With a mega-franchise like 'Narnia' you can expect all sorts of tie-ins, including the obligatory action figures. Prince Caspian himself, Ben Barnes, tells Alison that he expects kids to abuse the action figure (don't call it a doll!) based on his own experience when he used to beat up his old He-Man and Transformer toys.

Tinkering with a beloved book series can be dangerous, but if done well, it can help make the translation from book to theater even better. It worked with the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy ... and so far, so good with "The Chronicles of Narnia" series. Ben Barnes, the new hero in "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" which opens in theaters this weekend...told Alison that some of the romantic tension in the new movie between his character and Susan (Anna Popplewell) -- which was not in C.S. Lewis' book -- was cut out of the final print. However, he hinted that we could see this storyline fleshed out in future films.

There's a new book out about "The Chairman of the Board." No, not Yankee immortal Whitey Ford, but the other "Chairman," "Old Blue Eyes," "The skinny One From Hoboken," Frank Sinatra.

It's called "When Frankie Went to Hollywood,” with author Karen McNally analyzing many of his movies. While she lamentably omitted the original "Manchurian Candidate," and "The Man with the Golden Arm," the movie which won him his supporting Oscar and revived his career, "From Here to Eternity" is among the select group.

Sinatra never had a cozy relationship with the press, one day during WWII, he had a tiff with several reporters. Later, he was walking with his agent, who spotted a headline from the corner of his eye. He rushed over, bought the paper, and breathed a sigh of relief. The headline read: "Allies Pulverize Sumatra."

Sinatra was once invited to a posh reception at the united nations. At the cocktail party, he recognized someone, but couldn't place him. "How ya doin', pal," he said. "Did you catch my act in Vegas?" "Nyet," came the reply -- from Soviet Foreign Minister Andre Gromyko, perhaps the coldest Russian cold warrior of them all.

He was the most popular pop singer of the 20th century, an irreplaceable voice and Oscar winning actor and now the subject of yet another book.

He may have won his Oscar for going all 'Hoo-ah!' in "Scent of a Woman" but when most people think of a classic Al Pacino role, the ones that come to mind usually find Mr. Pacino playing a good guy or a bad guy. Here are the Top Five Pacino Cop movies and his Top Five Criminal flicks. Let us know which role fits him best and which movie you like the most!

PACINO AS COP:

HEAT (1995):
Michael Mann's LA crime saga gets better and better each time I watch it. As super-cop Vincent Hanna, Pacino gives a high-octane performance ('Gimme all you got!!!') as the great detective who can't solve his personal problems. The bank robbery scene is one of the 10 best action pieces EVER, but the coffee shop conversation between Pacino & De Niro (as bad guy Neil McCauley) gives us the chance to eavesdrop on a conversation between two acting icons.

SEA OF LOVE (1989):
Pacino's big comeback role after the flop that was "Revolution," this tense thriller finds him playing a cop on the heels of a serial killer targeting lonely men through newspaper lonely hearts columns. Pacino and Ellen Barkin, playing the main suspect, set off serious sparks, and John Goodman is perfect as Pacino's partner.

SERPICO (1973):
Frank Serpico was Pacino's most iconic role until he hammed it up as Tony Montana a decade later. (You didn't see a poster of Michael Corleone on Tony Manero's wall in "Saturday Night Fever" did you?)

Sidney Lumet's movie -- which I first saw at a much-too young age -- has aged well, especially seeing it again as a New Yorker. It's more than just a cop movie. It's a history lesson about one of the city's most desperate times as well as a deep probe inside one of NY's most indelible communities -- the NYPD.

CRUISING (1980):
His most controversial movie, this one was just released for the first time on DVD last year. Pacino's a cop who goes undercover in NY's seedy S&M society to catch a killer targeting gays. I'm sure Al's reps were happy this movie was buried right after it was finished out of fears it would kill his macho image. But this is a really good, if creepy, thriller. Watching it now makes you miss the Pacino who could do work like this instead of his recent histrionics. Watch for Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen and Ed O'Neill in supporting roles.

INSOMNIA (2002):
Pacino's last great movie, it's woefully underrated. Written/directed by "Batman Begins" genius Christopher Nolan, its chock full of great characterizations. This one well-crafted cop thriller. Trying to solve a murder in an Alaskan town which is in a 24-hour sun cycle, while hiding a terrible secret of his own, Pacino's sleep-deprived, guilt-ridden detective is almost too exhausted to keep up with Robin Williams' slithering bad-guy. Give this one a chance.

