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Podcasts The Frame
Wim Wenders and Pope Francis: Not such cinematic oddfellows
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The Frame Tile
Episode 18385
Listen • 26:30
Wim Wenders and Pope Francis: Not such cinematic oddfellows

On today's show: The acclaimed filmmaker responded to the pope's invitation to make a documentary about the Catholic Church under his leadership; with "Solo: A Star Wars Story" opening, are fans suffering from galactic fatigue?; screenwriter Zak Penn on what makes for a successful Summer blockbuster.

Director Wim Wenders (left) and Pope Francis (right) during the filming of "Pope Francis: A Man of His Word," a Focus Features release.
Director Wim Wenders and Pope Francis during the filming of "Pope Francis: A Man of His Word."
(
Arturo delle Donne
)

Here's what we've got on today's episode:

Wim Wenders goes inside The Vatican

(Starts at 8:30)

It's not often that a letter from the Vatican arrives at your office. But that's exactly what happened to filmmaker Wim Wenders. The letter asked whether Wenders would be interested in making a documentary about Pope Francis. As someone who was raised Catholic and was already an admirer of the pope, Wenders jumped at the chance. The Vatican gave him unprecedented access to archived footage of the pontiff and allowed him full creative control, with no restrictions on the questions he could ask. The result is the new documentary, "Pope Francis: A Man of His Word."

Guest: filmmaker Wim Wenders

Do "Star Wars" fans have galactic fatigue?

(Starts at 1:00)

Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Fritz recently wrote about the troubled production history of "Solo: A Star Wars Story." And now that tepid reviews are arriving ahead of the film's debut, there's talk that the film could underperform at the box office.

Guest: Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Fritz

What makes for a Summer blockbuster?

(Starts at 19:30)

Aside from the "Star Wars" spinoff, there are many other popcorn movies opening this summer. Veteran screenwriter Zak Penn talks about the necessary ingredients, which include a popular book or comic as source material, an established star (paging The Rock), and characters who are truly engaged in the story. 

Guest: screenwriter Zak Penn