 12, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: This (“Garden State”) is your directorial debut. How did you prepare to direct? Have you been observing your directors and taking mental notes as an actor? Did you study directing at school? Have you directed plans or short films? Finally, do you prefer directing or acting and would you wish to do both or do you plan to eventually focus on acting?
BRAFF: First and foremost I set out to be a filmmaker. Went to film school at Northwestern University, so that’s all I ever really wanted to do was make movies. So this is my first chance after “Scrubs” to finally get back to what I set out do to. And I love to be both so I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to do both in the future.
CZIKOWSKY: How did you obtain the material for your movie? I just recall during a relative’s funeral not only how surreal the whole event was, but how bizarre people get. What motivated you to choose this as a topic?
BRAFF: I’ve been to maybe a dozen funerals in my life and I was always struck by how there’d be all the people mourning the death at the gravesite and 20 yards away there’d be two guys on a tractor checking their watch. That was always really upsetting to me. It also showed how different two people can be as far as where they are in their minds. So that was one of the seeds for the idea of the movie.

CHRIS EYRE, director, July 12, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: What do you attribute to the rise of interest in traditionalism? Do you see it as widespread or just noticeable in small pockets? It is interesting that sometimes the younger people are interested in the old ways, while sometimes older people are more interested in fitting into a changing world.
EYRE: I agree. It is interesting that younger people are interested in the old ways and that the older people are more interested in fitting into the fold. That is why our youth drive the future and provide us with rebirth.

RICHARD LEIBY, Washington Post Staff Writer, July 16, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: Did you know James Carville really has a full set of hair? He hides it. How’s that for a breaking news story?
LEIBY: Carville? You mean the same James Carville who (Dennis) Miller called “a muppet who accidentally was washed on hot” and a “Satanic Chihuahua under a strobe light?”
(But Dennis Miller, according to my sources, has flipped his wig. Hahaha.)

RICK McKAY, writer-director-producer, August 6, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: One observation I have of Broadway is today’s scandalous offerings become tomorrow’s classics. What do you see are some of the great breakthrough plays that helped redefine Broadway?
McKAY: When people talk about “Avenue Q” being written by a 29 and a 33 year old FOR young audiences today, they forget that “Death of a Salesman”, “Glass Menagerie” and “Streetcar” were written by young writers for deeply passionate audiences who were mainly composed of young people. People also forget that “Carousel” was the first unhappy ending where the hero died well before the end of the play; “The King and I” was a romance between two different races, and “South Pacific” had an entire song, “You Have To Be Carefully Taught” that was about racism. The theatre 50 years ago was much, much braver and more daring than what we have today, which we could use a little more of.

RICHARD KELLY, director and writer, August 19, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: What project are you working on now, and what ideas (as much as you are willing to say at this point) do you have for future projects?
KELLY: I’m working on a film called “Southland Tales”. I’ve written a project called “Domino” that Tony Scott begins shooting on Oct. 4. And I have five screenplays that are completed already that I intend to direct. Hopefully I will be able to make one film a year from now on, but unless these things start making money for studios, that ain’t gonna happen. “Princess Diaries 3” will.

NICOLETTE NAUM, Cirque du Soleil Artistic Director, and STEPHANE ROY, Cirque du Soleil Set Designer, August 31, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: What different countries are represented by your performers? Is it true your group was scouting the Olympics for future performers?
NAUM and ROY: In this show Varekai there are acrobats who were in the Olympics in Atlanta or in Sydney and they’re amazing. Last week, we had members of Cirque in Greece at the Olympics interested in some of the athletes to possibly join us in the future. In Varekai, there are 25 performers who were in the Olympics in Sydney and Atlanta who are now working for Cirque du Soleil.
Overall, 40 countries are represented in Cirque du Soleil. Varekai represents 13 countries.

MARK CUBAN, HDNet President, September 2, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: How was hockey and soccer viewership this past season? I think there is growing interest in these sports. Do you have forecasts on how these sports may grow in appea?
CUBAN: Viewership and interest was great on HDNet!

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, September 2, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: For “West Wing”, how about Gilbert Godfrey portraying a third party candidate for President?
DE MORAES: No. They need to cast Zell Miller—that would be even better. Especially if they could get him to do that scowly thing he did throughout his speech at the GOP Convention last night. It was good and really scary, like he was in some horror flick they were showing to conventioneers.

DENNIS MILLER, comedian, September 2, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: How about a midseason sitcom featuring Zell Miller and the Bush twins?
MILLER: That sounds like the funniest show in the seasons.

GAEL GARCIA BERNAL, actor, September 9, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: Che Guevera was a very complex person. While many revere or hate him, like everyone, has had good in him and had problems. As an actor, how did you perceive your character, and what different dimensions of Che Guevera did you attempt to portray in the film?
BERNAL: First of all I don’t judge the characters. I try to make a historical and political and psychological exercise. So as to empathize with the character. This allows me to understand more of why things happened the way they happened and it gives me knowledge for my life, to be able to have strong arguments in that discussion of this issue and these sort of things. We tried to bring closer the icon. By bringing closer we can comprehend and understand more why also his struggle is so actual. This film is before the Cuban revolution, so it’s just the awakening of his conscience and later, the moral points of view became political.

DAVID O. RUSSELL, director, September 16, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: After watching people investigate and debate after the Three Mile Island incident, I can sympathize with your storyline (“I Heart Huckabees”). How was this plot developed? Was it an original script that you accepted for development, or did you have a role in creating ideas fro this movie?
RUSSELL: No, basically what happened is that I wrote it for Jason Schwarzman and Mark Wahlberg and Lily Tolin, and then the other characters developed from there.

VAN LING, producer, September 21, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: “Star Wars” is one of the greatest movies of all times and I love the trilogy. Yet I am not an enthusiast who is going to be excited because a film has a few minutes of additional film footage or because a few extra details have been added to the background. What does this new issue offer to someone like me?
LING: Apart from seeing the films cleaned up and restored—it really does look and sound great—the bonus disc has a lot of interesting materials, including a big 2.5 hour documentary about the history of the films.

ALEXANDER PAYNE, director, September 22, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: “Election” and “About Schmidt” were both excellent movies. Your films offer realistic comedies in dramatic settings, which is difficult to achieve, yet you have done a great job mixing the two. Is this film (“Sideways”) similar: A drama with comedic overtones? How would you describe your latest film?
PAYNE: Yes, I would agree that the film is very much in the same vein as “Election” and “About Schmidt” though people are telling me that in “Sideways”, I seem to be more inside of the characters instead of looking at them. And that the film seems more heartfelt and less satirical than those previous films.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, September 24, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: In “The Apprentice”, do the contestants have guidelines and boundaries for how they interact with outside businesses? It seems to me the easiest way to win, when calling up retailers, restaurants, etc. would be to say: hey, you’re going to get national TV exposure, so fork over lots of money to my side. Are they prohibited from saying that, or do they say that and it isn’t shown, or has no one thought to use that tactic yet (in which case Donald Trump shouldn’t hire any of them)?
DE MORAES: I wondered this, too. When they were given this week’s lame task—promoting vanilla toothpaste—and were given a $50,00 budget, it seemed to me that the best way to do that would be to call Howard Stern’s show, say they were from Donald Trump’s show and they wanted to come on the air to talk about the toothpaste and inside dirt on Apprentice and The Donald. If I thought of it, surely one of these menso boys and girls on the show thought similar things, so I can only assume they’ve been given strict guidelines that run along the lines of “you can only sell things on the street and sell the products like you were a six year old trying to raise enough money to go to summer camp.” Honestly, I don’t see much of an upgrade in the tasks this edition from the lemonade sales last season, just more intrusive product placement, handled pretty poorly, like the inexplicable appearance of the two P&G suits at the end of this week’s show…ick.

CARSON KRESSLEY, “Queer Eye for the Straight Eye” fashion expert, September 27, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: What clothes go best when buying your book (“Off the Cuff”)?
KRESSLEY: Cashmere and a smile. Snaps to Harrisburg. I am from Pennsylvania, too!

DONALD P. BELLISARIO, television Executive Producer, October 5, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: “Quantum Leap” was one of the greatest shows of all times. I recall when it was cancelled, someone stating that there is always a possibility that the show could return someday. I know it has been several years, but is there still some chance of reviving the show and giving it a second chance?
BELLISARIO: I am working with Universal’s scifi channel to create a new “Quantum Leap” which would have Stockwell as a regular and Scott Bakula appearing at least in the first episode which would introduce a young female reaper.

BUSTER BAXTER, television program host, October 7, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: How do you deal with your asthma? What advice do you have for children with asthma?
BAXTER: My asthma comes and goes. It seems to come when I’m more stressed.
They way I deal with mine is: I take my medicine every day and make sure I don’t put myself in situations where I’ll need it too badly. For example—If you’re going to play soccer, then have your inhaler handy; If you’re gonna run a marathon—then have your inhaler handy; If you’re just going to school and hanging out for a regular day, still have your inhaler handy, but don’t use it if you don’t have to.
CZIKOWSKY: Buster, you should come to Harrisburg and see our Civil War Museum. Will you be traveling to any Civil War sites?
BAXTER: If not this time, then next time, for sure…

DORIS EATON TRAVIS, actress, October 20, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: Will Rogers was one of our country’s greatest humorists. I recently watched some of his movies, and his humor remains timeless. Do you have any remembrances of Will Rogers you’d like to share?
TRAVIS: Well, he was in the 1918 Follies, my first, I was only 14. I never had a close association with him, but it happened that his act preceded one of my chorus numbers, so I was always in the wings when he’d come off. He was always very kind and would say “how are you today, Doris?” The audience is pretty tough today!” He was a very warm person, but I didn’t have a very close association with him, but he was a very pleasant person when we’d chance to meet. Later on he and my sister Mary became quite nice friends.

MICHAEL KANTOR, director/producer, October 21, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: It seems there are always a lot of people who are unhappy with whatever current state the theater is in. For those who warn today that the theater is dying, I recall the phrase in the 1960s was “is the theater dead?” Despite repeated death, the theater continues to live.
I know this may not be something one has thought to research, but is there any history as to when Broadway first “died”? Who first said the theater is dead? I presume it was probably during Broadway’s second season, but I wonder how long the forecasters of death have been around.
KANTON: Watch the end of the series tonight, and Al Hirschfeld recalls the famous phrase “it’s the fabulous invalid” being used when he was “still in short pants”—probably 90 years ago.

MARVIN HAMLISCH, composer, October 21, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: Would you please provide us with some hints as to works that you are working on or have completed that have not been released yet? What may we look forward to hearing from you?
HAMLISCH: Unfortunately the one show I’m anxious to do is tied up in legalities, so right now my hands are tied and I’m not working on anything new for Broadway YET.
LAURENCE MASLON, producer, October 22, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: This (“Broadway: The American Musical”) has been a great special. Obviously, there is so much that wasn’t covered due to a lack of time. What are some of the things you wish this series could have mentioned that there wasn’t time to get to?
MASLON: Six hours is so little time to deal with so many issues, both theatrically and historically. Certainly, the 1960s were a very fertile period and it was hard to get so many interesting shows in—for example “1776) and “Golden Boy”, two of my personal favorites were hard to discuss at length (and find good clips for). The same goes for the African American musicals of the 1970s. Happily, we have a 500 page book called “Broadway: The American Musical” which covers about 40% more material than TV time allows. Check it out.

RON REAGAN, stem cell research advocate, October 25, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: Any chance of your returning to “Saturday Night Live”? How was it hosting that show?
REAGAN: It was fun. That was a long time ago. So far I haven’t been invited back.

BOBBY “BORIS” PICKETT, singer, October 29, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: One thing I like about “Monster Mash” was, besides its novelty lyrics, is it’s great melody. Too many novelty songs seem to just forget about making the song good. “Monster Mash” on its own is a agreat song. How long did it take to create and record this song?
PICKETT: The song wrote itself in a half hour and it took less than a half hour to record it.
CZIKOWSKY: Have you ever met Dr. Demento? What do you think of him?
PICKETT: Dr. Demento is a very good friend. I did his 20th anniversary show for Comedy Central. He’s been a friend and supporter for years.

HAROLD EVANS, Sir, author, November 15, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: What role do you give Hollywood and its movie innovations in exporting concepts of American culture around the world? Isn’t it true most of the world has seen at least one American movie? Prior to World War II, we were the world’s 14th largest military power, yet we were the dream society as presented on the silver screen around the world. How much did the innovations of American film makers induce changes in our world?
EVANS: I can testify to that personally…since when I was a boy I grew up watching Hollywood movies and a few of them about newspapermen exposing corruption helped to propel me to become a reporter. Of course, not all Hollywood movies are inspiring today, but the general movie tone of movies is indeed as you say one of aspiration and striving with a rainbow at the end of the thunder storms.