PACINO AS CRIMINAL:

THE GODFATHER I & II (1972 &1974):
What can I possibly say about these two movies that hasn't been said or written already? If you haven't seen these two epics, order the dvds, take a sick day and enjoy two of the greatest films EVER and then you can finally understand what the heck Tom Hanks and Greg Kinnear were talking about in "You've Got Mail." Oh, and skip "Godfather, Part III."

DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975):
Once you get past the twisted fact that Michael and Fredo Corleone are playing gay lovers in this based-on-a-true-story drama, what you get is Pacino at his bravest. Playing the not so well-prepared bank robber Sonny, trying to gain enough cash to pay for his lover's sex-change operation, Pacino is funny, touching, angry and best of all, sympathetic. This role marked his 4th consecutive Oscar nomination (3 straight Best Actor Nods). Why it took the Academy so long to honor him is beyond me.

DONNIE BRASCO (1997):
Before "The Sopranos" demystified the whole myth about Mob honor, Pacino shattered the whole romanticized image of gangster life with his portrayal of the pathetic, barely breaking-even thug Lefty in director Mike Newell's riveting drama. Pacino and Johnny Depp (as real-life FBI agent Joe Pistone) are tremendous together in their scenes, including some hilarious exchanges ("A wise guy's always right even when he's wrong, he's right."). Like "Heat," it gets better with every viewing.

SCARFACE (1983):
It's always seemed rather odd to me that the part Pacino is most identified with is his maniacally over-the-top turn as Tony Montana. Before you even think of arguing that point, think of how many times you've heard a drunk friend of yours slur 'Say hello to my lil' friend!' .. or 'The World is Mine' ... or 'Don't get high on your own supply'...it goes on and on. The film's become a mantra to the Hip Hop community, with everyone from P. Diddy to Snoop Dogg declaring their love for Brian De Palma's bloody pic, calling it the ultimate cautionary tale. Sporting one of the worst Cuban accents ever (I'm Cuban. Trust me, he wasn't even close), Pacino nevertheless appears to be having a ball working on a less-dignified -- and infinitely more hammed-up -- take on the 'power corrupts' character arc he did in much more subtle fashion in "The Godfather" movies. Watch it again. The film's full of problems, but the action scenes are brutal and still exciting. And Pacino...well, he's Pacino. Say what you will about the glorification of violence, over-acting...yada yada. Cultural impact has to count for something.

CARLITO'S WAY (1993):
I remember seeing this in theaters when it came out, expecting a complete "Scarface" ripoff. I mean, Pacino as a latino gangster (only Puerto Rican instead of Cuban) in a De Palma movie doesn't exactly scream originality. And it had LOTS of similarities. But this was almost like "Scarface" on prozac, much more subdued, not to mention a much more sympathetic character. You don't have to feel guilty for liking Carlito Brigante, because Pacino humanizes him. This is a guy dying to stick to the straight and narrow, but everyone and everything around him keeps pulling him back in to his old life. I stop to watch this everytime I catch it while channel-surfing, one of the highest compliments I can give a movie. And Sean Penn's coke out, corrupt lawyer with the white-guy 'fro is also a treat to watch.

So what do you think? Cop or Crook? Tell us which Pacino you prefer!

Jason Segel's nude scene in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is already the talk of cyberspace -- and the movie doesn't even open until Friday! Being a family-friendly show that airs in many markets in the morning, Alison had to gently tiptoe around the subject when Jason and uber-producer Judd Apatow dropped by for this week's Top Billing. I still had to edit out part of Jason's explanation because I have a mortgage to pay. Catch more of the interview on this weekend's show, as well as Jeffrey & Alison's review. Now, take a listen to Jason telling Alison how he got ...er, UP, for his big nude scene. Very entertaining.

The last surviving member of Walt Disney's legendary animation crew, the "Nine Old Men", has died. According to Disney Studios, Ollie Johnston passed away of natural causes Monday in Washington state. His death is yet another symbolic benchmark in the disappearance of traditional hand-drawn animated filmmaking.

Johnston worked as an animator and director on many of the most beloved titles of the House of Mouse -- "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Pinocchio," "Bambi," "Fantasia," "Song of the South," "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland" and "101 Dalmatians." (here are clips from the recent DVD re-release of that film).

Nicknamed by Walt Disney himself in a playful homage to FDR's remark about the U.S. Supreme Court justices, the nine-man team Johnston belonged to were each responsible for different parts of each film, including creating individual characters. The stepsisters in "Cinderella," Mr. Smee in "Peter Pan" and Prince John in "Robin Hood" were among the specific characters created by Johnston.

He and Frank Thomas were the last of the group to remain with Disney, both retiring in 1978.

If you're an artist and want to learn about animation or even if you're like me and you can't draw stick figures but you're still a fan of the art form, then you should check out Johnston and Thomas' book, "The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation."

