FilmWeek

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.

Disney's latest film, Enchanted, gives a new meaning to "cross-cultural" when characters from the animated fairy tale world arrive in present day New York City. Larry talks with Kevin Lima, director of Enchanted, about the challenges of simultaneous filmmaking in two genres.

Eric Lax has been talking with Woody Allen for years. Since 1971 Allen has given the writer complete access to his film sets and editing rooms, as well as his thoughts and observations. Allen has talked with Lax about every facet of his own filmmaking as well as the work of directors he admires. Larry talks with Lax about his new book, Conversations With Woody Allen, which reveal Allen's artistic development from comedian to world-acclaimed filmmaker.

The documentary, Darfur Now, is a call to action for people to end the crisis in Darfur. It focuses on six individuals who struggle to bring attention to the situation in Darfur and the need to get involved. Larry talks with Ted Braun, the film's director, Adam Sterling, an L.A. activist featured in the documentary, and Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, one of the film's Executive Producers.

The 21st AFI FEST will be held in Los Angeles from November 1st through 11th. It features international competitions of new films from emerging filmmakers, the latest works from great film masters, and premieres. Larry talks with the festival's Artistic Director, Rose Kuo, as well as festival programmer Shaz Bennett.