Joe Morgenstern is the age-defying film critic for the Wall Street Journal, a post he has held since 1995. He’s also one of only three film critics to have been awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Sample any one of his reviews and you will see why he is so highly regarded. An elegant, witty, and knowledgeable essayist, he represents the best of the breed. What’s more, his enthusiasm remains intact after decades of working the same beat. Jessie realizes that she has known him her entire life but this is the first chance she’s had to talk to him at length about his work. Leonard was and remains an ardent admirer.
How many authors get to see themselves portrayed on the big screen? R.L. Stine has—and by the very cool Jack Black, in two movies, based on his phenomenally popular Goosebumps books. Bob has entertained (and scared) several generations of kids—like Jessie—with his scary books for young people, and seems as surprised by their success and durability as anyone in his vast audience. Leonard and Bob rekindled an old acquaintance in the course of this show, with Jessie enacting the role of lifelong fan.
Norman Lloyd was a mere 103 when we recorded this interview in 2018. He lived to be 106…and what a rich life it was. Listen as he talks about people he knew and worked with: Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Jean Renoir, Martin Scorsese. Leonard and Jessie will never forget the day they made this recording and think it’s well worth a reprise.
In 2018 Al Pacino—yes, Al Pacino—spent an hour with Leonard and Jessie talking about the theatrical release of his long-delayed film of Salome (featuring a young Jessica Chastain) and its accompanying documentary Wilde Salome. If you also want to hear what challenges him as an actor…or stories about the making of The Godfather, Dog Day Afternoon, and other classics of American film, you won’t be disappointed. Hey, it’s AL PACINO.