AVI LEWIS, film director, December 3, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: How did you both arrive at the decision to make this film (“The Take”)? What inspired you to bring this interesting story to our attention, and how did you convince others to make this film a reality?
LEWIS: We set out to look for specific alternatives to what specific alternatives they call in Argentina as “the model”, which many people here call the Washington consensus. We had been to all the big protests against the IMF and the World Trade Organization and like many people we were hungry for concrete alternatives and politics that go beyond protest. What’s happening in Argentina is exactly that. The film is a portrait of people who are building something: a democratic local economy. And that’s the story we wanted to share.

HOLLY CRUIKSHANK, RON TODOROWSKI, and DARREN HOLDEN, actors, December 3, 2004
CZIKOWSKY: The play (“Movin’ Out”) are wonderful. How long can each of you see continuing playing your characters, if you could have the parts for as long as you would like? I find it interesting that actors have different philosophies on this question.
CRUIKSHANK: I’ve been doing the show two and a half years as a dancer, it’s a dream part that I don’t see myself finding a better part. But at the same time, it’s really hard on your body. It’s a really hard question in our business because you never know what’s coming up next.
TODOROWSKI: On and off, at the most for another year. I’ve been doing it for almost two years and it’s such a great part for dancers. But the physical aspect is very taxing on our bodies. As a dancer, for me anyway, it’s important to keep yourself challenged and work with different choreographers and doing different movement.
HOLDEN: At the moment I plan to continue as the Piano Man for another six months. I really enjoy performing Billy’s music every night but the danger for a singer doing that is becoming too associated with just Billy Joel material. I want to stretch out and pursue other areas.

DESSON THOMSON, Washington Post Film Critic, January 7, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: What were Kevin Bacon’s reactions to his part (in “The Woodsman”)? Was he intrigued, repulsed at times, understanding, or what? How does an actor get into the mind of such a character?
THOMSON: He was all of those things. And what I respect about him is that he took a role like that, which most actors (obsessed with being liked and loved) would have been too wussy-pants to take on. He justs wants roles that are interesting. I have to hand that to him. He’s a family man, too. Happily married, two kids. He just wants to act.

PAUL FARHI, Washington Post Staff Writer. January 25, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: I only caught one episode of the Jessica Simpson reality show. I was mesmerized. Please tell me she is putting on an act. Please tell me she is not that lacking in intelligence.
FARHI: I don’t think Jessica is med school material, but I also think the blonde ditz/new “Lucy” act is contrived. She got a great deal of attention for a couple of gaffes she made early on in “Newlyweds” and the producers/her dad/her decided to “create” the stooopid persona. If you saw her Christmas “special”, you saw how lamely scripted it all is now.

KELLY PERDUE, “The Apprentice” Season Two Winner, January 31, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: Which of your fellow contestants, if any, would you consider hiring someday, and why would you hire them?
PERDUE: Kevin-Incredibly driven, strong across the board.
Ivana-Creative, hard-working, funny.
Sandy-Hard-working, honest, not afraid to get dirty.
Maria-Highly intelligent, marketing expert, hard-working.
Elizabeth-Intelligent, thoughtful, creative.
There were a lot of strong people on the show.

JIM HANAS, AdCritic.com critic, February 7, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: Was correct in stating its ad space (for Super Bowl ads) cost $2.4 million and that they were losing that much to advertise the show “24”, or was that just being cute because the name of the show is 24?
HANAS: The promo for “24” was somewhat correct and somewhat cute, the premise being that Fox could have sold the time rather than using it for a promo. True, in a sense, except that one of the boons of broadcasting the Super Bowl is, obviously, promoting your own shows. Plus, halftime slots probably weren’t going for 2.4 million.

KIMBERLY ELISE, actress, February 18, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: Did you know from childhood that you wanted to go into acting? Did you take acting classes anywhere? What did you do before your movie roles?
ELISE: I’ve always known that I was destined to be an actor. I never took a class, I learned my craft on stage. It was on the job training doing many, many shows. Before I did movies I was in college and I was a waitress.

EARTHA KITT, entertainer, March 2, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have any plans for future recordings?
KITT: I am interested in recording but you have to have a strong distributor who is interested in what you’re doing because now the business has gotten so businesslike that they’re not thinking about ethics anymore, it’s all about the money. I realize money is important but not in a prostitutional manner. It’s hype, hype, hype rather than value, value, value. Of course, there’s always an exception to the rule.
If there are people out there who want me to make another album, please let me know by going to my Web site, earthkitt.com.

TRAVIS TUCKER , “American Idol” contestant, March 14, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: You are majoring in Math Education. Do you plan on teaching Mathematics and, if so, at what grade levels would you like to teach? Would you also like to teach Music or work with students on their singing?
TUCKER: High school Math teacher. I don’t really know the theory of music to teach it but maybe an after school acapella group or something.

LISA MARIE PRESLEY, singer, May 16, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: Have you given any thoughts to your next album? Have you any ideas what songs you’d like to record and, if so, would you please provide us some insights into what they are? Do you think you will continue with the same types of music, or might you explore different types?
PRESLEY: Gosh, that is a hard one right now to answer because I don’t have pre-insight. It’s not something that’s predetermined. When I sit down to write the next one…it’ll just birth itself, I suppose.

ANTHONY SUMMERS, author, May 17, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: What documents did you see and write about in this book (“Sinatra: The Life”) that have never been revealed before?
SUMMERS: It’s generally true that one can’t get at documents in Federal agencies until the person they concern has died. Sinatra has been dead seven years, so we had access to his extensive FBI file. Never entirely buy the contents of an FBI file! But Sinatra’s contained gems and numerous leads that led onto other things. Especially useful, too, were files of the Bureau of Narcotics, which no one had got to before us. That is not to say for a moment that Sinatra was ever involved in the drug business—he was adamantly opposed to the drug culture—but he was much involved with some of the mobsters than the Narcotic Bureau was pursuing.

JEREMY BULLOCH, actor, May 17, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: How did you get the part of Boba Fett? Was it an audition, were you approached to play the part, or how did it come about?
BULLOCH: I got the part by pure luck. My half brother was associate producer on the films and told me to talk to my agent about interviews taking place to cast bounty hunters. I went to meet Gary Kurtz and I was lucky that the suit fitted. It was as simple as that.

VALERIE ERVIN, Ray Charles Enterprises Office Manager, May 19, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: It was a sad time in our history when facilities and even concert halls were segregated. It is an uplifting irony that a Ray Charles song is now the Georgia state song. What were some of Ray Charles’s thoughts about Georgia and Augusta and how Georgians have changed over time?
ERVIN: I think the best way to put that in the words of Mr. Charles, is that he didn’t understand any of that because he judged people by who they were, and not color. He stood his ground on not performing because the audience was segregated. He felt that all people should be together for the love of music. So when the song became the state song, he was very pleased with that. He just didn’t understand it. Those were just things he didn’t speak on because Mr. Charles felt, if it didn’t make sense, he was not going to deal with it. So the times when things became as one, he was very pleased about it, and very honored, and very humbled. And very excited to have played a role in making that transition.

BARNBARA GRANT JAYNES, Cary Grant’s wife, May 26, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: I recall the story toward the end of his life when someone asked Cary Grant something to the effect of “didn’t you used to be Cary Grant?” Since he was using his given name and not his stage name at that time, he made some witty retort about how he indeed use to be Cary Grant. Did Archibald Leach, the man, find many ironies in being a person with two identities?
JAYNES: Interesting question. I really don’t think he found many ironies because he was the same man. People would ash him questions about “Didn’t you used to be…” He lived in the same skin, and no, I don’t think there was any problem with the answering of that.
CZIKOWSKY: It was interesting reading about Cary Grant’s experiences with LSD, which I should remind readers, was perfectly legal at the time Mr. Grant took it. Did Cary Grant ever discuss his thoughts on it, again keeping in mind for readers that it is a dangerous drug and at the time Mr. Grant took it, it was something new, little explored, and legal?
JAYNES: You have to understand that when Cary did take LSA he was monitored at all times and did not do this as a recreational drug. He took it is order to try and exorcise some of his demons. He certainly never recommended it to anyone else and would not do so now. And only used it during a given period in his life when it was helpful and was legal. He was very quick to tell everyone it was an extremely dangerous drug, if not monitored by someone who knew what they were doing.

MICHAEL McELROY, actor, June 1, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: How did you turn to acting? What apprehensions did you have, and congratulations on overcoming any apprehensions and going forward and achieving success.
McELROY: Thank you. My mother theater and we saw everything that came through my hometown. Also my uncle was a musician who also fostered my love for theater and music. When I reached my high school years I knew it would be either music of theater. Luckily I was able to combine the two at Carnegie Mellon and have been fortunate to work ever since.

BILL O’BRIEN, actor, June 1, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: You are the only topic today that people are talking about besides Mark Felt (who had revealed the day before he was Deep Throat). Do you have any comments about Deep Throat?
O’BRIEN (who is deaf): Maybe we should consider doing a musical adaptation of his life and call it “Quiet Throat”.

SHELBY LYNNE, singer, June 7, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: “I Cry Everyday” is great. What do you think of when you sing that song?
LYNNE: Well, at the time I was crying everyday.
CZIKOWSKY: Critics seem to always consider artists’ follow-up works as inferior to their groundbreaking works. Do you believe your second album was treated fairly or unfairly by critics and, if unfairly, what would you point out to critics that they were missing?
LYNNE: Most of my career, the critics have been really good to me. But I don’t make music for critics.

DR. BILLY TAYLOR, jazz musician, June 23, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: What was it like appearing for so long at Birdland? Someday, someone should do a special on your memories and your work.
TAYLOR: It was wonderful being the house pianist at Birdland. I got to meet and play with just about everybody coming through New York at that period of my life, from Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, and people not as well known at the time who later became well known, like Miles Davis, John Coltrane and others.

CAROL MAILLARD, “Sweet Honey in the Rock” member, June 30, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: Why did you leave the group, and what made you decide to rejoin the group?
MAILLARD: My training is as an actress/performer. I worked in this area for over 20 years including ym time with Sweet Honey while in DC. Acting is what I know very deeply. I used singing to help me get work as in background singing, musicals, and things like that. I love it. Coming back to me became an obvious choice because of the timing of the offer, where I was in my life at the time.

GEORGE STEVENS, JR., producer, July 14, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: I would like to know a little more about your career: What have you directed or produced? What type of films would you like to work on in the future?
STEVENS: I founded the AFI in 1967; I’ve produced film and television…created the Kennedy Center Honors, wrote and directed “Separate But Equal” with Sidney Poitier as Thurgood Marshall, produced The Thin Red Line”, and such as that…check out IMDB for credits.

CATHY RIGBY, actor-gymnast, July 15, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: No, this can’t be. Peter Pan never grows up. Please come back, please come back. What were the factors in deciding to retire as Peter Pan?
RIGBY: Well, I think, like an athlete, you know when it’s time to retire. I love the role. I want to be physically the best I can be. If I were to do another national tour in seven years, I would be ever so much more than 20. I want to be physically, mentally, and emotionally into the role like I am now.

DAVID STEINBERG, actor-director, July 21, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: “Curb Your Enthusiasm? Is one of the greatest shows of all time. It must be a difficult show to direct, as it comes across as a show with no direction, which must be hard to accomplish as a director. What is the secret?
STEINBERG: As it was definitely a daily pleasure to go to work with someone as funny as Bob Newhart, it is equally pleasurable to work with someone as funny as Larry David. If you don’t notice the direction and you’re just in the story, the director is doing a good job. So I suppose that’s a compliment that it doesn’t feel directed. However, it’s not a selling point I would ask my agent to use. It is a difficult show to direct if you’re not used to improvisation. For directors who are used to it, there is hardly any comedy television directing that is as much hands on and total involving and as much fun.

COLIN ESCOTT, author, August 11, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: Some alcoholic performers still were able to keep themselves together when they were on stage. Did Hank Williams’s drinking problem ever become noticeable while he was performing or was he able to hide it from the public?
ESCOTT: Yes, Hank’s drinking problem WAS obvious on stage many times. It embarrassed his band and his costars. It seems as though his contemporaries like Ernest Tubb and Red Foley could stay drunk but functioning for days or weeks at a time, but Hank was a binge drinker with a low tolerance for alcohol, and he’d become incapacitated very quickly. Sadly, though, people tend to remember the times he was drunk and not the 90% plus shows for which he was sober and absolutely riveting.

