Parenting & Families

Kaige is the director, writer, producer and acts in the new film Together, a coming-of-age tale about a 13-year-old Chinese boy who plays violin. The boy's father takes him from their provincial Chinese city to Beijing, seeking prominence. But plans change as the boy grows up and ultimately chooses his own path. Kaige is best known for his film Farewell My Concubine, which was nominated for an Oscar. His other films include Yellow Earth, The Big Parade and Killing Me Softly.

His new book is Uncle Andy's: A faabbbulous visit with Andy Warhol. It's a children's story about going to visit Warhol, in which Warhola chronicles one of the many trips he took with his family from Pittsburgh to New York City.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the new novel “The Wife”(Scribner) by Meg Wolitzer.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews Family History, the new novel by Dani Shapiro.

Film critic David Edlestein reviews a new documentary on domestic violence.

He died of stomach cancer on February 27, 2003, at the age of 74. His popular show, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, was the longest-running program on public television. It ended in 2001 after 33 years on the air. Last year, Rogers was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor the nation can bestow. This interview first aired November 13, 2002.

Book Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews “The Time of Our Singing” by Richard Powers.

He writes about the Five Points neighborhood in Lower Manhattan which is the setting of Martin Scorsese's new film. Anbinder's book is Five Points: The 19th-Century New York City Neighborhood that Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections and Became the World's Most Notorious Slum. Anbinder is an associate professor of history at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Haynes is the writer and director of the new movie Far From Heaven, inspired by the 1950s Douglas Sirk movie All that Heaven Allows. Friedberg, as the movie's production designer, worked with Haynes to bring a 1950s look to the film. Haynes also directed the movies, Safe and Velvet Goldmine.

Former senator, vice president, and presidential candidate Al Gore and his wife, Tipper. In the two years since the presidential election they have been working on the new book, Joined at the Heart: The Transformation of the American Family. The book explores the changes that have taken place in families over the past few decades, using examples of families the Gores have met along the way. Tipper Gore is a former photojournalist and served as adviser to the president on mental health policy. Their other book is the collection of photographs The Spirit of Family.

Book Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews The Little Friend (Knopf) the second novel by Donna Tartt.

Filmmaker Burr Steers is making his feature film debut with Igby Goes Down which he wrote and directed. It's about a disaffected teenager from a well-heeled but financially strapped family.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Igby Goes Down.

Novelist Rohinton Mistry was born in Bombay and now lives in Canada. His new novel is Family Matters. The book is set in 1990s Bombay and is about an elderly professor with Parkinson's disease who is forced to move into the crowded apartment of his daughter and her family. Mistry is also the author of A Fine Balance and Such a Long Journey which were both short-listed for the Booker Prize.

Novelist Pat Conroy is the author of several books including The Great Santini, and The Prince of Tides which were both made into feature films. Conroy's new book My Losing Season (Doubleday) is a memoir about how playing basketball for the Citadel Military College transformed his life. Conroy was point guard and captain of the Citadel Bulldogs.

Author Martha McPhee's new novel is called Gorgeous Lies and it's a follow-up to her critically acclaimed first novel, Bright Angel Time. Both books are about growing up in a communal blended household in the 70s run by a dictatorial patriarch. In Gorgeous Lies, the patriarch is dying. The eight children try to make peace with their father and each other. McPhee currently teaches at Hofstra University.

Actress Cynthia Nixon is one of the stars of HBO's Sex and the City. She plays Miranda Hobbes, a corporate lawyer who is also a new mother in the current season of the show. Nixon recently starred in the Broadway production of the classic 1930 Clare Boothe Luce play, The Women. She also appeared at the age of 18 in the broadway plays Hurlyburly, and The Real Thing. She's a founding member of the Drama Dept., an Off-Broadway theater company. Her film roles inclue, Amadeus, Prince of the City, The Pelican Brief, and The Out-of-Towners.

Writer Joelle Fraser. She's written a new memoir about growing up in mid-60s San Francisco, the daughter of a flower child and a surfer: The Territory of Men.

Director Sam Mendes. He made his feature film debut in 1999 with American Beauty which won an Academy Award for Best Picture. Mendes also won an Oscar for directing. Prior to that Mendes made his mark directing theatre productions in London (revival of Cabaret and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice)and on Broadway (The Blue Room). He directed the new film Road to Perdition starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Jude Law.

Writer Max Allan Collins. His graphic novel Road to Perdition is the basis for the film. Mickey Spillane said of the novel, "I know mysteries, and I know comics and Road to Perdition is one great ride!" Collins twice won the Private Eye Writers of Americas Shamus award for his Nathaniel Heller historical thrillers, True Detective and Stolen Away. His comics credits include Dick Tracy, Batman, Ms Tree and Mike Danger.