FilmWeek

Nothing about filmmaker Otto Preminger was small, trivial, or self-denying. In his new biography, "Otto Preminger: The Man Who Would be King" (Knopf), Foster Hirsch gives readers a full account of the controversial, greatly admired, yet often underrated, director/producer who was known as "Otto the Terrible." Larry talks with Hirsch about his book which includes 100 new interviews with Preminger's family and co-workers.

FilmWeek on AirTalk goes on the road for a special two-hour live broadcast from the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The premier showcase for U.S. and international independent film is a core program of the Sundance Institute, a nonprofit cultural organization founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Larry is joined in the first hour by Peter Rainer, film critic for the Christian Science Monitor, and a variety of directors, writers and actors including: William Hurt, Sean McGinly, Colin Hanks, Christopher Bell, Randall Miller, Jody Savin, and Bill Pullman.

Larry talks with composer Michael Giacchino about his musical score for Ratatouille, and about his career in Hollywood as a composer for both film and television.

Larry talks with acclaimed filmmaker, John Sayles, about his latest movie, "Honeydripper," as well as his long career.

Guest host Ted Chen talks with Sam Rubin, entertainment reporter for KTLA, and Tom O'Neil of "The Envelope" and takes listener calls about what were the best and worst of film and television in 2007.

Larry and critics Lael Loewenstein, of Variety, Jean Oppenheimer, of Village Voice Media, Henry Sheehan, of henrysheehan.com, and Charles Solomon, animation critic, historian, and author for amazon.com, discuss many of the week's new releases including Charlie Wilson's War, Sweeney Todd, Walk Hard, There Will Be Blood, The Bucket List, The Great Debaters, and Persepolis.

Five-time Academy Award winner, Francis Ford Coppola, joins Larry to talk about his career. Coppola's new film, Youth Without Youth, marks his return to creating personally meaningful films, on a modest budget, far from Hollywood.

This new documentary tells the little-known story of how hundreds of thousands of Estonians sang forbidden patriotic songs in public to rally for independence. Larry talks with Jim Tusty, co-director of The Singing Revolution, and Mart Laar, member of the Estonian Parliament, about how this nonviolent revolution helped topple an empire.

From 1934 to 1954 a former journalist and public relations agent ran the Hollywood office that censored the films shown in movie theatres across America. Joseph I. Breen reigned over the Production Code Administration and was one of the most powerful men in the motion picture industry. Larry talks with cultural historian and author, Thomas Doherty, about his new book, Hollywood's Censor (Columbia University Press), which tells the story of Breen's ascent to power and the widespread effects of his reign.

Reviews of this week's new releases, including "Enchanted"; "August Rush"; "I'm Not There"; "Margot At the Wedding"; "Stephen King's The Mist"; "Starting Out in the Evening"; "Holly"; "What Would Jesus Buy?"; "Everything's Cool: A Toxic Comedy About Global Warming"; and the re-release of two short films, "The Red Balloon" and "White Mane". The critics also share their film gift lists for this holiday season.