JOHN LANDIS, filmmaker, August 30, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: There are people I’ve met who claim that a lot of “Animal House” was based on real fraternity stories at Dartmouth. Are they pulling my leg, or is there some truth to that?
LANDIS: That’s true. The script was written by Chris Miller, Harold Ramis, and Doug Kenney and all were in college in 1962. The Delta House is based on Chris Miller’s fraternity at Dartmouth, but the movie is inspired by the entire Greek system.

COUNT GORE DE VOL, television show host, September 16, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: Have you ever met Gore Vidal and, if so, what did you talk about?
DE VOL: No, I never met the man, but I understand he was not thrilled with the name similarity.

GERARD JONES, author, September 22, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: Gale Gordon seems to have become a forgotten footnote to the life of Lucy. Not many realize he was on Lucy’s radio show and Lucy wanted him on her first TV show. Would you please tell us more about the influences Gale Gordon had on Lucy’s career?
JONES: They were apparently very good friends lifelong. She credited him a few times with teaching her about comic timing and voice inflection on radio---and “I Love Lucy” was based fairly closely on her radio show. It was largely that radio experience that enabled her to be so effective on early TV, when most movie shows weren’t doing as well on the new medium. Offhand, I don’t know why Gordon wasn’t hired for “I Love Lucy”. Apparently Ball and William Frawley never did get along.

PETE BEST, former member of The Beatles, September 26, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: A business magazine once listed the worst business decisions in history, and Decca’s not signing the Beatles made the list. Ironically, had they been signed then, you would have been signed as well. Have you ever thought what might have happened from that point had Decca signed the Beatles?
BEST: I think the answer is yes, you mind does reflect if Decca had signed them. Unfortunately they didn’t! Its covered in the documentary and DVD with a great interview with Mike Smith, the A&R man at Decca who was in control of that session, And its very interesting to hear what he has to say about the subject.
CZIKOWSKY: There was a study on the effects of music on people that stated that the body responds best to certain types of drumming. Indeed, the Beatles, by their very name---Beatles---established themselves as a band with a terrific beat. As the originator of that beat, did you realize you were the secret weapon in creating the Beatles phenomenon?
BEST: LOL! I’ve been called many things, but not “Secret Weapon”! No, I think at the time you are creating your own drumming style. What the world sees is unbeknownst to yourself. Only compared to other people later do you realize that you created something that was different than what was going on at that time.
CZIKOWSKY: Stu Stucliffe is the least known Beatle. What was Stu like? Did you get to know him, and what are some of your best memories of him?
BEST: I got to know Stu when he first came to my mother’s club, the Casbah Coffee Club. That was in 1959. I got to know him very well when I joined the band in August 1960 because by then Stu was playing bass. As a person he was great. He has been much maligned over the years as regards to being a bad bass player, but he wasn’t. There were better bass players, there were worse bass players. But what he gave on stage was 200 percent. And when a person does that you can only admire him for his efforts. Of course since then, we know that Stu as well as being a musician, was also a brilliant artist whose career was tragically cut short in 1962 by a brain hemorrhage. But in all he was a great guy and contributed an awful lot to the ascendancy of the Beatles.
CZIKOWSKY: I have your album “Best of the Beatles” and your recent CD. Why did you not attempt to record more?
BEST: At that time, it was very much a case, that album goes back to the mid-60s. Then in 1968 I moved away from show business. And re-entered it is 1988. And consequently since then, I’ve recorded a lot more material. But it wasn’t a case of not recording anymore, it was a case of when and how I was going to do it.
CZIKOWSKY: Did your mother keep in touch with John Lennon or any of the Beatles? I noticed John Lennon wore your grandfather’s medals at a photo shoot.
BEST: The answer to that is yes. Regardless of what happened to me, circumstances in our life made it so that she had to socialize with the Beatles. She would help the Beatles after my dismissal as best shoe could as you can see by the wearing on the Sgt. Pepper album of my grandfather’s medals.
CZIKOWSKY: What happened to Tony Sheridan? You and the Beatles recorded with him, did a great album in fact, and that seems to be the last we’ve heard of him. Whatever became of him?
BEST: He’s alive and well and kicking and very much part of the music scene in Germany where he has mostly lived since the 60s. We are sometimes on the same bill together or touring together. It’s a funny old life! LOL!
CZIKOWSKY: I know this was another band from your days, but is it true that Rory Storm and his mother died tragically? Do you know the correct story to their demise?
BEST: There’s a lot of rumors as to what happened. Some people say it was a suicide pact. Some people say it was through despair. I don’t think anyone really nows the real truth behind it.

MATT WILSON, actor, October 3, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: How did you get the job portraying Harry (on “Cyberchase”)? Did you audition for the part?
WILSON: Yes, I auditioned for the role and it’s still my favorite job. I’ve been acting since high school.

ALAN ALDA, actor, October 5, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: Which cast and crew members from MASH do you keep in touch with?
ALDA: Most of us in the cast get together every year or so and have dinner, sometimes more frequently, and many of us keep in touch by phone and e-mail. We always pick up right where we left off, ribbing one another and laughing.
CZIKOWSKY: Is the old story true: that no one told the cast that Colonel Blake’s character had been killed off, so that when the news was delivered during the taping there would be real reactions?
ALDA: I knew it was coming a day or two before we shot the scene. The rest of the cast found out only a few minutes before the scene.

TAB HUNTER, actor, October 28, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: How close were you to Natalie Wood? How would you describe your relationship with her?
HUNTER: I was like a big brother to her. She was much younger than me. I was about 25 and she was 17, going on 18. On Natalie’s 18th birthday on the set, she was presented with a cake, so I put her over my lap and started spanking her. She was very playful. She was at that point a young girl/young woman and a total delight.

MICK GARRIS, director, October 31, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: Horror movies always went more for the blood and gore than suspense movies, yet good horror movies have their suspenseful moments. Do you think there has been a trend in the use of suspense in recent years, or has it pretty much remained constant?
GARRIS: For me, the best horror films have always been more about the suspense than the gore. That said, an audience of-times needs to raise the visual stakes over the years. But films like “Sixth Sense” and “Stir of Echoes” are great films that put story and character over gore, and they work brilliantly. Of course, the graphic horror in Miike’s “Audition” gets a response equally as valid, but in a very graphic way.
CZIKOWSKY: How hard is it for actor to break into horror films? Are most non-SAG productions? Aren’t horror films a good place a new actor to get a good start in a career?
GARRIS: Personally, I have never made a non-SAG movie. If it ends up in a theater, chances are it has a Screen Actors Guild cast. ANY movie is a good place for an actor to get a start. Try auditioning for student films at a local university where they have a major film school, if you want to start amassing a collection of film work to show.

DARREN LYNN BOUSMAN, director, November 1, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: What was the thought process involved in creating such a suspenseful movie (“Saw 2”)? Were there many script revisions, any major plot chages over time, and when did you finally sit back and say: “that’s it”?
BOUSMAN: Good question. The script was a constant work in progress. Always changing…When we saw what the actors brought we tailored it to them…I feel that horror movies of late try to spread themselves ‘all over’ trying to appeal to a MASS audience. Horror should not try to spread itself to the masses. It needs to know its fan base. People don’t want to see horror diluted…They want RAW, IN YOUR FACE, and unforgiving. That’s what we tried to do with “Saw II”.

SID CAESAR, entertainer, November 9, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: You are a hilariously great comic, and what you did on television revolutionized comedies from then on. When you look back, what are some of your proudest moments in what you did on early television?
CAESAR: Well, I did operas, satires of operas, plays, satires of French, German, Italian, Japanese movies…We had quite a few characters that we could write for…Imogene (Coca) was a joy to work with, and Carl Reiner and Holly Morris were the best. You have to be pretty good to be a straight man because of timing with the other person.

STEVE BOETTCHER, producer, November 9, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: There was nothing on TV before Sid Caesar other than bowling and wrestling. Good thing Fox TV wasn’t around then: they probably would have combined the two into one continuous network, and that just would have gotten ugly. What were some of the early television programmers like? Were there even such things are programmers? What was the mood of early TV executives, how did they decide what to show on the air, and did you find they fought much with entertainers?
BOETTCHER: When I talked to Red Skelton he fought with the executives from day one. And he told all of them, we’ve been in this business all of for 20 minutes, I want to do it my way. AND Red Skelton felt that way and Milton Berle and Sid Caesar felt that way. They wanted to bring their skills and their way to television. Case in point: Skelton lasted 20 consecutive years on television which is monumental today. But the same pressures television has today were still real back then. Television was driven by advertising and ratings. And Sid Caesar also mentioned how you had to be fresh every single week or the audience turned away. So what’s true today with television was true back then also. There were a lot of lively fights and lively discussions. And the censors watched television very closely. You’ll see clips from early television where you actually see the performer, like Red Skelton, make a joke, and look at the program and try to gauge whether the censor likes the joke and is going to keep it in the program or not. And even in those early days the lines between advertisers and the program were blurred. A lot of performers had a very close relationship with the advertisers. It was a big business back then, also.

BILL FRISKICS-WARREN, music journalist, November 14, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: What is your take on the evolution of country music (even back to when it was called country “and western”) music? It seems the western and cowboy themes are much fewer, and much of what is considered country today would have been considered rock and roll thirty years ago. To what factors do you attribute this evolution?
FRISKICS-WARREN: Sonically and thematically, today’s country music reflects the suburbanization—and attendant homogenization—of life in many parts of the United States. Much is made, too often condescendingly, of the proverbially soccer mom and the NASCAR dad making up country’s core demographic, and while I doubt that’s the case, I suspect that the audience for country music throughout the nation is less monolithic than that suggests. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how the CMA Awards do down in Manhattan tomorrow night. As for the absence of cowboy-type themes, I wonder if they aren’t latent in the personas of singers like Toby Keith (the loudmouth saloon brawler), Alan Jackson (the strong silent type) and Tim McGraw (the good-time buddy). The SUC might have replaced the horse as the ride of choice, but some of the trappings remain.

Q’ORIANKA KILCHER, actor, December 22, 2005
CZIKOWSKY: How did you get this role (Pochahontas in “The New World”)?
KILCHER: I was actually submitted for a TV series called “Into the West” and the same casting office was also casting “The New World”. And so, an assistant to Renee Haines Casting, Joanna, she saw my photo on the table and thought I looked like an Indian Julia Roberts and persisted on them for three days, risking her job, and they finally brought me in because on the beginning day, we’re like, “No, no, no, she’s way too young…” Because they working for someone 18 or older, 17 being the youngest to play the role of Pocahontas. So I kept on going to audition after audition and they always told me I was too young for the role except they wanted to see me and I went in for probably 15 auditions and I never knew what to expect in the auditions. Because they would tell me to do a traditional dance, sing and play my Native American flute or try to memorize something within 5 or 10 minutes to see if I was able to withstand the pressures of how it would kind of be on a movie set.
And so, when I got the call from producer Sarah Green that I got the role I was walking in Beverly Hills and I stopped in the middle of the street and started screaming and dancing. Yeah, it was unbelievable. And that’s it.

CARRIE UNDERWOOD, American Idol Winner, January 20, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: You grew up in the country. Were you a country girl dreaming o hitting it big some day? What made you decide to try singing, and did you ever imagine you would go so far?
UNDERWOOD: I’ve always loved singing. It was always just something that I liked to do. I always wanted to sing but I never thought of making it big. The doors just opened up in the right way.

SIMON BAKER, actor, February 3, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: Have you always been able to concentrate just on acting, or did you have a period where you needed to work in another field? What was your break that allowed you to become a full-time actor?
BAKER: I have been very fortunate, from the start of my career. I’ve worked reasonably consistently and sometimes out of necessity to support my family. I started on a television show in Australia in ’92 and have had some lean times but touch wood, I’ve always managed to pull through.
CZIKOWSKY: 42.4% of African American women don’t marry. So, how does Kenya McQueen attract a hunk like Bryan Kelly (Baker’s character in “Something New”) out of all that competition?
BAKER: First of you, you flatter me. The meeting was a happy accident. I think Bryan felt there was something within Kenya that wasn’t realized and he felt the urge to want to help her blossom into a happy fullness. At the time that they met they complemented each other with their emotional states.

MOLLY HASKELL, “The Essential” co-host, February 28, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: Has anyone analyzed the demographics of the Oscar voters? Haven’t there been claims of bias among some groups of Oscar voters, i.e. British members tend to vote more for British films, etc.? Does the composition of the Oscar voter indicate likely Oscar winners?
HASKELL: I don’t know about British voters (Hollywood has a long history of Anglophilia, and if you look at the winners over the years, British acting dominates). But I think East Coast versus West Coast (i.e. “Crash” versus “Brokeback Mountain”) plays a role, as does age. The Academy has gotten younger and so have its choices.
CZIKOWSKY: Few people discuss the ignored part of the Academy Awards—i.e. Best Short Film, Screenwriter, etc. Are there any particular categories that stand out that people should take a greater look at?
HASKELL: I think it’s hard to see short films. Theaters just don’t play them. We should all try and see the foreign films, again not easy to see. Screenplay is an interesting category, though it’s not always easy to apportion credit in the collective enterprise of moviemaking. But thinking about structure can be illuminating way of getting more out of movies.

CHRISTIAN CARION, director, March 1, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: Would you please provide us with some historical background on the truce (shown in the movie “Joyeux Noel”)?
CARION: In December 1914 the war had started since five months. The soldiers were exhausted and they wanted to have the rest of Christmas time. And the Germans started to sing “Silent Night” and because of this song, everything was changed for one night.
It’s very, very important for you to know it’s a true story. It’s an old, true story because if it was not a true story this movie would be nonsense. It would be just a pure fantasy, you know. I don’t want to make a fantasy.
CZIKOWSKY: Knowing the film business is a long term industry, have you made or begun any films since this one?
CARION: In fact, I’m working on this movie (“Joyeaux”) for four years now and for me, it will be finished after the Oscars. Then after that I will see what I will do.
CZIKOWSKY: When will “Joyeux Noel” be available on DVD?
CARION: Of course, we will make some DVDs, but I suggest you first see the movie, discover the movie, in a real theater because of the difference between a theater and your home…in the theater you see the movie with other people and it changes the way you see the movie, so to speak. Cinema, for me, is that. It’s a screening for different people altogether. When you are in the theater, people laughing and crying…they influence you. And I love that. You are in the dark with people you don’t know and you are laughing, crying at the same moment.
I don’t know when Sony Classics will make the DVD release,

ADAM NELSON, Workhouse Publicity CEO, March 2, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: Is swag (given to celebrities at the awards ceremonies) taxable to those who accept it? If so, does the Academy provide a form indicating the reportable value of the swag?
NELSON: Although I’m not an accountant I’d have to say that it falls under the category of “fuzzy math”. I mean, it was a gift—wasn’t it?
The New York Times published an article by Sharon Waxman in February which highlighted the following:
The gift phenomenon may create some unexpected problems for the organizations that sponsor them. At the recent Board meeting of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which presents the Golden Globes, members fretted about what to do with their extra gift bags, valued at $62,000 each.
On the advice of its tax lawyer, the association decided that “none of the leftover bags may be given to any ember, board or otherwise, or his family” according to the meeting notes. Lee Sheppard, a contributing editor to the tax journal Tax Notes, said that celebrities would be well to pay attention to the tax implications. “Queen Latifah is not getting a gift; Queen Latifah is getting income”. Ms. Sheppard said, speaking hypothetically of the star, “and the company is having a deduction for a form of advertising.” Tax law does not recognize this as a gift.
Michael Harris, President of Paragon Business Management, who manages entertainment clients like the reality show star Jesse James, said, “if it’s a fee for service, if you get this when you show up to do something, there would be taxable exposure.” But the issue is complicated, he added, because of the varying values that might be placed on a gift. “The I.R.S.’s appetite to enforce this type of transaction would depend on the perceived value”, Mr. Harris said.
An article on Feb. 25 about promotional gifts to celebrities overstated the value of leftover gift bags at the recent Golden Globe awads ceremony, which the Board of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association decided against distributing to association members. The value was about $1,300, not $62,000. (The higher amount was the value of gift boxes for celebrity presenters at the event; Philip Best, the association’s President, said none of those were left.)
CZIKOWSKY: Is all swag equal, meaning does everyone get the same gift bag, or are they different? Do the nominees for Best Actor and Actress get the same swag as the nominees for short films, editing, screenwriting, etc.?
NELSON: You can certainly bet that the bag given to those brilliant editors, special effects teams, and musical directors are most certainly not what the Best Actor and Actresses are taking home.

JEN CHANEY, washingtonpost.com Movies Editor, March 5, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: What are people saying about the Best film Editing award? Pretty hot stuff, eh? Seriously, shouldn’t more attention be given to the people who work hard hours at less pay and notice in producing films?
CHANEY: I have filled out my Oscar ballot and I have “Crash” winning for film editing, which is based on nothing other than the fact I think it was a pretty complicated story to piece together.
I agree with your second point. The people who work on the technical side are often seen as extraneous or “nerdy”, but they are vital to making these movies. I recently interviewed Andy Nelson, a sound mixer who is nominated tonight to “War of the Worlds”, and I was fascinated by what he does. He made the point that his work, contrary to what many may think, truly is creative and I would agree.

BARRY MANIOLOW, entertainer, March 8, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: How were songs from the Fifties picked (for the album “The Greatest Songs of the Fifties”)? Were these your personal favorites or songs you thought people would more want to hear? Were there some songs you wish you could have added to the album?
MANILOW: These were the ones that sounded best coming from me. There were many others but these were the best ones for my vocal ability.

DOMINIC CHIANESE, actor, March 13, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: I caught your singing show a few years ago: you are an excellent singer. How long have you sung professionally, and did you start out singing or acting?
CHIANESE: I started out first in Gilbert and Sullivan repertory so essentially I started as a singer. That’s about 50 years ago.

PHILLIP SWANN, TVPredictions.com President, March 27, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: Why must HDTV require getting rid of our old sets or converting them? Why must we pay extra for something we already paid for? Why can’t we watch on our old sets if we don’t want to convert? Also, have we planned on land filling all the TV sets in America?
SWANN: Another good question. Yes, why is the Federal government mandating that we get new TVs (or a converter box) to watch these new signals? Well, it’s a long story, but basically the Feds wants the old analog space so they can auction it off for billions of dollars.

ROSALIND WISEMAN, author, March 29, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: I am wondering what your impressions were of the movie “Mean Girls”, if you saw it? Did it accurately portray (realizing that movies exaggerate characters) real issues facing adolescents, and were there distortions or points not covered that you would point out?
WISEMAN: Yes. I saw it. :-) I’ve had many kids around the country say to me that that was their high school, but certainly not all kids. Some kids say in no way that was like their experience. And both are equally valid. Both are equally true.
On the second point, I wish that there was a more explicit condemnation of homophobia.

JEFF CORWIN, Animal Planet TV show host, April 14, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: I have seen you lots of time shown at the Animal Planet film at Universal as well as your TV show. I am wondering if you recall how long ago you filmed the Universal film, what you thought when you were asked to do it, and are you aware it continues playing to this day? CORWIN: We filmed it a few years ago and I’m not aware of what it’s status is now.
CZIKOWSKY: What are some of the scariest things you’ve had to do?
CORWIN: Surprisingly less to do with animals and more about risky human situations such as political unrest, problems with vehicles, airplanes, hot air balloons, etc. Those I find more unnerving than wildlife.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, May 5, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: Has anyone thought of showing pilots on a cable network? It might be interesting to see what has been produced, and at least a lot of people’s work won’t go t waste and someone will see them.
DE MORAES: CBS yesterday announced its new broadband network ‘innertube’ (gak!) and the CBS suits said they may put busted pilots on it as part of programming lineup. That would be fun. Then you could compare what they did pick up with what they did not…

HELEN REDDY, singer, May 9, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: I am unfamiliar with your health crisis. What was it, if I may ask, and what obstacles did it place in your life?
REDDY: I have Addison’s Disease and there is no cure but it is manageable. I take Cortisone everyday and have for about 30 years now. So it is much the same as a diabetic needing insulin: there is no cure but you can lead a relatively normal life.
It’s a failure of the adrenal glands, adrenal insufficiency. And I had a kidney removed when I was 17 and they took the adrenal gland as well. The one I had left operated during a period of great stress in my life. In other words, I only had one left and then later on, at a period of stress in my life which would’ve been around 1973,…both my parents died…I write about it in the book (“The Woman I Am”).
I wasn’t diagnosed for two years so my condition worsened and I was in total exhaustion.

SAM POLLARD, director, May 11, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: Did John Wayne and John Ford ever have any major disagreements? If so, what did they disagree about?
POLLARD: I don’t think they ever had any major disagreements. Ford was the mentor, Wayne was the mentee. Anything that Ford said, it was gospel. Wayne had a reputation for being very difficult with other directors, but never with John Ford. John Ford was the man who gave him his career.
CZIKOWSKY: What influences do you think Tom Mix had on the later films of John Ford and John Wayne?
POLLARD: Personally, I don’t think any. I know Ford directed Mix, but Mix was not the kind of cowboy that would be in a number of Ford films. They were both under contract to Fox. Mix was a flamboyant, Gene Autry type of cowboy. Not authentic to me, and I know not authentic to Ford.
CZIKOWSKY: How would you compare John Ford as a director with Steven Spielberg?
POLLARD: Good question. I would say they both as film makers and directors embrace the notion of an American individualism and American self-determination. IN both of their films there is always a sense of optimism. I think they both have a real strong grasp of the medium, in how to use the medium as directors. Both wonderful directors. But I happen to like Ford more than Spielberg, personally.

KEVIN SMITH, actor-writer-director, June 28, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: I read about the guy in Philadelphia who attacked you for making a sequel to “Clerks”. Now, I don’t mind whether or not it is a sequel, but whether or not it is good. Please tell us what makes your sequel good.
SMITH: That dude was funny. I can’t really feel offended by people that bask the flick without having seen it. He’s working at a loss.
What’s good about the flick (“Clerks II”) is subjective: it’s different for everyone. Me? It was worth it to make the flick just to get a specific scene in the last ten minutes (don’t want to spoil it). For others, it may seem worth it because it is funny. Can’t say whether people will dig the movie as much as I do, but I can say this much: you’ll laugh when you see the flick. A lot. And not at it, mind you; with it. It’s a really funny flick. And buried in there is some heartfelt stuff as well. I don’t know; when I talk about it with folks that haven’t seen it, I don’t want to over-sell it, so I usually just say “Check it out, if you’re inclined.” That way, they don’t go in with expectations—which is a stupid notion on my behalf, I realize, because the moment there’s a 2 in any movie title, there’s no avoiding some level of expectation.
CZIKOWSKY: What led you to decide to create a mostly silent character? It is more difficult to pull off, because you have to express yourself through body language and expressions, and you are one of the few people who can pull that off well. Did you know you were good at this before you created Silent Bob, or did Silent Bob develop with you over time, or how did you come up with Silent Bob? SMITH: Whether I’m “good” at it at all is open for debate. But I came up with Silent Bob just so Jay would have someone to talk to. I figured it’d be nice to pair him with his polar opposite: if Jay’s always yapping, always moving, and wirey, it seemed to make sense to have his standing beside someone who was the flip-side of those attributes. And keeping him quiet was just a way to let the Jay character ramble without having to get into a conversation. I think he’s best when he’s not engaged in conversation, but when he’s talking to (or at) Silent Bob.
Also, it means I get to be in the movie and not have to memorize any of those long-a$$ monologues I force the other cast to perform.

ED CRAY, author, July 13, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: What were some of the inspirations that Woody (Guthrie) provided to (son) Arlo? I note that Arlo’s children perform with him, so there does seem to be a strong family connection to continuing the musical tradition. In fact, I remember Arlo telling the story of how, once in concert, he forgot the words to a song and he turned to his children to continue the song, and they indicated they didn’t know what the words were, either. His punch line was “well, I knew the words to all of my father’s songs.”
CRAY: In an interview with me as I was writing “Rambling Man”, Arlo told me he never had an adult conversation with his father—a statement I find terrible revealing and poignant. My guess is that Arlo followed the mythic Woody rather than the real man into performing. About the only thing I think Arlo learned from his father was the adoption of a stage persona. Arlo, born in Brooklyn, given speech lessons by an Englishwoman to eradicate the accent, bar mitzvahed on the Lower East Side, somehow managed acquired an Oklahoma drawl! At home, I am told by a daughter, he speaks unaccented English with good grammar.

MITCHELL FINK, entrainment industry journalist, July 20, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: Do you believe there is such a thing as a dignified death and, if so, what would that be?
FINK: Dignity is a matter of opinion. But I believe Orson Welles’s death, suffering a heart attack while writing a script on a typewriter that’s balanced on his stomach, is about as dignified as it gets.
CZIKOWSKY: Does your book (“The Last Days of Dead Celebrities”) include the last hours of John Belushi, an actor whose last days have been the subject of much discussion and controversy? FINK: I tried to approach the Belushi chapter from the point of view of the two closest people in his life, his wife Judy and his best friend and partner Dan Aykroyd. Both were in New York at the time of Belushi’s death. They knew what he was doing in L.A., and I felt it was important to tap into their frustration, and subsequent guilt over their not being able to help save him from himself.
CZIKOWSKY: What were John Lennon’s last hours like? Was he at the recording studio and, if so, what was he recording and has it ever been released?
FINK: Most people don’t know that on John Lennon’s last night, he and Yoko did not sleep in the same bed. She was in their bedroom, and he was on a couch in their living room listening to one of her songs, over and over again, on a cassette recorder. When she work up the next morning, his last day, he was asleep on the couch, still in his clothes from the night before. The album they had been working on together at the time was “Double Fantasy.”

GEORGE PELECANOS, author, August 1, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: How long were you with “The Wire”? What were some of your story ideas?
PELECANOS: I have been with “The Wire”, in various capacities, for all four seasons. I was a producer but I gave this up for the 4th season to concentrate on my novels. I did write a script, however, for the upcoming season. The core writers—David Simon, Ed Burns, and myself—gravitated to different storylines and themes. David created the show and Ed, with his experiences as a Baltimore police officer, was an essential component. Obviously, I had something to do with the Greeks and their dialogue in season 2. And I was pretty closely attached to the created of Cutty, the character who comes out of prison and starts a boxing gym for kids. I can’t give enough credit to Simon and Burns for how that shows turns out.

STEVE LANDES and JOE BITHORN, RAIN band members, October 5, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have to get permission to be Beatles look-alikes or can one just go ahead and announce they are a look-alike band without permission? I presume you pay royalties for the songs, but do you have to pay anything in addition to being so similar to the Beatles?
BITHORN: Joe aka George: In as far as the music is concerned, there are licensing agreements between the theaters we play or any of the venues we play and ASCAP and BMI, so in order to perform any live music these have to be in place. As far as our show is concerned, we have run this past our attorneys and we are in accordance with the rules and regulations.
LANDES: There are certain things you should not do, like use of the actual Beatles photos of the Beatles logo (like on their drumhead). These things we steer away form. As Beatles fans, we wouldn’t do anything that would go against the Beatles’ wishes.

DARREN ARONOFSKY, writer-director, October 18, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: Becoming a director is one of the hardest things to achieve. Obviously you are very talented, so I can see how your career took off when you began directing. How did you get to enter the field of directing?
ARONOFSKY: No one was helping me so I eventually got a bunch of filmmakers together and we made “Pi”. By doing something homemade it broke open the possibility of directing for me.

HARRY SHEARER, actor and novelist, October 20, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: Eggcellent that you are here. When did you start doing different voices? Was this something you would do a child to amuse others, or was this a skill you developed once you became an actor?
SHEARER: It was something I did as a child, first of all, to amuse myself because I was an only child and needed amusement but I do remember doing some shows into my dad’s tape recorder with a few friends where I tried to do different characters, I think. Although, really, I didn’t have the vocal equiqment to do different voices until…after college.
CZIKOWSKY: Now that there are two TV shows sowing what it is like backstage on “Saturday Night Live”, I am wondering if you have seen these shows and what things have you seen that they nailed perfectly and what things are totally way off?
SHEARER: I saw the pilot of “Studio 60” and I saw a little premiere of “30 Rock”. Neither remotely resembles what it’s really like.

WILLIAM J. MANN, film historian, November 14, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: Would you agree that Katharine Hepburn is the greatest female movie star of the 20th century? Who would you compare her with, and how do they contrast?
MANN: I think she is the most influential female movie star of the 20th century and certainly she was able to sustain her stardom longer than anyone else. I think as an actress she did not have the range of Bette Davis and certainly someone like Elizabeth Taylor knew how to manage the glamorous aspects of stardom better than Hepburn, but Hepburn became a symbol of the American character in a way none of the others did.
CZIKOWSKY: What does your book (“Kate”) ad that no one has previously written about Katharine Hepburn? Did you use any resources that have never been explored before and, if so, what type of information did you find?
MANN: I think what my book does is that it tries to draw a distinction between the legend and the real woman and to understand why and how the legend endured for so long. And also, the book looks at ways in which public lives are construed and maintained in the celebrity spotlight.
I use many new sources including many friends and family members who have never spoken before as well as diaries and letters from many people in the Hepburn inner circle.
CZIKOWSKY: Some have considered the Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy romance as one of the great romances of the 20th century. How would you characterize it?
MANN: It was a great, passionate, devoted friendship. I believe it was not often sexual but that shouldn’t detract from the important the relationship had had in Hepburn’s and Tracy’s lives.

AMANDA VAILL, author, November 28, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: What were some of the deciding moments in (Jerome Robbins’s) life? What decisions did he make that turned out to be the correct ones that led to his success?
VAILL: One deciding moment was when he auditioned for an experimental choreographer called Gluck Sandor and afterwards Sandor asked him to lunch and explained that dancing was a terrible life, but the 18 year old Robbins could join his troupe if he wanted—and Robbins said, “I went”. Another was when he was offered the chance to choreograph a ballet for American Ballet Theatre in 1943 and was told to keep things modest—and he went out and found an unknown young composed, Leonard Bernstein, to write the score, thus jump-starting both their careers. Another was when—after he’d had his first (and very nearly only) flop as a theatre director in 1948—he saw Balanchine’s New York City Ballet dance and impulsively begged Balanchine to let him join the company as a dancer, a helper, a floor-sweeper, anything. Those were all positive decisions. But a lot of the rest of his life—successful or otherwise—was more a case of process, of growing towards something, or sticky with it—like “West Side Story”, which was a concept he clung to from the early 1940’s until it was finally produced in 1957.

CATHERINE HARDWICKE, director, December 1, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: Was producing this film (“The Nativity Story”) your idea or were you recruited to direct this film? How did you become involved and what personal perspectives did you bring to the film as a director?
HARDWICKE: The script was sent to be kind of “by accident”—along with a pile of scripts from my agency. I read it and was fascinated with the idea, so I did a bunch of research and went in to New Line and tried to get the job. I talked to them about trying to make Mary and Joseph human and real-to breath lifte into a story that we think we know.
CZIKOWSKY: What does your film offer that audiences have never seen in previous films about the nativity?
HARDIWICKE: We tried to show Mary as a very young Jewish peasant girl, as historically accurate as we could, and bring you into her world and her difficulties. We tried to make Mary and Joseph feel like real people—show “the humanity beneath the
halos.”

DAN O’KEEFE, writer, December 21, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: I have declared at my workplace that I celebrate Festivus. What days am I allowed to declare that I may take off from work as a part of my new belief?
O’KEEFE: None. You will be fired, as Kramer was.
CZIKOWSKY: I hate the social obligation of purchasing gifts that people don’t need because if they needed it they would have gotten it already, yet since I am obligated to buy something, I buy things I believe are easiest to dispose of, which really shows that I am aware and really do care. Are there any good Festivus gifts that you can recommend?
O’KEEFE: Our gifts were mostly joke gifts. We’d wrap up rocks, sticks, bricks, rolls of toilet paper, things we already owned, etc. I’d recommend a collected edition of the Onion, or an actual onion.

ERIC HILTON, Thievery Corporation member, December 21, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: I love your name (Thievery Corporation). Ever fear someone might steal it?
HILTON: I think our lawyer filed the proper paper work. I don’t think we need to worry about it at this point.

MARY WILSON, former member of The Supremes, January 12, 2006
CZIKOWSKY: What parts of “Dreamgirls” is on target as being what really happened to the Supremes?
WILSON: There’s so many likenesses and there are so many differences that it would be very difficult here and now to explain them. However, the more they tried to change the story, the more it was closer to our story.
That the movie had Effie as the pivotal role, Florence Ballard too was the soul of the Supremes and the conflict. The public saw more of Diane out front but within the group we dealt more with Florence.

WILLIAM JELANI COBB, Spelman College History Assistant Professor, January 20, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: I understand there are distinctive differences to the rap and hip hop beats on the East Coast as opposed to the West Coast. Would you agree this is true and, if that is true, what was the process that create the distinctive sounds on the different coasts?
COBB: Hip hop developed its regional flavor in the 1990s. And it’s true that the East and West Coast generally have distinct musical styles. One of the reasons for that predate hip hop—which is to say that the type of hip hop that these regions produced echoed the musics that were already popular in those regions.

IRIS YAMASHITA, screenwriter, February 9, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: How much of the script (“Letters from Iwo Jima”) comes from actual recollections and how much of the script did you need to recreate what likely happened because few records remain?
YAMASHITA: Most of the events depicted were based on some sort of reality, the actual conversations might be different and some of the characters were fictional. Regarding the lack of records, I extrapolated from accounts of other battles.
CZIKOWSKY: I remember touring the building where the Oscars are awarded and as they showed us where the big stars sat, I asked where the screenwriting nominees sit. The tour guide pointed to the back of the room. Any chance the Academy has finally recognized the importance of the screenwriters and at least upgraded where you sit?
YAMASHITA: (LAUGHS) That’s pretty funny. Unfortunately, I have no idea where I’ll be sitting this year but it’s nice that you recognize that screenwriters are important.

JEN SCHEFFT, “The Bachelorette” TV show host, February 12, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: What, may I ask, are your Valentine’s Day plans?
SCHEFFT: I currently don’t have any Valentine’s Day plans…and I’m very okay with that! However, lots of people ask me “how can I be happy on V-Day without a boyfriend/girlfriend?” You can do a number of things: get a group of girls together for dinner, get yourself a massage or pedicure (pampering yourself is great!) or buy yourself a present (I find that buying shoes and purses helps me!). Just make it a special day for YOU. Someone else told me she celebrates all the people in her life that she loves—not just the romantic loves. I think that is a fabulous idea.

IRA GLASS, “This American Life” TV show host, March 14, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: What are some of the adjustments you’ve had to make to television, other than you now have to wear clothes?
GLASS: Some of the adjustments might sound subtle but in fact are a big deal. Like some quotes that’s just be beautiful and moving on the radio don’t work on TV. It’s completely insanely disorienting when that happens. Like the instincts that have served perfectly well till this point in my life are totally wrong.
Also, it’s weird to sit so far from the interviewees during the interviews. For radio, you’re right next to them. For TV, you’re behind the camera which is 8-10 feel from them. Which is far! Though you have to keep talking like you’re sitting right next to them, you can’t raise your voice or half-shout or anything. It’d sound weird.
And performing for the camera is still a very strange experience for me. A weirdly naked experience. Unlike the radio, despite the intimacy of the radio.

JEN CHANEY, washingtonpost.com, Movies Editor, May 17, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: May I please point our one reason why “Lost” is steadily losing viewers is because it cannot possibly pick up new viewers? I was late to learn about the series and watched one episode. I recognized the beach where they were filming and felt like telling these people if they walked a few feet they would find a road and be saved. I have no idea who these characters are, what they are doing, and quickly gave up on the show. For us latecomers to the show, we’re the ones who are totally “Lost” and I doubt too many of us are becoming new viewers to the show.
CHANEY: I hear what you’re saying. But with the next season not starting until January, there’s one very easy way to catch up: DVD. Granted, it’s a commitment, but if you want to get into the show that’s the best way to do it. I agree that trying to catch on now is next to impossible.

SULLY ERNA, Godsmack Front Man, May 25, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: I received the advice that if one really wants to be in a band, it is good to learn how to become a skillful drummer. Supposedly this is the hardest instrument for bands to find, especially since fewer parents allow their children to get drums. Based on what you have seen, is it easy for drummers to find work?
ERNA: It’s not too hard because everyone is looking for a great drummer. But it’s hard drummers to figure out what band they want to play in. It’s important to keep playing so if it means in the meantime you have to join something not your cup of tea, roll with it to stay in practice and in shape until you find a band that is right for you or start a band that is right with the style of music you want to play.

MICHAEL WINTERBOTTOM, director, June 15, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: How did you get to direct this film (“A Mighty Heart”)? Did you seek to direct it, or were you sought out to be the director?
WINTERBOTTOM: Dede Gardner and Brad Pitt called up and asked me if I wanted to direct it, and I said yes.
CZIKOWSKY: Have any members of the Pearl family viewed your film and, if so, are you aware of their reactions to your presentation?
WINTERBOTTOM: Mariane has seen it. And also. Danny’s parents watched it. Obviously, watching a film about Danny must be difficult. But everyone has been very supportive of the project.

SUGE KNIGHT, Death Row Records Founder, June 18, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: What led you to decide to try the world of television? Are you enjoying it, or it is more of a pain that has to be put up with?
KNIGHT: At first, when I started doing it, it was more of a pain. But the new project I’m doing is more exciting, because I’m dealing with kids—I get about 20 troubled kids, kids in trouble for burglary, attempted murder, white gangs, black gangs, Mexican gangs—and they’re all going to be in the same house. They’ll learn to use computers, how to study, I’m going to have NFL players, NBA players, boxers, people. This isn’t the average reality show where people get up in the morning with their makeup. This is 20 real people, and I’m going to be there to supervise them.
When you’re dealing with TV and with movies, people don’t take it as serious as they do with music. If a rapper does a song about shooting people on the block, and goes into a restaurant or grocery store, people grab their purses because they’re afraid the person is violent. With TV and movies, people know it’s okay, it’s just a script. Even with our Governor, who played “The Terminator”—people would embrace him and ask for his autograph, they wouldn’t expect him to shoot up the store.

BRET MICHAELS, Poison front man, July 24, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: If you weren’t in Poison, what else might you have done in life, and perhaps still may someday do?
MICHAELS: Well, Music has always been my life, way before I had the success. So to be honest if I hadn’t made it in Poison I would be in some sort of local cover band where ever I ended up living. I probably would be poor for trying but never would have given up. To this day, if I walk into a bar I end up getting up with the band. It never fails. It’s what I will always do.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, July 27, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: Here’s my latest idea: a reality show were celebrities book themselves into rehab. The celebrity who can remain sober or not get arrested the longest wins.
DE MORAES: We already have that show. It’s on TMZ…
CZIKOWSKY: Where’s the Geico gecko’s show? Isn’t he more lovable?
DE MORAES: The “Cavemen” guys were asked if Gecko was going to do a guest gig on their new ABC series. They were not amused. Which may explain why their new show is so bad---no sense of humor…

THE AMAZING KRESKIN, mentalist, August 13, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: When did you first meet Merv Griffith and what was that first meeting like?
THE AMAZING KRESKIN: The first meeting was through his secretary. He didn’t know who in the world I was. I walked in with a manager into his downstairs office on a national holiday, so nobody was there, some mentalist. I saw one of his people and said is anybody in. They said, “who they hell are you?” I said “can you call up to Griffin’s office. I don’t want to speak to him.” Tom O’Malley, who was one of his bookers, begrudgingly dialed the phone. I related my message through him. I said tell her to think of any playing card. I laid a card in front of Tom O’Malley and walked to the entrance door of the office and stood there. I said to Tom, ask her what card she’s thinking of. He did, he turned the card in front of him. It was the same card that she was thinking of. He (O’Malley) said “get you’re a—upstairs to Merv’s office.”
I met him. We spent only eight minutes together. It was like I was talking to my next door neighbor. He said, “I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.” And he said to me “Kreskin”. I said “yes Merv” and he said “it’s going to be a long run.”

FEROZ KHAN, film writer/director, August 15, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: All people are human, with good points and flaws. We revere our icons, but doesn’t it help that we learn about the reality of a broader perspective of what people are like? Don’t we also learn from the flaws? Finally, do you believe it takes times, perhaps in this case 60 years is appropriate, for when we will accept a truer evaluation of an icon?
KHAN: The problem is when we make somebody a demigod or an icon we eventually make him irrelevant. When we humanize them, see them with all their floaws. We are able to better appreciate them and also they become relevant. 60 years has been a long time. I wish we had started this process (“Gandi, My Father”) much earlier.

ADAN GOLDBERG, actor, August 24, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: I see Julie Delpy wrote the screenplay (to “2 Days in Paris”). How was it working with an actor who also was trying to get her vision onto the screen? Did she seem happy with the performances and the filming?
GOLDBERG: It didn’t seem unnatural in any way. It seemed the acting she was doing is really an extension of the work she had already put into the film. We also spent quite a lot of time together in the months prior to shooting. As far as our performances were concerned, that was the intuitive, if you will, even easiest aspect of it.
As far as the directing is concerned, it’s always stressful when you have a lot to shoot. I’ve done that, I’ve directed two films that took 18 or 20 days. So that’s stressful. I acted in my first feature and I think sometimes directing yourself can actually be easier. It’s one less person to have to direct. At least I found that to be the case.
CZIKOWSKY: How long did it take to get established, did you work other jobs, and what do you recommend for survival in the world of acting?
GOLDBERG: I still don’t feel established so 17 years and counting. I did have other jobs. I worked primarily as a book seller in two different bookstores. And I’ve definitely tried to busy myself with other interests and passions that I suppose are still somewhat in the general vein: writing, making movies myself and making music, which is something I am very passionate about. Generally just to establish a life that is as normal as it can be so you have something consistent, rounding, and stable because it really is a roller coaster. I don’t know that my career has been a roller coaster as much as a water ride. It’s not like the Colossus but it still feels sort of treacherous. It’s like a kid’s roller coaster.

AASIF MANDVI, actor, August 27, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: At last, a show (“The Daily Show”) that is fair and balanced. What do you think of the reality that many people, especially younger people, do rely on your show for hard news? Indeed, while your show is for entertainment, even in your jokes you probably put some news in a better perspective than other cable news programs. What are your thoughts on that?
MANDVI: I think news satire has become the only unfiltered news on television today.
CZIKOWSKY: Do you sing? Have you ever thought “The Daily Show” could use more musical dancing?
MANDVI: Yes and no and maybe the other way.
CZIKOWSKY: How did you wind up on “The Daily Show”? Did you audition or did they approach you? MANDVI: I auditioned.
CZIKOWSKY: Have you tried the Ben and Jerry’s Colbert Ice Cream? If so, can you recommend I run out and buy some?
MANDVI: Go get some.

PAUL HAGGIS, filmmaker, September 7, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: You write, direct, and produce. Do you have a strong preference doing one over the other and, if so, why? Would you prefer to do all three and have strong control over a project, or do you prefer to get a mix of ideas from other writers, directors, and producers?
HAGGIS: Writing is the hardest of the three, so that’s what I least prefer doing but in many ways it’s the most rewarding.
I do like to work with other people in order to get feedback so I often write or produce with someone else.
CZIKOWSKY: You produced one of the greatest television shows ever produced: “EZ Streets”. How was that show developed, who originated the idea for the show, and how did it evolve? Finally, in looking back, what are your thoughts on the show? Are you happy with it, even if did not find an audience to keep it on the air, and do you think it could have found an audience if the network had done anything differently?
HAGGIS That is my favorite show and it came out of some dark place in my mind and I can’t recall anymore where. I did do two years of research on the nature of corruption and I spent many, many lovely weeks sitting at the New York Public Library going through all their files before this stuff was on the Internet.
Yes, I think anytime between then and now it would’ve had a shot; that’s what happens when you’re first out of the box.

EMILE HIRSCH, actor, September 21, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: How did you get the role of Speed? Did they recruit you or did you audition? Has your part been done yet or, if not, when is this movie being made?
HIRSCH: I auditioned for the role of Speed and we shot the film in Berlin over the summer. It is now finished shooting. Expect a wild ride with the Wachowski brothers. It comes out next summer.

TONY GILROY, film writer-director, September 27, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: What screenplays have you written that have not been produced and perhaps still might someday be produced? What is your advice to getting screenplays to gain attention and support so they do become made into movies?
GILROY: I have written a bunch of scripts that have not gotten produced, much more so early in my career than later. I think that 10 or 12 years ago I decided to try to make that happen, that I wrote fewer scripts that didn’t get made. I do some every conscious things to make that happen.
They are not the thing a first time screenwriter would be able to do. I only do one project at a time. When I start something, I know people I am working with, it’s a project they’re interested in. It also means I can be working for a studio or the executives who will still have their jobs when it’s time to make the film. Developing films with directors, developing films with actors, is a poor percentage play for a screenwriter. If that person happens to not be ready, changes their mind, lost attention, whatever, your script sits there. So I don’t take those jobs anymore.
CZIKOWSKY: Have you heard from George Clooney since his accident? If so, or if you have heard indirectly, how is he doing?
GILROY: We had our premiere (of “Michael Clayton”) in New York on Monday night. I have seen him. He’s got some band aids on and he’s got broken ribs. Not much you can do about broken ribs. I’m sure he’s sore, but he was at work and smiling.

GRAHAM NASH, musician, October 12, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: Are you in touch with Neil Young? If so, what is he doing and did you consider inviting him to this concert?
NASH: Neil, of course, has written a new album and will be on his own tour.

A.J. SCHNACK, filmmaker, October 26, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: What was Kurt Cobain’s relationship with Courtney Love like? Do you see it as having several phases to it, and how would you describe what they felt about each other throughout the time they were together?
SCHNACK: I think that one of the things that’s really clear in the tapes is their affection for one another. Occasionally, Courtney would come into the room and interrupt the interview for one reason or another. For instance, asking for a cigarette or saying that Michael and Kurt had to turn on a certain B-movie that was on television. And that was very interesting because their interactions were so funny and normal. And Kurt speaks about Courtney as someone he loves a great deal, even if he can also see some of her faults at the time. I don’t have any specific knowledge about what happened in their relationship after the last interview—which was about a year before Kurt died.

KHALIN ABDALLA, actor, November 9, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: This is your second feature film. How did you get to become a film actor, and what did you do before becoming a movie actor?
ABDALLA: I got into film through “United 93”, which came as a surprise. Pervious to that, all my experience had all been in theater. I never expected to be in a movie, at least not for awhile and I certainly never expected my first role to be a Hollywood terrorist, if only in name. In fact, I think it’s a Hollywood terrorist only because it’s a Hollywood film, not because of the way the portrayal is made.
Had anyone told me that I would have done that by the end of the year, I probably would have stopped. But I’m very proud to have been involved in the film as I was and the way that it was done. From that came “The Kite Runner”. Coincidentally, the call asking me to come and audition came the day after the premiere of “United 93” while I was in New York. It’s carried me onward since then. It’s been a surprise. Part of your job as an actor is to respond to the surprises as they come to you.
As for what comes next, I don’t know yet. But I’m looking forward to it.

JOHN O’HURLEY, actor, November 19, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: I understand you used to hang around the Old Lyme area when you were younger. Did you have dogs as a child, and, if so, what kinds of dogs did you have?
O’HURLEY: We’ve had several dogs. When I was younger I had a dachshund, later a Scottish terrier, and then an English springer spaniel. And yes, I did hang around Old Lyme in an area called Hawk’s Nest.
CZIKOWSKY: Did you ever meet people who indentified with your role as Mr. Peterman, and what did they say to you?
O’HURLEY: Many people have claimed to have someone the likes of J. Peterman as their boss. I sympathize with them enormously for having to live that close to such lunacy.
CZIKOWSKY: Since you are not a judge (of the National Dog Show), I am wondering what breeds of dog you might think deserve stronger consideration by judges that you think might have been overlooked?
O’HURLEY: Sometimes as an outsider I’m always amazed that some of the lesser known breeds don’t get as much of the judge’s attention. There are certain dogs that I’m fascinated by but don’t seem to impress the judges and that seems to happen year after year. Certain breeds just seem to show better than others.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, November 30, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: Do networks consider foreign ratings? Should they consider foreign ratings? Do studios or networks earn much money off of foreign broadcasts of their shows? I ask because a friend from china state they have one network that most people watch, and that as many as one billion people watch and know American TV stars. I do not know how much China pays for these broadcasts, but when we are arguing about losing a few million viewers in America, does it mean anything when the rest of the world is watching our shows in the hundreds of millions?
DE MORAES: Pookie—Nielsen can’t even seem to find a way to track U.S. viewers who are members of their Nielsen homes when they’re watching TV in a bar or hotel room—and only recently announced with fanfare they’d figured a way to track Nielsen homes’ college-aged kids when they were watching TVs in their dorm rooms! Seriously, overseas ratings are not include din the numbers I spout daily, if that’s what you’re asking, because the ratings are done for the benefit of the advertisers who want to know how many people their ads are reaching. That said, there are ratings generated for how many people are watching a U.S. program in overseas markets. I’m sure you’ve seen those press reports from time to time.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, December 14, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: What is Alan Shore’s position at Crane Poole Schmidt on “Boston Legal”? He presumably is not a partner, as he joined the firm on a trial basis after losing his previous job. Yet there is never a reference to him being an associate or a partner. Although, with the cases he’s won, he should be a partner.
DE MORAES: After seeing your question, we called the rep for the show at the network, who said he did not know and referred us to David Kelley’s production company. The person we spoke to there also did not know. I’m determined to get to the bottom of this. I smell a coverup…

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, December 21, 2007
CZIKOWSKY: Did you get to the bottom of the mystery of what Alan Shore’s position is at Crane, Poole, Schmidt?
DE MORAES: He’s an “associate” at the law firm, we were finally informed. Shouldn’t he be partner by now?

