Film

Porn film director Wash West. His newest is The Fluffer, set in the gay porn industry. As compared to the films of Iran, Wash West's movies are all about touching. His other films include Seven Deadly Sins: The Gluttony, Naked Highway, Animus and Toolbox. West is much-honored in the field, with several Adult Video News Awards and Gay Erotic Video Awards.

Filmmaker Jamsheed Akrami is a scholar of Iranian film. His two documentaries are Dreams Betrayed and Friendly Persuasion: Iranian Cinema After the Revolution. Together, they explore Iranian filmmaking before and after the 1979 revolution. In Iranian films, male and female characters are not allowed to touch, ever, and women must be veiled at all times. Despite these and other limitations, Iranian cinema has garnered international critical acclaim. Akrimi is an associate professor at William Paterson University.

Adults who like to watch cartoons are tuning into the late-night block on the Cartoon Network to watch the Japanese adventure series Cowboy Bebop. Critic Milo Miles says there are lots of reasons to like the show.

Music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews the soundtrack from the film Gosford Park, directed by Robert Altman. The film features original music and songs from the 1920s and 1930s. The CD has just been released.

John Lasseter, Executive Vice President of Creative for Pixar, Inc. Lasseter was one of the founding members of the computer animated filmmaking company. He served as Director and Animator of the feature films Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and A Bugs Life. He was also Executive Producer of Monsters, Inc. Toy Story was the first computer-animated feature film. Lasseter also directed a number of shorts for Pixar, including Tin Toy, Reds Dream and Luxo, Jr. Tin Toy won an Oscar in 1988 for Best Animated Short Film.

John Powers reviews Solaris, starring George Clooney, directed by Steven Soderbergh.

He directed Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. The film has been nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including Best Director, best Picture and Screenplay. His other films include Heavenly Creatures and The Frighteners. The New Zealander is also slated to direct the other two upcoming films of the Hobbit trilogy, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Film critic John Powers reviews Storytelling, the new Todd Solondz movie.

Cartoonist Daniel Clowes. Drawn in 1950s pop culture style, his comics are darkly humorous satires of middle class America. His graphic novel Ghost World (first published in 1993) is the basis of the film of the same name. Ghost World has just been nominated for an academy award in the Adapted Screenplay division. Clowes' first comic book series was Lloyd Llewellyn, followed by Eightball

Film critic John Powers reviews Iris, about the life of Iris Murdoch. It stars Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent and Kate Winslet. All three actors have been nominated for Oscars.

Actor Nicolas Cage stars in the new film Windtalkers. A group of Navajo soldiers developed an unbreakable code based on their language for use during World War II. Cage plays Joe Enders, a Marine guard assigned to protect the Native American code talkers. Cage won an Academy award for his role in the film Leaving Las Vegas. He's starred in many other hit films, including Raising Arizona, Moonstruck and The Rock.

Film critic John Powers reviews the new film Road to Perdition directed by Sam Mendes, starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Film critic John Powers reviews 8 Mile, starring rap star Eminem.

Film director and writer Todd Solondz. His new film is Storytelling and it has already inflamed some critics more than his previous two features, Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness. Those films won prizes at Sundance and Cannes. Storytelling is two separate stories set in high school and college. In one, we meet three college students and their writing professor. The other is about a filmmaker who wants to make a documentary about a high school senior and his family.

Actor Mark Webber, 21, is currently starring in the new Todd Solondz movie, Storytelling. He got rave reviews for his performance in the London and New York stage productions of David Mamet's American Buffalo opposite William H. Macy and Phillip Baker Hall. He also appeared in Snow Day with Chevy Chase and The Animal Factory directed by Steve Buscemi. Weber grew up in Philadelphia where he was sometimes homeless with his mother Cheri Honkala. She is a homeless rights activist and founder of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union. In March Webber can be seen in HBO's Laramie Project.

He reviews the political documentary, Journeys with George, a behind-the-scenes look at the 2000 presidential race.

Film critic John Powers The Mothman Prophecies starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, and Alan Bates.

Australian actress Cate Blanchett. In her latest film Charlotte Gray she plays a courier behind enemy lines during World War II, directed by Australian director Gillian Armstrong. She also in three films out now: The Shipping News, Bandits and The Lord of the Rings. Blanchett was nominated for an Academy Award for her starring role in Elizabeth. Her other films include Pushing Tin, Oscar and Lucinda, The Talented Mr Ripley, and The Gift.

Film critic John Powers reviews Black Hawk Down.