It's filled with tremendous examples of Disney art and offers great insight into how they created their onscreen magic.

As Pixar's digitally-animated productions such as "Toy Story," "Finding Nemo" and "Ratatouille" have become to the modern generation what those classic Disney 'toons were to previous children (and grownups), hand-drawn animation is verging on extinction. It's too expensive and time-consuming. OK fair enough. But you can't tell me that a movie like "Lady and the Tramp" would look any better if it was animated through a computer. Or "Fantasia." Those are WORKS OF ART. Art created by the hands of some ridiculously talented men.

So I was happy to hear during a recent presentation here in NYC that Disney is not completely abandoning hand-drawn animation. Their upcoming November release "Bolt" will feature a mix of computer & traditional animation. And Christmas 2009 will bring a completely hand-drawn, animation-cell production, the musical "The Princess and the Frog." Written and directed by the same guys who did "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin," I can't think of a better tribute to Ollie Johnston than seeing the art form he was such an important part of, getting a new lease on life.

We make it a point here at RT to focus on the latter part of 'Show Business' and avoid the tabloid stuff that makes up most of the Hollywood media coverage. Call me crazy, but I figure people who watch our show and come to this website want to hear and read about movies, not find out what coffee drink Britney or Jessica ordered at Starbucks.

HOWEVER, I'm making an exception to send congrats to one of our favorite guests (and a personal fave of mine), Cate Blanchett. The Queen gave birth to her third child - a boy - Sunday back home in Australia. I imagine this means she'll be skipping the big media tour next month for her next movie, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." I'm sure she's terribly broken up about that. We'll catch you the next time, Cate.

Meantime, check out Jeffrey's interview with the best actress working today from her last visit.

The other day, with little fanfare, the 100th birthday of one of the greatest movie stars of them all came and went. And that's a shame. For Bette Davis deserves attention even today, nearly 20 years after her death -- she remains one of the most important figures in screen history.

I remember it was in 1978 when, on a Friday afternoon, my press contact at Paramount called and wondered if he'd like the chance to do a one hour radio interview with Ms. Davis in her hotel room at the plaza. "Would I?" I asked incredulously. "Of course. When? Two weeks from now?"

"On Monday," came the reply. "We didn't know she'd be available." I quickly agreed, even though that weekend, of all weekends, I'd been scheduled to attend a family wedding in Massachusetts. Remember, this was years before the Internet.

So I dutifully rounded all of the books in my movie library which pertained to her and her era in Hollywood -- some forty, as I recall -- packed them into the car, and as soon as we arrived at the home where we were staying, I notified the bride and groom of the situation.

Soon after the ceremony, I found myself in the basement of the home, while the reception was being held outside. Soon the bridesmaids drifted in along with the ushers, and began helping me find this reference or that movie's mention in one of the books. Several hours later, I’d somehow amassed several pages of single spaced notes and questions.

I remember being put at ease in her presence. She'd known my father, Broadway columnist Leonard Lyons, only slightly, since most of her career was spent on the west coast on studio lots, sound stages and trailers. But she was amazing. She knew the demands of a radio interview and gave me short, to-the-point answers; all informative, many frank, and all fascinating. When I mentioned her screen debut in 1931 she said: "Bad sister....Bogie was in it" and began reminiscing about events decades before, as if they'd happened the previous week.

Bette Davis was not conventionally beautiful by any means. But the camera loved her nonetheless. Rivaled in her day only by Joan Crawford, she was one of the first contract players -- Warner Brothers was her studio -- who would refuse to take a role she thought badly written or demeaning or unworthy of a star of her stature. She was suspended by studio boss Jack Warner and faced threats to her career. But she persevered. The result is an astonishing legacy.

When she didn't get the role of Scarlett O'Hara in rival studio MGM's "Gone With The Wind" (in those days stars were occasionally "loaned out" to other studios) she took the title role of "Jezebel" the year before "GWTW", in an antebellum story and won one of her best actress Oscars. She starred in several of what were called "Warner Brothers Weepers," a series on tense melodramas which today look tame, but which often touched on emotions hardly explored back then. The best of the lot for my money is "Now, Voyager" with Paul Henreid and that famous climactic scene in which he puts two cigarettes in his mouth and lights them simultaneously--is there anything more Forties?

"The Little Foxes" and "Watch On The Rhine" are other hits of that year followed soon by "All About Eve" with a young actress named Marilyn Monroe and Anne Baxter, and later, director frank Capra's swan song (as they used to say) I.E. his screen farewell, "Pocketfull Of Miracles." That was a Damon Runyon story about "Apple Annie" what we'd call a homeless person today, whose apples seemed to bring good luck to a gangster with a heart of gold, played by Glenn ford. Anne Margaret, in her movie debut, played Davis' daughter, living in Europe and unaware that her mother was homeless, and who was now coming to New York to meet her mother for the first time in years.