JOHN ANDERSON, movie critic, February 8, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: So, does it turn out that Paris Hilton is more than just a photographic personality and she really can act in “The Hottie and the Nottie”, or is the reality that she should leave anything requiring talent to her cute dog?
ANDERSON: As they used to say about bad actors, “she’s good to her mother.” Paris is good to her dog.

TIFFANY WARD, cartoon executive producer, February 19, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: The voice of Rocky and Natasha is still active. Is she involved in any of your projects?
WARD: Yes, June Foray, the voice of Natasha and Rocky as well as many other Ward characters is still active. She is not currently involved in “George of the Jungle” since the production is done in Canada. We hope to have her involved in any Ward project in the future. We call her our good will ambassador and she is a close family friend as well as a huge talent.
CZIKOWSKY: Any chance we will see Superchicken return anytime anywhere?
WARD: Superchicken is now out on DVD with George and we do have discussions about Superchicken and new concepts but nothing definite to report yet/
CZIKOWSKY: Rocky and Bullwinkle were among the greatest TV shows of all time. I know a movie was done, but it wasn’t a cartoon movie. What will it take to get to convince you to revive the Rocky and Friends cartoons?
WARD: Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons were such a special and unique product that it scares most of the creative people away. They and I don’t want to tarnish the reputation of the original so until we think we can do it as well (isn’t that almost impossible?) we will wait.
CZIKOWSKY: We could use some more fractured fairy tales! Indeed, they seem to have become the start of a whole genre of cartoon and would fit right into today’s Comedy Central. Are there any plans to revive fractured fairy tales?
WARD: Fractured Fairy tales is beloved and it would fit into so many formats and there has been much talk about many different concepts but none have been finalized. We hope to have a good fit in the future for this beloved property.
CZIKOWSKY: Are you strictly thinking Cartoon Network, or would you work with a show on Fox or Comedy Central or another network?
WARD: We are open to any network that is interested in doing a Ward project with integrity.

MARSHALL HERSKOVITZ, television show creator, February 25, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: Who is in the cast (of “quarterlife”) and why were they selected for their roles? Do they seem to blend in well with each other?
HERSKOVITZ: The cast is made up of a wonderful group of young actors. We take the casting process very seriously, and are proud of the young actors we’ve discovered—Claire Danes, Evan Rachel Wood, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt. Most of these actors were brought to us by our wonderful casting directors Nicole Arbusto and Joy Dickson. I met Bitsie Tulloch (Dylan), however, at jury duty in Los Angeles, and was struck by her intelligence and uniqueness. My first thought was, “is that Dylan?”
CZIKOWSKY: I recall from “thirtysomething” that some of the characters brought references from their own lives onto the show. Will this be permitted on this new show, and what do you look for when an actor wants to bring something personal into a show?
HERSKOVITZ: Yes, we used to mercilessly steal from the real lives of our actors on “thirtysomething”, and I’m sure we’ll do it again on this show. I give them fair warning: “If there’s something you don’t want me to steal, you better tell me!”
Really, it’s all about authenticity. We’re talking about real-life issues. Sometime those real life issues happen to your real life actors.

MARK HARRIS, Entertainment Weekly columnist, February 26, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: Does your book (“Pictures at a Revolution”) tie in the cultural changes to the political changes of the times? I see the period as an era where America was forced to choose between the safety of the status quo of supporting President Johnson on the war and electing Nixon President versus responding to the rising demands of the youth movement, civil right movement, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, etc. Weren’t the movies mirroring these similar clashes within our political psyches?
HARRIS: Very good question…one the pretty much took me a book to answer! The tricky element in what you’re saying is that movies can never exactly “mirror” what’s going on in the culture, because they take so long to create from conception to release. “Bonnie and Clyde” and “The Graduate”, which are probably the two most “of their moment’ movies I write about, were in development for four years. Robert Benton and David Newman, “Bonnie and Clyde”’s screenwriters, were surprised to hear some critics and moviegoers argue that their movie was really about Viet Nam or really a metaphor for race relations in America, since they couldn’t possibly have anticipated what 1967 would look like in 1963. On the other hand, in their very first script treatment, they wrote that the fact was intended to be about “what’s going on now”…so it can’t be called accidental either.
CZIKOWSKY: When did the “star system” where studios owned the contracts of its star actors end? How did allowing actors greater choice of roles at different studios affect the type of movies that were made?
HARRIS: The star system, or really the “contract system” that bound actors to one studio or producer for a long time, started to disintegrate in the 1950s—in the 1960, for instance, Paul Newman, for instance, went “independent” with “Exodus” and stayed that way for the rest of his career. But for newcomers and non-stars, the system was still hanging on in the mid-1960s. One near-victim of that who you can read about in the book is Faye Dunaway, who, before she shot “Bonnie and Clyde”, was bound to a six picture deal working for then well past his prime Otto Preminger. Dunaway got out of that contract, but in her own autobiography, she wrote that it cost her serious money to do so.
CZIKOWSKY: I was disappointed to read how bigoted and difficult Rex Harrison was. How bad was it for others to work with Rex Harrison?
HARRIS: I don’t get the impression form anyone who ever worked with Rex Harrison that he was particularly easy on a set or in a stage production, at least, not until he was quite old. And “Dr. Dolittle” came a particularly rough time in his personal life, a moment at which his wife Rachel Roberts was suffering deeply from what may have been a form of bipolar disorder and when he and she were both drinking heavily. But to give Harrison some credit, one reason he was so irascible was that he felt he was working with inferior material that was not particularly being helped by the efforts of anyone else involved. And in that, he was right.

GLENN GORDON CARRON, “Medium” TV show creator, March 3, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: Allison DuBois is a real person. I understand television has to take significant liberties on real life cases as your main goal is to keep a show interesting to viewers. Yes, myself and I am sure other viewers are asking the same question: to what degree are the psychic powers that the real Allison DuBois similar or different from what is presented on TV?
CARRON: The show is inspired is Allison’s life and circumstances. Each individual episode though is largely an invention of myself and the other writers.
CZIKOWSKY: To what degree does Allison DuBois’s real life mimic what we see in the series? For instance, did she really work for the District Attorney’s office and, if so, did they use her psychic abilities on cases and, if so, did they really find her insights useful? If these similarities did exist, did the real Allison DuBois then lose her job in the D.A. office or is that creative fiction?
CARRON: Allison did work for the D.A. She did use her gifts to help prosecute criminals. At a point, when it became public knowledge that she was a psychic, it no longer made sense for Allison to continue in the D.A.’s office in an ongoing way.

BEN KARLIN, television producer, March 6, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: What is the current response to this well known question posed through the ages by many women: “Does this make me too fat?”
KARLIN: The answer to that question is always “Yes”. That’s Relationship 101.
CZIKOWSKY: I can’t believe you got Andy Richter to write for your book (“Things I’ve Learned From Women Who’ve Dumped Me”). What woman would ever dump Andy Richter?
CZIKOWSKY: Turns out, a lot of girls. Though the story is mainly about how he wouldn’t date when he was younger because he had such freaky body image issues. They he discovered “artsy girls and beer” in college.

TELLER, magician entertainer, March 6, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: When Penn gets to host TV shows, do you ever feel bad that you have chosen not to speak and thus you don’t get to host shows?
TELLER: Hey, I could change that if I ever get dissatisfied with it. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, I don’t love about my life.
CZIKOWSKY: You are from the Philadelphia area. Where there any particular inspirations in the area that helped guided you towards entertainment and illusions?
TELLER: My mentor at Central High School, David G. Rosenbaum, to whom the ‘Macbeth” production is dedicated, changed the course of my life.
CZIKOWSKY: You are an excellent entertainer. My wife for years was convinced she saw you drown on a stunt on the Letterman Show and insisted you have died. May I please ask your reassurances that you are still with us?
TELLER: (glub) Sure.

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, actor, April 1, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: What was your martial arts expertise before the film (“Redbelt”), or did you learn about martial arts for the film?
EJIOFOR: I had no martial arts expertise before the film. I had done a little boxing as a teenager so I came to this brand new, which was exciting and challenging.
CZIKOWSKY: How did you become an actor? Did you study acting? What would you recommend to others interest in becoming actors in how they should prepare themselves before entering the field?
EJIOFOR: I became an actor by doing school plays and youth theater, and then National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. And then I did study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.
For me that was a good way to enter the field, to work in the theater. Depending on what your interest in theater is, I always recommend working on plays. It’s a great way to be introduced to the field, and also a great way to be seen by agents and representation. I’m also a great advocate for studying at a drama school or a college. Those are tried and tested ways, as well as a good basis to approach the work.

DEBORAH SCRANTON, documentary film director, April 2, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: How did you get into documentary film directing? Are you related to the Scrantons of Pennsylvania (for whom the city Scranton was named)? SCRANTON: I’ve been obsessed by what I would call ‘warrior stories’-those that involve a journey, facing and overcoming obstacles, and a coming home or reaching of a deeper understanding. I got my start doing profiles and covering major sporting events like the Olympics, Tour de France, World Cup, ski racing, then transitioned into making films. “Bad Voodoo’s War” is my third, “The War Tapes” was my second, and “Stories from Silence, Witness to War” was my first.
And yes, I am related, although my Scrantons and both my Revolutionary War ancestors fought for the state of New Hampshire.

JOHN LEGEND, Grammy winning musician, April 4, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: Artists, singers, and entertainers may lead social protests as much as politicians and activists. Enlightening others to situations is a powerful tool, and the images of non-violent resistance to oppressive legal authority brought people to realize the abuse of that authority, and then they demand changes. What role do you see that song may have towards educating the public?
LEGEND: I think it’s hard to really write a song that will education someone because songs are meant to be…you don’t want to be too didactic in a song because it doesn’t make for good music. And I think the role of songs can be to inspire people but there needs to be education and prose to back that up.

LAURIE DAVID, film producer, April 25, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: What future films are you planning? Your work on “An Inconvenient Truth” was excellent and brought the message to many who otherwise might not have found about the facts of global warming. Are you continuing to use this film medium to spread the word?
DAVID: Right now, I am editing a film about the Stop Global Warming College Tour Sheryl Crow and I went on last year. I am also working on a short film about plastic bags (100 billion are thrown away worldwide each year). You are right, film is a powerful medium.

ISSAC HANSON, recording artist, April 30, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: OK, if you (Hanson) were teenagers a decade ago, let me do the math, I presume you no longer are teenagers. Many people in their 20s are embarrassed by their youth, yet what you all did both helped define you and presented music that millions loved. When you look back at your youth, do you laugh, are you proud, or is there anything about it that you regret?
HANSON: I think we’re lucky that we have always stayed true to who we were from the very beginning, and because of that we all feel very proud of the last ten years in the music business and of all the songs that we have written and all of the shows that we have performed. I hope we’re not embarrassed when we look back at our twenties. :-D

SCOTT THOMPSON, comedian, May 2, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: When did you decide you wanted to go into acting and performing comedy? Were you a class clown in school?
THOMPSON: Yes, I was but I never dreamed that I could make a living at it until I spent a year overseas in the Philippines and had some time by myself away from my large family to think about my future.
CZIKOWSKY: The Internet, which we all know contains only the truth, hints that you had some difficulty at York College. Would you please provide us with the explanation as to what happened that may have led the administrators to suggest you seek another direction in your life (a direction we fans, incidentally, are glad you chose)?
THOMPSON: I was told that I should seek employment in another field and was kicked out of my performing program going into my final year so I finished in English. My parting words to my teachers after I locked the door and refused to leave was “I’ll be the most famous non-graduate you ever held back.” Of course now I shudder at my anger but I guess that’s what being a kid is all about or least some of it. Listen to your heart, that’s my advice.
CZIKOWSKY: “The Larry Sanders Show” was one of the funniest and greatest shows ever. Did you enjoy the experience, and how much similar or different is Garry Shandling to Larry Sanders?
THOMPSON: It was the second greatest experience of my professional life and the main difference between the two is that Garry is kind.

