Episodes
Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles and Ratatouille, first caught the attention of Disney after making his first animated film at age 14. Now one of the premier filmmakers in the Pixar camp, Bird is going live-action with the upcoming blockbuster Tomorrowland, based on the Disney park attraction.  Bird talks about making smart, creative family films with the very funny Janeane Garofalo, who stars as the voice of Colette, the feminist chef, in Ratatouille. 
Published 04/24/15
Published 04/24/15
There's a powerful group of people out there that are secretly running the world. The guys no one knows about. The guys that are invisible. The guys that play god without permission. And in the new USA Network series Mr. Robot, Christian Slater plays the leader of a hacker army at war with those guys. Hear Slater, his co-star Rami Malek, and the show's creator Sam Esmail discuss the show after a screening of the series premier.
Published 04/24/15
Cary Fukunaga, the director of such edgy films as Jane Eyre and Sin Nombre, not to mention the often discomforting first season of True Detective, still has a fear of clowns. Fukunaga is now remaking Stephen King's It, and he told a crowd at the Tribeca Film Festival that in his mind, he still sees the same haunting image of Pennywise the clown that he saw as a kid.  Hear Fukunaga's full conversation with veteran independent film producer James Schamus.
Published 04/24/15
Iman Crosson, who's better known on social media as Alphacat, has been making YouTube videos since the site's inception. But he's now perhaps just as well known for his Vine videos, which include remarkable six-second impressions of President Obama that actually earned Crosson the opportunity to meet the president. And yes, he Vined it.  But social media filmmaking isn't just a hobby. Some of the top performers on Vine and SnapChat bring in up to $100,000 a week by making sponsored content...
Published 04/23/15
There's a scene in the movie Good Will Hunting where the character played by Stellan Skarsgard implores anyone in his class to solve this insurmountably difficult math problem, and of course, the one who solves it is a townie janitor played by Matt Damon. It turns out -- at least according to this video by a Cambridge mathematician -- that the problem itself wasn't so difficult. But the point remains: there's real intellectual heft to the film. And after this special screening of the film in...
Published 04/22/15
Who could forget the psychedelic jams of The Big Lebowski; the old-timey ballads of the Soggy Bottom Boys in O Brother, Where Art Thou?; or the eerie silence, minus the sound of Javier Bardem's cattle prod, in No Country for Old Men? Composer Carter Burwell and sound mixer Skip Lievsay, who've worked on almost every Coen brothers movie, discuss the unique sound they create, and reveal further details on the upcoming Coen brothers movie Hail, Caesar!
Published 04/22/15
A lot has changed since 2003, when former CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity was leaked by members of the Bush administration. Now we're living in the age of WikiLeaks, Edward Snowden and the Sony hacking scandal, where digital information is more accessible than ever. Case in point: Ralph Echemendia, who goes by "The Ethical Hacker," showed just how easy it is to hack into someone's computer by pulling up a Tribeca Film Festival intern's desktop on a big screen during this panel.  Hear...
Published 04/22/15
Jesse Ventura, a former Navy Seal and fan of Aristophanes' play "The Birds," went into pro wrestling because he loved drama and competition. For Ventura, the political ring seemed like a reasonable next step. But for those in the two-party establishment, his victory in Minnesota's 1998 gubernatorial election came as a total shock. How'd it happen? Nate Silver, the data guru behind FiveThirtyEight.com, has answers. He spoke with Radiolab's own Robert Krulwich about the cause of Ventura's...
Published 04/21/15
Nonfiction filmmaking has truly revolutionized itself in recent years, bringing audiences stories which often seem too bizarre to be true. On this panel, leading documentary filmmakers expose how they choose their subjects and capture real life in new and innovative ways. You'll hear from Bobby Fischer Against the World director Liz Garbus, Big Men director Rachel Boynton, and God Loves Uganda director Roger Ross Williams. Film critic Eric Hynes moderates.
Published 04/20/15
From binge watching to virtual reality, today’s entertainment is getting more immersive both physically and psychologically. As the way we experience stories is evolving to where we no longer separate ourselves from the action, how does this affect the way storytellers are producing their work? This "Immerse Yourself" panel includes The Art of Immersion author Frank Rose, The Storytelling Animal author Jonathan Gottschall, and futurist and "Shots of Awe" video series creator Jason Silva....
Published 04/20/15
Montage of Heck, the first authorized documentary about the late Kurt Cobain, combines home movies, journal entries, and interviews with those who knew him best and knew him early for a striking portrait of the artist who's still celebrated 20 years after his death. Courtney Love, Cobain's former wife, teared up after a screening of the film at the Tribeca Film Festival, telling director Brett Morgen that the movie made her rethink whether she could have prevented Cobain's suicide. Love also...
