Film

Writer Thomas McGuane. McGuane's been called "Ernest Hemingway with a sense of humor ... (and) ... Franz Kafka journeying through Montana. He's the author of the acclaimed novels The Sporting Club, Ninety-Two In The Shade, and To Skin A Cat. McGuane's new novel is called Keep The Change. It follows a self-despising artist as he travels to Montana to try to make a new life for himself. McGuane himself runs a ranch in Montana.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Black Rain." It stars Michael Douglas as a New York City cop who goes to Japan to try to track down a killer. The movie's directed by Ridley Scott, who also made "Blade Runner" and "Alien."

Critic Owen Gleiberman reviews the home video version of John Sayles' 1983 film, "Baby, It's You."

Film critic Steven Schiff previews "Sea of Love," which opens on Friday (Sept. 15). It stars Al Pacino as a cop who falls in love with a suspected killer, played by Ellen Barkin.

Director, screenwriter, musician and actor Christopher Guest. Guest makes his feature directorial debut in the new film "The Big Picture." Guest co-wrote the rock parody "This Is Spinal Tap," and he was a writer and regular performer on Saturday Night Live.

Filmmaker Ketan Mehta (Kay-Tahn May-Ta). He's one of a group of young, politically committed directors in India today who believe movies can be effective tools for social change and not just entertainment, and his films have dealt with such issues as the caste system and feminism. His latest film, "Spices," tells the story of a young woman in a remote village in India and her struggle to resist the advances of a powerful feudal overlord.

Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Shirley Valentine," the adaptation of the hit Broadway play. The film stars the British actress Pauline Collins, who also starred in the play.

Actor Charles Grodin. Unlike his contemporaries - and friends - like Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford, Grodin achieved the great success that every actor strives for only recently. He starred with Robert De Niro in last year's "Midnight Run," his first major success in a long, twisted journey through the acting profession. Grodin has written a memoir about his passage; it's titled It Would Be So Nice If You Weren't Here.

Television Critic David Bianculli previews "Dream Season," a production of NFL Films that creates dream teams that compete in dream Super Bowls. Through computer generation and sophisticated editing, the producers take film from the last 20 years of televised football and extract key sequences featuring players from from top teams of their times and match them with other top opposing teams from different times. The effect is the video equivalent of the `what-if-the-'85-Raiders-played the-'87-Redskins' questions typical of radio call-in shows.

Cinematographer Stephen Burum. His latest film is Brian De Palma's "Casualties of War." This is his third film for De Palma; his first was "Body Double." He also shot "The Untouchables," which was nominated for the American Society of Cinematographers Award. Burum got his start as an assistant to Francis Ford Coppola on "Apocalypse Now." His other films include "St. Elmo's Fire," "The Outsiders" and "Rumble Fish."

Sound Designer Randy Thom. He began his career in community radio (WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio) producing live music and dramas. He then moved into producing sound for films, although he still produces some independent radio dramas.

Actress and director Lee Grant. As an actress, Grant won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Shampoo," Emmys for her work on "Peyton Place" and "Electra," and an Obie for "The Maids." As a director, she won an Academy Award for her documentary "Down and Out in America." This month, HBO is showing Grant's latest production, "Battered." It's a documentary about the victims, and perpetrators, of domestic violence. "Battered" airs as part of HBO's "America Undercover" series.

Film director Herk Harvey and script writer John Clifford. Their 1962 low-budget horror film, "Carnival of Souls," has just been re-released. The film was shown only sporadically at the time of its completion, mostly to drive-ins and as half of a double feature throughout the Southeast. But in the years since, it has attracted a steady and loyal following, largely because of its occasional appearance on late-night TV.

Guest Film Critic Peter Rainer, in attendance at this week's Montreal Film Festival, talks with host Terry Gross about some of the films previewed there. Rainer is the film critic for The Los Angeles Herald Examiner.

Actor Raul Julia. His films include "Kiss of the Spider Woman," "Moon Over Parador," "Tango Bar" and the recent "Tequila Sunrise." His latest film, "Romero," is based on the life, and assassination, of the Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero.

Guest film critic Owen Gleiberman reviews the home video release of "Naked Gun," the police farce produced and directed by the makers of "Airplane." "Naked Gun," which premiered on movie screens early last spring, was based on the six-episode TV program "Police Squad," which recently aired on cable TV.

Guest film critic Peter Rainer reviews The Package, the new suspense thriller starring Gene Hackman.

Writer Pico Iyer. His book Video Night in Kathmandu explores the subtle and often humorous Westernization of the Far East. Iyer, who reported for Time Magazine for four years, found the West's influence in mohawk haircuts in Bali, six Filipino girls doing a perfect rendition of a Madonna hit, Japan's baseball mania and a Chinese cafeteria that served dishes like "Yes, Sir, Cheese My Baby," and "Ike and Tuna Tuner." Video Night in Kathmandu has just been published in paperback. (Interview by Sedge Thomson)

Shelley Winters. With two Oscars and well over 100 films to her credit, Winters is a star in the classic Hollywood mode. But she is almost as well known for her off-screen adventures and irrepressible life style that made her a staple in the gossip columns.

Film Critic Stephen Schiff review "Casualties of War," the new film by director Brian De Palma and starring Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox.