When Ellen Barkin was at Manhattan’s High School of Performing Arts, the aspiring actress's teachers thought she lacked the talent (and the looks) to succeed on stage. This slight drove Barkin to prove the skeptics wrong. After appearing in several off-Broadway plays, she broke into the mainstream in 1982 with Diner, which kickstarted a prodigious career in films such as The Big Easy and Sea of Love, as well as on television and on Broadway. On this week’s episode of Table for Two, the Tony Award-winning actress sits down with host Bruce Bozzi and dives into her early years as a waitress in New York City, the lessons she learned from Robert Duvall, and why The Normal Heart was the most important professional experience of her career. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ellen Barkin

For decades, Bruce Bozzi worked at the highest end of the service industry, managing his family’s storied restaurant, The Palm. And if he learned one thing, it’s that the best parties always end up in the kitchen. Table for Two is based on that premise, and on the friendships Bruce has forged along the way with some of the most well-known people in Hollywood, media, and beyond. Over the romance of a meal at one of his favorite restaurants, Bruce interviews a special guest and seeks to untangle the intricate web of power and fame. Tune in for Table for Two—like all the best dinner parties, it’s intimate, a bit conspiratorial, and a whole lot of fun.

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To perfectly capture the essence of a subject, director Sam Taylor-Johnson borrows a strategy used by method actors. The British filmmaker and photographer says she enters the character's headspace to better represent their feelings, emotions, and complexities. For this reason, Taylor-Johnson only seeks out projects she can viscerally connect to, which was the case with her new Amy Winehouse biopic, Back to Black. On this week’s episode of Table for Two, Taylor-Johnson sits down for lunch with host Bruce Bozzi and discusses the moment she knew Marisa Abela was the right choice to play Winehouse, the difficulties of navigating the movie industry as a woman, and how her poignant photographic portrait series of Hollywood stars, “Crying Men,” helped her come to terms with her second cancer diagnosis. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sam Taylor-Johnson

Sam Taylor-Johnson may have just directed the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black, but don’t be fooled: her musical tastes run much deeper than the singer's hit “Valerie." On this week’s bonus episode of Table for Two, Taylor-Johnson reveals the other artists in her rotation, her biggest pet peeve, and the advice from Anthony Minghella that altered the course of her career. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sam Taylor-Johnson Lightning Round

On the first Monday in May each year, celebrities and fashion aficionados the world over descend on New York City for the Met Gala. Who better to consult with about the extravaganza than the master of ceremonies herself, Vogue editor Anna Wintour? In her sit-down last year with Table for Two host and AIR MAIL contributor Bruce Bozzi, Wintour reflected on her involvement in the Met Gala, and how it grew into the star-studded spectacle it is today. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anna Wintour on the Met Gala

It’s difficult to imagine Jeff Goldblum anywhere but center stage—and no one is more aware of this than the actor himself, who has always had a clear sense of artistic purpose. With almost no plan of action, a teenage Goldblum took to New York City, and through the 1970s appeared in films directed by the likes of Robert Altman and Philip Kaufman. Later hits in what has become a five decade career came in The Big Chill, The Fly, and Jurassic Park—not to mention his four collaborations with Wes Anderson. On this week’s episode of Table for Two, Goldblum joins host and AIR MAIL contributor Bruce Bozzi to further discuss his early years as an up-and-coming performer, as well as his longtime love of jazz piano and the joys of raising his two children, Charlie and River, alongside his wife Emilie Livingston. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ellen Barkin

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