JOE QUESADA, Marvel Comics Editor in Chief, May 6, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: Marvel has so many great characters. What other characters do you think would be best suited to be adapted for film?
QUESADA: I think we have way too many if you ask me, but heck, I’m partial.
I do believe that the characters that were announced yesterday have tremendous potential. That said, to me, the holy grail is Cap. I just love the characters, so it’s a personal fave.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, June 13, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: In reading about the fire at Universal Studios, I note it is stated the set for “Back to the Future” burned. It is my recollection that this set was being used to film “Ghost Whisperer”. I presume the set can be rebuilt in time for more episodes. Yet, I thought maybe you could check out and let us know if that show was hurt by the fire or not. (I guess ghosts don’t warn about upcoming fires.)
DE MORAES: Seriously, I am wondering why James Van Praagh—the world-renowned (just ask him) psychic medium and Co-Executive Producer of “Ghost Whisperer” didn’t see it coming. Also, why were workers replacing an asphalt roof at 3 am? So very many questions on this one. I’m guessing they’ll find a way to work around the set damage to keep working. Maybe more close-ups of Jennifer “Love to Her Friends” Hewitt’s incredible shoes, to distract us from the fact that sets in new episodes look suspiciously like the interior of the CBS commissary and the Craig Ferguson studio…

ALEX GIBNEY, documentary filmmaker, June 18, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: Before you approached your documentary of Hunter S. Thompson (“Gonzo”), what were your prior opinions of him, his writings, and his life?
GIBNEY: I like Hunter’s writing. I remember reading it in college and being impressed and transported by it. It was so fresh and so new and so funny. I lost track of Hunter in his later years but I took not when he committed suicide and that haunted and intrigued me, so it seemed an interesting subject to take on.

MICHAEL PAUL CHAN, actor, July 18, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: What were some of the valuable lessons you learned at the Conservatory Theater School? Do you think you could have acted successfully without such training?
CHAN: I remember my acting teacher would tell us, that a lot of what we were trying to learn would not sink in for another 15 years! A scary thought, but quite true. I still grab onto the same principles I learned years ago when I approach my work. I’ve been doing this quite sometime and I am quite sure it would not have been this way had I not studied my craft properly. I wasn’t particularly good looking, I didn’t know martial arts, I am a person of color, etc., etc.
CZIKOWSKY: Have you made plans for when this season’s filming stops? Might you do a movie or theater?
CHAN: If something finds me that I find interesting, sure. The one thing a steady job provides is the power to say “no” to something that’s really not interesting. Not all actors get to have choices in their careers. More often than not, choices are made based on mortgage payments, rent, college tuitions, food, etc.
CZIKOWSKY: Do you have any favorites in who should win for Best Actress in a TV drama?
CHAN: Duh!?!?!?

DEBRA WINGER, actress, July 22, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: When it comes times 40 years from now to write your updated autobiography, what are some of the things you’d like it to be about?
WINGER: Very dubious endeavor—planning 40 years into the future! Since I don’t think of “Undiscovered” as an autobiography, I reserve the right to tell all the stories if anyone is still around that cares about those people!
As far as another book, I see it as a constant process, but who knows how long it will take when you start it.
CZIKOWSKY: How did you go into acting? Was it a childhood dream being fulfilled? Were your family and peers supportive or did they resist your becoming an actor? Did you study acting and, if so, did it help?
WINGER: I became an actor because I couldn’t not/
I trained with various teachers.
It is too reckless to do if you have a choice.
It is not for the faint hearted, lazy, or easily overwhelmed.
CZIKOWSKY: What is undiscovered about your life? If you were writing about it, have you discovered it? Or are there things even you have yet to explain about yourself?
WINGER: I would hope there is much that is undiscovered. I would say that what I have written about are both the uncovering and the discovery.
I feel somewhat superstitious that publishing is like a retro rocket that fires you into the next atmosphere…
CZIKOWSKY: Who were some of the people you most enjoyed working with, and what about them made them special?
WINGER: I loved Attenborough and Hopkins—quite the gentlemen. Loved Bertolucci, Storraro quite the Italians. Loved Reford and Travolta—quite the movie stars.
Loved, recently, Rosemary DeWitt and Bill Irwin. Loved Glen Gordon Caron—he makes me laugh.
CZIKOWSKY: What was your childhood like? Were your parents strict, lenient, and how did this upbringing, in your observation, affect who you are today?
WINGER: I think my parents were typical for their age and positions. My father was not an educated man but he was hard working. They both let me know I was loved and would always have a place to land. Whatever else they did or did not do, I was saved by that knowledge. I often called my mother from far away locales so that I could hear a familiar voice.
This was not a generation known for their touchy-feely approach to life!
CZIKOWSKY: I presume you are a method actor, or you at least agree with their belief of staying in character even when not before the cameras. Do you think the actors who claim they can switch their characters on and off are really able to do so, or do you believe they would gain from tricking the mind by remaining in character even when you are not acting?
WINGER: No, I have worked with all kinds of actors, and you cannot always tell—if the craft is strong and the role is right, they will succeed even if they are napping up until “action”. But I think eventually it shows, so that for an actor to have longevity, he or she must have flexibility, not just good reading habits.
Also, it’s good to be well hydrated.

GREG GILLIS, Girl Talk musician, July 29, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: If an artist specifically states that the artist never wants his or her music mixed by another, would you respect the wishes of that artist?
GILLIS: I’m not specifically trying to piss people off, so I would be open to requests like that. But if their work happened to fit perfectly into what I was doing, I’d probably still be open to using it if I thought it fell under Fair Use. It’s a new era of communications between bands/musicians. And consumers. I think some people don’t see that yet. Maybe if they saw how their work was used in a particular transformative way, they’d be open to it. Good question!

JENNIE GARTH, actress, August 8, 20008
CZIKOWSKY: How difficult is it to go out in public? Are fans mostly respectful, or do you find yourself having to avoid them at times?
GARTH: Most people don’t even recognize me! =)
I live a very normal life and am treated with a lot of respect from the fans.

TOMMY CHONG, comedian, August 21, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: How would you describe your relationship with Cheech Marin?
CHONG: Oh, we’re so close. We’re like Siamese twins. We’ll always be friends no matter what. We’ve gone through hell and high water, and even through our darkest moments, there will always be a love that will never die.
CZIKOWSKY: What do you tell kids about pot?
CHONG: I tell my kids that if you’re going to use drugs, replace them. That’s just a joke.
I tell my kids I don’t care what they do, just don’t tell me. They’re going to do what they to do anyway. If they ask me if they should smoke, I’ll say no, but if they do anyway, that’s ok. I don’t think you should make moral judgments about that, I think people need to learn from mistakes, and just to be as responsible as they can. That’s what I tell people.
CZIKOWSKY: Hey, it’s me, Dave. How could you never answer when I come by? I’ve been waiting for you for decades now. Welcome back.
CHONG: Ha, Dave’s not here. We’re figuring out our t-shirt design, and that’s one of the things that was suggested by everybody.

ANDREW KLAVAN, author, September 2, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: I am very interested in screenwriting and wonder how you got into it.
KLAVAN: I was dragged into screenwriting against my will. I sold a novel, “The Scarred Man”, to the movies and a producer read it and said to me, “I’ll pay you to write any movie you want.” I didn’t realize I had been struck by lightning, so I said, “Nah, I just wanna write books.” Shocked, she advised me, “Is there anything you’d write?” And I said, “Yeah, I’d adapt Simon Brett’s novel “A Shock to the System.” So she optioned it, I wrote it, and they filmed it—and I thought, hey, this is easy!
CZIKOWSKY: Movies are a global enterprise. Many films have about half their profits from outside the United States. Is it thus reasonable for the movie industry to consider the global market?
KLAVAN: Sure it is. And by the way, I don’t want them to stop making liberal movies! I simply want them to make all kinds of viable movies. It seems to me only the left that wants to censor the opposition, bring back the Fairness Doctrine, shut down Fox News, etc. What I want is a free market of ideas. I do, however, believe that, while filmmakers are within their rights to make anti-war films. It is morally wrong to do so when American soldiers are at war and in harm’s way.

CARRIE FISHER, actress, September 12, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: Who first came up with the idea for your one person show, and how did it develop into what it is today?
FISHER: Well, I’ve been doing a lot of speeches, giving awards to George Lucas or getting awards for being mentally ill. So two portions of the show evolved from that—the Star Wars portion and the Mentally Ill portion, which represents a fair chunk of what’s there/
Then I went to my friend Josh Ravetch, who is a playwright and asked him to come on and assist me. He directed the first run when we were in LA. So really Josh and I worked on it initially.

ANN HORNADAY, Washington Post Movie Critic, September 11, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: Will you please tell us some tidbits as to what Rick Gervaise had to say?
HORNADAY: Okay, may I just say: Hilarious. And incredibly well-grounded. He’s someone for whom fame and obscene wealth truly seem to be distractions from what he really cares about, which is creating something of quality and worth in the world. I like that in a comic superstar.
As for tidbits…I did ask him why he broke the actor’s cardinal rule about working with kids and animals (he has a classic scene in “Ghost Town” with a Great Dane) and he went out of his way to bend toward my recorded and say, “The dog was late. LATE!”
Very funny man and genuinely smart and kind, too. We need more like him.

CHELSEA HANDLER, E! Talk Show Host, September 16, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: What was your upbringing like and how did it shape you as a writer?
HANDLER: My parents were the opposition of strict, they were ridiculously unaware. After enjoying such books by David Sedaris and other essay writers, I thought, why not write my own.
CZIKOWSKY: So at what age did your parents let you start drinking vodka?
HANDLER: They never really “let” me start drinking, but I became a big fan of vodka in my early twenties. Other libations look up my late teens.
CZIKOWSKY: If I ever have a panel discussing the future of the 21st century, it would have you and Sarah Silverman on it. Have you ever met Sarah Silverman and what do you think of her?
HANDLER: Yes, we have met a couple of times. She’s very nice and hilarious.

MARK-PAUL GOSSELAAR, actor, October 15, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: How did you get into acting? How did you find the business and what might you recommend to people interested in going into acting?
GOSSELAAR: I got into acting at a very young age---sort of an after school activity, much like someone doing extracurricular sports. I didn’t approach it as a business until I was approximately 19 years old. My opinion, if you want to be an actor, is you have to always maintain your passion for what you want to do.

LISA DE MORAES, Washington Post Staff Writer, October 31, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: I like how one of the Brooke Shield ads about people wanting German engineering was broadcast during the “Family Guy” episode where they were satirizing Nazi Germany.
DE MORAES: Perfect.

ALEC BALDWIN, actor, December 15, 2008
CZIKOWSKY: You have written about improving your life with your daughter. Please do not answer anything too personal, yet I am wondering what your daughter’s reactions were to your writing about her and did the process, as I hope, help bring the two of your together?
BALDWIN: It would violate a court order to discuss details of my case, but I would assume that my daughter has not had an easy time of it, everything being so public. Things between my daughter and I are fine.
CZIKOWSKY: Have you met many actual NBC pages? What do you think of the NBC pages you’ve met?
BALDWIN: Yes, I’ve met several NBC pages, and like anybody who is working in an entry-level job at a company, they’re as polite as can be. I’m not sure I can verify this, but Jeff Zucker, the head of NBC, his wife Karen, started as a page, then worked for SNL. I can’t confirm it, but I suspect she worked in the page program/
CZIKOWSKY: I’ll be going by 30 Rock in a few minutes. Does Jack Donaghy need me to bring anything up to him? Coffee? Bagel? Anything?
BALDWIN: Donaghy probably has plans for this evening so the only thing he would probably need is a fresh shirt and a bucket of ice.
CZIKOWSKY” I like how when a real Donaghy became infamous, it was worked into the script. You seem to have very creative writers. Who does most of the writing for the show, how much is Tina Fey involved in the writing, and what is the background of any other writers?
BALDWIN: All of the writers are veteran television writers, of which Tiona is the head writer, she’s the creator, and the other head writer is Robert Carlock. All of them have strong backgrounds in TV comedy writing on shows like “Friends” and “Will and Grace”—Kay Cannon, Matt Hubbard, Jack Burdett, John Riggi, Ron Weiner.
CZIKOWSKY: I once asked a biographer of Condleezza Rice what she thought of your character’s hinted romantic relationships with her, and the biographer replied that she thinks Secretary Rice is not aware of your show or the reference but that she would not have a problem with a TV show creating such a fictitious relationship. I am wondering whether you have since heard if Secretary Rice is aware of her affair with Jack Donaghy?
BALDWIN: I treat my communications with Secretary Rice the same way Donaghy treats his communications with Secretary Rice. They are confidential. But thanks for asking.
CZIKOWSKY: Who is more attractive: Jennifer Aniston or Sarah Palin?
BALDWIN: Jennifer Aniston. How could it be otherwise?
CZIKOWSKY: You were quoted as stating that kissing Jennifer Aniston was “painful”. Is that quote correct and, if so, what did you mean by it? What was it like otherwise working with her? If kissing her is painful, please let me know as I will gladly serve as a body double so you may be kept away from such pain.
BALDWIN: THAT WAS A JOKE! Kissing Jennifer Aniston was everything you might imagine it would be.