Tavis Smiley interview
Cheadle discusses the upcoming season of his Showtime comedy, House of Lies, in this interview for PBS.
He’s always feeling like he’s got to be the top dog. And we see in this season coming up where he does let that guard down and what it cost him. Every time he does that we’ve seen it, for Marty, there’s a cost.
Tavis Smiley interview
Branagh discusses his latest project, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, based on the book by Tom Clancy, in this interview for PBS. He speaks on directing and co-starring in a film in which another one of the actors, Kevin Costner, is a director himself.
Well, you know what I found is that they are very, very sensitive to what you’re going through. I think that they’re aware that the major time preoccupation you have is the logistics, you know. People need answers from you all the time. So they know that people are coming at you and that sometimes messes with your brain.
Tavis Smiley interview
Delpy discusses her career and newest film, Before Midnight, in this interview for PBS.
We were very happy, and I have to say I was a little surprised, because we went in such dark places with the story sometimes, even though the film is quite funny, that I was worried we would get a little bit like – some people would get angry at us or something, some critics and stuff. But in the end it paid off, and when we were writing it we decided to be completely genuine, to just do whatever we felt, even though it wasn’t necessarily a crowd-pleaser. It turned out to be even more successful than the two other films, so somehow, it worked out for us.
Tavis Smiley interview
Gaynor discusses her career and memoir, We Will Survive: True Stories of Encouragement, Inspiration, and the Power of Song, in this interview for PBS.
Well I first started collecting the stories in my head because people were telling them to me. Ever since I first recorded the song, people have been telling me these stories, and the stories have been uplifting, encouraging to me, so I thought I’m being a little bit selfish here. I need to share this encouragement, this inspiration, with the world, and hence the idea for the book.
Tavis Smiley interview
Curtis discusses addiction, including her own struggles, in this interview for PBS.
But 40 million people are addicted. This is a nationwide epidemic that we have to look at, and if my voicing my own personal, very – by the way, very personal experience – so that others might feel that they can voice their own personal struggles, then I will feel that my “outing” myself in a public way then had some value.
Tavis Smiley interview
Pierce discusses his career and latest project, directing a Los Angeles production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, in this interview for PBS.
There are so many bad productions of Chekov, because he’s really hard to do. Because it’s not slapstick, it’s not drama; it’s kind of like real life. There’s a great quote about The Cherry Orchard, someone had said about his play The Cherry Orchard: “Nothing happens except one world ends and another begins.”
Tavis Smiley interview
Ejiofor discusses his career and role in the film, 12 Years a Slave, in this interview for PBS.
It’s been an incredible journey with this film. I really – I think it’s just a film we’re all so deeply proud of, and we were just deeply passionate about making. It’s been incredible, the way it’s been received. So I’m kind of thrilled about it.
Tavis Smiley interview
Bryant discusses her career, including NBC drama Parenthood and movie About Last Night, in this interview for PBS.
I just think – I mean, we’re not a post-racial society no matter what anyone wants to think. But it is a sign of progress that I can be in a relationship with a white guy on a show and not be a big issue within the show.
Tavis Smiley interview
Perlman discusses her career and latest project, the TV Land sitcom, Kirstie, in this interview for PBS.
Really, really, I mean, like working with Kirstie Alley, you know, she’s just such a nut job which is my favorite thing. I mean, she is. If you’ve seen her on anything, she is just like she is. You know, she’s a wonderful person.
Tavis Smiley interview
Lennix discusses his career and his new role on the NBC drama, The Blacklist, in this interview for PBS.
We were up against some pretty stiff competition, some old standbys and a couple of new things. But we somehow managed to break through, and it only took me about 50 years.
Tavis Smiley interview
Whitaker discusses his latest movie, Repentance, and touches on his foundation that empowers young people into becoming community leaders.
It tries to work with peace-builders to become community builders in their neighborhoods. We work with the first 34 youths and we train them in conflict transformation and life skills, because we work with life coaching and things of that nature, and trauma release and stuff like that.
Tavis Smiley interview
Keys discusses her career and album, Girl on Fire, in this interview for PBS.
Well, I personally, this whole project, this whole time in my life, this whole album really represents a really important time for me, where I’ve actually – it’s funny you bring up that word – where I’ve actually been in the process of removing fear from my vocabulary, from my essence. Because I feel like we can do so much greatness when we’re not afraid. It’s when we become afraid of everything and worried about everything that you are never going to reach your highest potential.
Tavis Smiley interview
Gordon-Levitt discusses hitRECord on TV, his re-invented for the social media age variety show, which has debuted on the new network, Pivot, in this interview for PBS.
So in our first episode there’s 426 people whose work is all featured in that. In that first short film there were around 1,400 contributions that we whittled down to I forget the exact number, 60-something, and that’s people who did the voiceover, people who played all the different instruments on the score, people who did the animation behind the actress and who contributed the individual illustrations that went into the animation, all coming from different people.
Tavis Smiley interview
Shyamalan discusses his career and book, I Got Schooled, about the state of education reform in the United States, in this interview for PBS.
What I did was go around and research and meet with all the experts around the country, and spent my time and resources from our foundation to put on the table all the information. All I wanted to do was put all the information in one place that the experts had proven to see if it made a picture, and to see the picture, and it did. It was the answer that I wanted five years ago.
Tavis Smiley interview
McBride discusses her career and latest CD, Everlasting, in this interview for PBS.
You know, I just have always wanted to make a record like this, and I just kind of listened to my little voice, that little creative voice that said, “This is a good thing. You should do this.” I just love this music. I’ve always put songs like this in my show over the years. We’ve covered everything from At Last, Natural Woman, songs like that. So yeah, it just felt – it’s just fun.
Tavis Smiley interview
Conway discusses his career and memoir, What’s So Funny?: My Hilarious Life, in this interview for PBS.
Well, I think when I learn the rules, then I kind of go against the rules because why would you have somebody sitting out there not saying anything but elephant? So I try to fill in those blanks, yeah. A lot of times, it doesn’t work out because people are doing this. But it’s not my show, so why would I worry?
Tavis Smiley interview
Langella discusses his career and newest projects in this interview for PBS.
I think the danger of my generation and certainly some of my colleagues is oh, I’ve been there, oh, I’ve done that – why bother? But my feeling now at this age, and I’m lucky, I’m healthy and I’m in relatively good shape, is if I don’t do it now, when am I going to do it?
Tavis Smiley interview
Burns discusses his newest documentary, The Address, about the Gettysburg Address, in this interview with PBS.
Because we’re all liberated by this speech. We’re all liberated by the struggle, and that liberation can extend in many places. When 9/11, first anniversary of 9/11 happened, the English words spoken besides the desperately sad list of the dead? The Gettysburg Address. Has nothing to do with 9/11 but everything, because words, as you know as well as anybody I know on this planet, are medicine, are medicine.
Tavis Smiley interview
Cash discusses her newest album, The River & The Thread, and how it’s different from her previous work in this interview for PBS.
It’s like you work hard to reach a level that you feel you’re at the top of your game, and I felt that we were both at the top of our game in making this record, and songwriting. Also it’s the most old-fashioned thing I could do. I made a concept album. There’s a single narrative that goes through this album. They’re all songs about the South, the deep, dark, mystical, beautiful, strange South.
Tavis Smiley interview
Collins discusses her career and previews her latest novel featuring Lucky Santangelo, Confessions of a Wild Child, in this interview for PBS.
I wrote this as a young adult book. I thought, this will be fun. I gave it to my publishers, I delivered it, and they go, “Oh, no, no, no, this is for everybody. Everybody loves Lucky, so we’re going to put this out as a book for everyone.”