Published 04/20/15
It's Super Bowl XVII. The New York Giants are playing an undefeated New England Patriots team. And losing in the fourth quarter, Eli Manning throws one up, receiver David Tyree pins the ball to his head and comes down on the 24-yard line, and the Giants go on to win.  New York sports superfan Spike Lee was impressed. After a screening of his documentary, The Greatest Catch Ever, Lee speaks with Giants players Plaxico Burress, Chris Snee, and David Tyree himself. Michael Smith, co-host of...
Published 04/20/15
Amy Schumer, who stars as a romantic train wreck in the new Judd Apatow film Trainwreck, is at the top of her game in real life. The third season of Inside Amy Schumer premieres April 21st on Comedy Central. The show just won a Peabody Award. And a screening of the new season's first episode at the Tribeca Film Festival showed there's nothing Schumer won't tackle. This season, the show takes on high school football and rape, declares 2015 the Year of the Butt, and Schumer and her staff told a...
Published 04/20/15
Harvey Weinstein—movie mogul, super-producer, founder of The Weinstein Company—has been involved with some of the most highly acclaimed films of the past few decades, from Pulp Fiction to Silver Linings Playbook. The Queens native spoke to a packed house at the Tribeca Film Festival about how he's stayed at the top of his game all these years.
Published 04/18/15
F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel doesn't lack for beauty, but costume and production designer Catherine Martin, who works regularly with director Baz Luhrmann (they're also married), is plenty responsible for making The Great Gatsby look so vibrant on the screen. Her work on other films, including Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet, has redefined the cutting edge of maximalist glamour in modern film. Martin speaks here with Vogue editor-at-large and a man who happened to throw himself a...
Published 04/17/15
Blue Valentine, the celebrated 2012 film that follows one couple's tumultuous marriage, has the intimate feel of a movie made simply. Except, it took 12 years, 66 drafts of the script, and endless headaches over budget shortfalls to get Blue Valentine made. And that isn't an anomaly. Independent producers are responsible for some of the greatest breakout hits in movie history. They fight passionately for their art, meeting every logistical and financial challenge along the way. And these...
Published 04/16/15
Iverson is the ultimate legacy of NBA legend Allen Iverson, who rose from a childhood of crushing poverty in Hampton, VA, to become an 11-time NBA All-Star and universally recognized icon of his sport. Off the court, his audacious rejection of conservative NBA convention and unapologetic embrace of hip-hop culture sent shockwaves throughout the league and influenced an entire generation.
Published 04/28/14
Compared To What: The Improbable Journey of Barney Frank is a rare and intimate peek into the life of Barney Frank, the quick-witted, cantankerous, and first openly gay Congressman in the United States. On the verge of his retirement, Frank reflects on his 40 years in office and the role his own homosexuality played in his campaigns for social justice.
Published 04/27/14
In his directorial debut, Mike Myers brings a comic touch to documenting the astounding career of consummate Hollywood insider Shep Gordon in the film Supermensch.
Published 04/26/14
Academy Award® winning filmmaker Ron Howard discusses his career as a filmmaker, writer and producer, which already spans over fifty years.
Published 04/26/14
Filmmakers with a thirst for storytelling are saturating our digital media landscape with short content, changing the way we seek and consume media. Hear some of the creators discuss the challenges faced in making snappy, attention-grabbing, and informative content, and how to garner an audience outside of a theater.
Published 04/26/14
A conversation about the particular art in creating authentic sports stories, from non-fiction material to heart-stopping hits that satisfy hardcore fans while also connecting with broader audiences.
Published 04/26/14
Almost everything we do creates a digital trail containing information about who we are, where we go, how we spend our time and money, and what we watch. Media and entertainment entities are increasingly able to use this information to tell rich, data-driven stories or to decide what content to acquire or produce. But does betting on the "wisdom of crowds" bode well or ill for future innovation in film, art, and journalism? True believers and tech skeptics square off. 
Published 04/24/14
Some say the birth of cable news, the 24-hour news cycle, and the internet have caused the demise of journalism. On the flip side, our thirst for news and information has only become more intense in recent years. Citizen journalists, bloggers, viral videos and even video games are stepping up to answer the call. Just this week, VICE News' Simon Ostrovsky was kidnapped while covering the pro-Russian insurgency in Ukraine (his release was confirmed Thursday).  As these citizen reporters go to...
Published 04/23/14