On a Zoom Call with Woody Allen

Woody Allen's new book,Apropos of Nothing, starts with a portrait of his father, a tough-guy World War One Navy veteranand onetime gunman in a firing squad. It's the first of a series of surprising, fascinatingstories from a life that wentfrom working-class Jewish Brooklyn in the 1940s to movie sets in Rome and Paris.The bookalso addresses the accusation of an incident of sexual abuseleveled by Dylan Farrow.Allenand Alec cover it all -- plus how he's doing in the age of coronavirus -- in this candid and wide-ranging interview.

New York City's Post-COVID Future

In the midst of a crisis it can be healthy to think of what comes after. In this episode of Here's the Thing, two of the most influential New Yorkers when it comes to long-term economic planning join Alec to discuss whether the current economic crisis will end quickly when businesses can reopen, or whether instead it's the start of alonger decline. Kathryn Wylde is a veteran of the urban renewal battles of the 1980s and currently the head of the city's elite business consortium, the Partnership for New York City. She worries that what makes New York special will now be associated with the spread of disease: itsdense population and communal spaces like theaters, museums, bars, and vibrant workplaces. Tom Wright's organization, the influential Regional Plan Association, isreshaping its long-term vision for the city based on the potential for reduced growth -- butWright says that New York is well positioned to get back on track thanks to its experience overcoming past crises like 9/11 ...

In Memoriam: Wynn Handman

Over a 70-year career, Wynn Handman added sharpness and craft to the natural talents of actors including Christopher Walken, Allison Janney, Raul Julia, Richard Gere, James Caan, Anna Deveare Smith, Joanne Woodward, and Mia Farrow. The World War II veteran studied acting on the GI bill and fell in with Sanford Meisnerat the Neighborhood Playhouse in 1946, when the "playhouse" was still two floors of an office building west of Times Square. In this remarkable conversation, Handman tells Alec about his experiences with Meisner, Lee Strasberg, and his many students -- as well as growing upin the 1920s in a Manhattan neighborhoodwhere the streets still had not been paved. Handman died of complications from COVID-19 on April 11, 2020.

Brian De Palma on Scarface, Mission: Impossible, and the Movie He Made in College

Brian De Palma's astonishingly diverse hits as a director includeBlow Out,Scarface,The Untouchables,The Bonfire of the Vanities,Raising Cain,Carlito’s Way, andMission: Impossible. He wrote many of those screenplays, too. With his distinctive visual style and proven box office success, he'samong the undeniable greats of both auteur and commercial filmmaking. In this live interview, hetells Alec about getting his start in directing as an undergrad at Columbia, and has stories fromBlow Out,ScarfaceandMission: Impossible. In 2019, the Hamptons International Film Festival gave De Palma its Lifetime Achievement Award; this conversation was part of the ceremony.

Daryl Hall Invites Alec In

Hall & Oates is the biggest-selling vocal duo in history. "Maneater," "Rich Girl," "You Make My Dreams Come True," and countless other hitswill be beloved for generations. So Daryl Hall haslong been at the top of Alec's Most Wanted list forHere's the Thing. When the conversation finally took place this past December, it was on Hall's home-turf: Daryl's House, his restaurant and music-venue in Pawling, NY. In a conversationinterspersed with some classic recordings, Hall talks about his teen years in suburban Pennsylvania singing doo-wop on the streets with his friends -- a far cry from the rock-star life he was leading 15 years later. Forthat transition to happen, he first had to meet John Oates. That happened in 1967 when agunfight broke out at a club they had both been performing at. Their fate was sealed: the two kept up a rigorous concert schedule until this year, when coronavirus put a temporary end to public gatherings. You can still hear their later work on this new vinyl rele...

