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Pat Dowell

  • Lewis, whose comedic duo with Dean Martin launched him to the peak of showbiz, starred and directed in dozens of films. He was perhaps just as famous for his charity work fighting muscular dystrophy.
  • Godard, who has been making films for more than half a century, shared the 2014 Jury Prize at Cannes for his 3-D film, Goodbye To Language. He likes 3-D, he says, because "there aren't any rules."
  • The star of Blue Velvet follows up her Webby-winning Green Porno series with another cheeky look at animal behavior. In Mammas, she channels mothers of many a species, challenges the belief that mothers are universally self-sacrificing — and eats an offspring or three.
  • Alfred Hitchcock is best known for suspense films like Psycho and Vertigo, but the British director actually began his filmmaking career during the silent era. The Hitchcock 9 is a collection of his silent films, and the only way to see them is the old way — going to the theater.
  • British filmmaker Sally Potter gained worldwide attention with her 1992 film Orlando. Like all of her movies, it was unconventional in its story and structure. Her new film, Ginger & Rosa, is more realistic and direct.
  • The legendary experimental filmmaker's work is the subject of a career-spanning retrospective at the Contemporary Arts Museum in Houston. VanDerBeek merged collage-style filmmaking with new technology throughout his career.
  • No One Knows About Persian Cats tells the story of Iranian musicians trying to put together a band in a country where heavy metal, rock and hip-hop are illegal. The film won two prizes at last year's Cannes International Film Festival, and opens in this week in the U.S.
  • The Return of the King, the last film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, leads the Academy Awards race with 11 nominations, including best picture and best director. Master and Commander gets 10 Oscar nods. With her film Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola becomes the first American woman to be nominated for best director. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and reporter Pat Dowell.
  • Bob Hope, master of the one-liner and world-famous comedian, dies of pneumonia at 100. A star in vaudeville, radio, television and film, Hope helped define the monologue. He was best known for entertaining U.S. troops at bases around the world. Pat Dowell has a remembrance.
  • Screen legend Katharine Hepburn, who starred in more than 50 films and projected the ideals of independence and intelligence to generations of women, dies at 96. Hepburn won a record four best actress Oscars in her 60-year career, for her roles in Morning Glory, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Lion in Winter and On Golden Pond. Hear Pat Dowell.