KPFA - Radio Wolinsky

Roger Ebert (1942-2013) on tour for his book “The Great Movies,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded April 18, 2002 in the KPFA studios.

The great film critic Roger Ebert died of cancer at the age of 70 in 2013. From 1967 until his death he was the film critic of the Chicago Sun Times, and from 1975 to 2008 , first with Gene Siskel and later mostly with Richard Roeper, co-hosted film review programs first on PBS and later in syndication.

The Great Movies featured reviews of a hundred different great films and has since become a classic reference work.

At the time of the interview, Roger Ebert had turned his eye to politics, and had become a regular commentator on various television programs. In the interview, he discusses the political climate of the day, including the disputed 2000 election, and other issues, some of which have changed over the years, and others which haven’t.. Sections of the interview are also devoted to the viewing technology of twenty years ago, and a lot of that has changed.

The interview was first aired on the program Living Room on April 23, 2002. A half hour version later aired on Bookwaves. This is the first time the full interview has been heard in nearly twenty years. There are two undigitized earlier interviews with Roger Ebert, both co-hosted by Richard A. Lupoff, and one later one, in 2005, while he was on tour for The Great Movies II. A third volume was published shortly before his death. All the reviews can now be found at rogerebert.com

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Robert Stone (1937-2015), author of “Dog Soldiers,” “A Flag for Sunrise” and “Damascus Gate,” in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in the KPFA studios on April 25, 2003 during the book tour for “Bay of Souls.”

Robert Stone, who died on January 10th, 2015 at the age of 77, won the National Book Award in 1975 for his novel Dog Soldiers and was a finalist four other times, and twice was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Among his other books were the critically acclaimed A Flag for Sunrise, set in war-torn Central America, and Damascus Gate, set in the conflicted city of Jerusalem. His memoir, Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties, is one of the best books written about the counterculture.

Robert Stone’s books tend to have complicated characters existing during complex political and social turmoil. Two of his books became films, Hall of Mirrors became WUSA, and Dog Soldiers became Who’ll Stop the Rain, an excellent film that was dumped by the studio.

Following the interview, only four books were published. In 2007, it was the memoir Prime Green, followed in 2010 by a collection of short stories, Fun with Problems. The college novel mentioned at the end of the interview, Death of the Black Haired Girl, was published in 2013, and a collection of non-fiction The Eye You See With, was published posthumously in 2020. A second interview, from 2007 for Prime Green will be posted in the future.

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Paul Gordon, composer/lyricist for the musical adaptation of “Sense & Sensibility,” and other works, in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky.

Paul Gordon was a pop music songwriter when he decided to create a musical adaptation of Jane Eyre, which arrived in Broadway in December 2000 and ran for six months. Since then, he’s written the music and lyrics for several shows, including Pride & Prejudice, Emma, Daddy Long Legs, Estella Scrooge and Sleepy Hollow.

His version of Jane Austen’s  Sense and Sensibility, directed by Robert Kelley, plays at the Lucie Stern Theatre as part of the TheatreWorks Silicon Valley current season, and runs through April 3, 2022. His earlier Pride & Prejudice at TheatreWorks can be rented through Amazon Prime.

In this interview, he discusses the trajectory of his career, some of the challenges facing adaptations of Jane Austen, elements of the current production, and his work at streamingmusicals.com

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Wayne Wang, director of such films as “Chan is Missing,” “The Joy Luck Club” and “Smoke,” in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky. Recorded March 1, 2022.

In this hour-long conversation, the noted filmmaker discusses, in depth, several of his movies, talks about his origins as a director, his work on Hollywood films like “Anywhere But Here,” “Smoke,” and “Maid in Manhattan,” his difficulties filming in China, his view of Chinatown and Chinese families, and much more.

A Wayne Wang retrospective is currently on view at Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive, featuring several of his films, including Chan is Missing, Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart, Life Is Cheap..But Toilet Paper Is Expensive, Chinese Box and others, several of which are introduced live by the filmmaker. BAMPFA Website and schedule.

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Rita Moreno, legendary Hollywood star, actress, dancer and singer, in conversation about her career and her one-woman show, “Rita Moreno: Life Without Make-up,” recorded  September 16, 2011 in the KPFA studios. Hosted by Richard Wolinsky.

The talented winner of the big four awards, Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony, Rita Moreno is back in the spotlight both in celebration of her 90th birthday on December 11th, and for her work in the new Steven Spielberg West Side Story.

In this interview recorded during previews of her one-woman show at Berkeley Rep ten years ago, she discusses not only her work on the show, but her time in Hollywood, her five year relationship with Marlon Brando, her work on the film The King and I, working with Morgan Freeman on PBS, and other stories.

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