In Memoriam: Patricia Bosworth

Alec and Patti Bosworth became friends serving together on the board of the Actors Studio. When Bosworth died of complications from COVID-19, it wasn't just a loss to the literary and theatrical worlds; it was also personal for Alec and the rest of Bosworth's wide circle of friends and family. Not justalegendary Hollywood biographer, Bosworth also released an impossible-to-put-down memoir in two parts about her glamorous, tragic personal life and her time with the biggest names in Hollywood and the literary world. Characters range fromMarlonBrando to Mario Puzo to Robert Frost. WhenBosworthpublished the second installment of that memoir, The Men in My Life, in 2017,it was natural for her to stop by Here's the Thing to tell some of the stories in person, including her transition from Hollywood leading lady to respected journalist. We're honored to re-release that conversation today.

Anjelica Huston on Modeling, Movie-Making, and a Life in the Spotlight

Anjelica Huston has lived many lives, all with grace and charisma. As the daughter of John Huston (director ofThe African Queen,The Maltese Falcon, and more) she was movie royalty from birth. But she grew up in rural Ireland and went to high school in Swinging-Sixties London. That meant she developed a set of values far removed from Hollywood high society. Her first career was as a high-end fashion model, a favorite subject of Richard Avedon and latera muse of Halston. But she had always wanted to be a movieactress, and she spent time in the trenches, working on her craft in classes and smaller roles before her Oscar-winning turn inPrizzi's Honor. Right as she was leaving the photo studio for the movie studio, she met Jack Nicholson: "he made me laugh," she tells Alec. The coupledefined Hollywood cool for almost two decades. Huston tells Alec the story of all of her transitions --romantic, professional, and geographic. Her two wonderful memoirsare A Story Lately Told and Watch Me.

Butch Walker's Awesomely Diverse Rock Résumé

Butch Walker isone of rock and roll's biggest talents, and on May 8th, he'll be releasing his new album -- arock opera calledAmerican Love Story. You can preview one of the songs on today's episode of Here's the Thing, taped live last month (just before coronavirus made such gatherings impossible) at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood. In the 1990s, Walker got major-label contracts and radio-play asthe guitaristfor the"hairband" SouthGang, and later as front-man ofthe edgy, grunge-tinged Marvelous 3.But Walker'scareer has evolved. Not only is he making beautiful solo work, buthe's also become one ofLA's most sought-after partners in music-making, having produced or writtensongs for artists ranging from P!nk to Green Day to Panic! at the Disco.It's been a long road from his life as an 8-year-old Kiss fan inrural Georgia, and Walker has accumulated great stories along the way, including what it was like to be the first American rock band to tour (and get kicked out of) China. Thanks ...

Eliza Shapiro on School Closures, the Big Picture -- and Probably Getting Coronavirus

New York Times reporter Eliza Shapiro ranks high on thelist of the most powerful people in educationbecause"no one on the education beat is a sharper – or more effective – thorn in the side of city officials." Over the course of a lively conversation with Alec taped before the pandemic, she broke down all the major issues in education policy, from unions to charters to racial equality, and tackled Mayor Bill De Blasio's rollback of Mike Bloomberg's education reforms. But since they spoke, Shapiro has arguably become New York City parents' most important source of information about what's going onwith the city's schools as they ground to a halt with the coronavirus pandemic. So we called her up yesterday and asked her what she knew and how school closures everywhere affect much more than just students' education. Plus she recounts her own likely bout with the virus!

Revealing Barry Sonnenfeld

Barry Sonnenfeld was among Hollywood's most in-demand cinematographers (Big, When Harry Met Sally, Misery)when he decided to make the switch to directing in 1991. The producers werenervous, but the proof was in the pudding: Sonnenfeld's directorial debut wasThe Addams Family, one of the year's most successful comedies. From there, Sonnenfeld went on to directGet Shorty, theMen in Black series, and some brilliant TV likeThe Tick andA Series of Unfortunate Events. Now he's written a memoir, Barry Sonnenfeld Call Your Mother, in which he tells with humor and compassion thesurprisingly harrowing story of his childhood -- and, of course,dishes onhis colleagues in Hollywood. With Alec he goes beyond what's in the book about what went down on the sets ofBig,Misery,Wild Wild West andMen in Black.