She turned to horror movies like "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" with Olivia de Havilland and “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" with Joan Crawford. Her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex," also with "Gone With The Wind" costar de Havilland and Eroll Flynn remains one of the greatest portrayals of that historical character.

So here's to Bette Davis on the 100th anniversary of her birth in Lowell, Massachusetts. "I'm a Yankee girl," she said: not a baseball reference but a New England reference. She was spunky, didn't suffer fools lightly and will forever be in the pantheon of movie icons.

Eight-time Grammy award winning sweetheart "Norah Jones" stopped by our studio last week to talk to Jeffrey about her latest work – this time in front of the camera. The star of "My Blueberry Nights" tells Reel Talk how nerve wrecking it was to smoke on camera.

Jean Paul Belmondo has just turned 75 this week. One of the great stars of France's post war "New Wave" cinema, he is perhaps France's most famous film star. He's even the favorite action star of both Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat, no strangers to the genre themselves. Virtually all of his movies were made in France, so his stardom here is considerably less. But the dangling cigarette, the cool look of a character steeped in thoughts, the heartbreaker aura which won him millions of female fans all over the French speaking world have made him an international cinema icon.

Throw in a bit of James Dean, and you have his screen persona. Belmondo also evokes, in part, the stoic strength of Bogart for good measure. He starred opposite Sofia Loren in "Two Women," which won her the Best Actress Oscar. American audiences saw him in "Is Paris Burning?" not a great film by any means, but one which opened up new fans to his craft. He was also in the underrated if bizarre original "Casino Royale" which featured several actors portraying James Bond. He worked with Truffault, Goddard, de Broca, Chabrol, Varda; virtually all the new wave directors. He is a living movie icon, even if he's not a household word here. And now he's 75!

This week, a man named Abe Osheroff died at 92. He was one of the few surviving members of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a group of Americans who went to Spain around 1937 to fight for the Republicans, to preserve the monarchy in a lost cause against Franco's Fascist Falange party, the Nationalists. Nine hundred of their number were killed and today, only a hand full survive.

The Spanish Civil war was one of the bloodiest in history and has been the subject or the backdrop for a few movies. The best is "To Die in Madrid," a documentary narrated by the great Sir John Gielgud. Mr. Osheroff directed and co-wrote "Dreams and Nightmares," in 1974, and it was the setting for Hemingway's classic "For Whom The Bell Tolls." Others on the subject include "Behold a Pale Horse" with Anthony Quinn and Gregory Peck and more recently "Pan's Labyrinth," although that one was set a few years after the war ended. There is an almost mystical aura about that war, with hundreds of stories of courage, savagery, drama and politics of the day inherent in that subject, that screenwriters have a rich field for future screenplays.

As expected, "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe is hopping across the pond to make his Broadway debut this fall with the play "Equus."

In case you don't remember, this is the play where the Teen Wizard went au natural during the London revival last year, and caused a whole big stir since the star of a multi-billion dollar film franchise usually doesn't 'drop trou' onstage. Radcliffe, a regular visitor to RT, talked about the controversy last summer during an interview with Alison:

Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths are both reprising their roles in the show. Griffith, of course, plays Harry Potter's uncle in the hit franchise. "Equus" will run at the Broadhurst Theaterfor 22 weeks, with previews starting Sept. 5th.

I always like it when New York-based actors who are more prominent on the stage take time off to do films; to spread the wealth of their craft to a larger audience. Such an actor is Bayonne, NJ native Frank Langella.

He once told me he got over his regional accent by listening to recordings of Sir John Gielgud -- can't do better than that. He became a huge star on Broadway as "Dracula" in 1977 and was seen last season as Nixon in "Frost/Nixon." On screen he portrayed CBS founder William S. Paley opposite George Clooney in "Good Night and Good Luck."

Last year, Langella starred in a wonderful little movie almost no one saw called "Starting Out in the Evening" intelligently directed by Andrew Wagner, in which he played a nearly-famous author who's the subject of a thesis written by an attractive college student. It's well worth seeing on video. Now comes word he is in final negotiations to star on screen in "All Good Things."

It begins shooting this month here in New York and Connecticut. The story deals with a real estate dynasty's heir, played by Ryan Gosling, having an affair with Kirsten Dunst (I've almost never been a fan of Ms. Dunst, but each movie is a clean slate.) who goes missing.

Let’s just hope ‘good things’ will surface with Langella’s expected new movie.

Ryan Reynolds is coming out in another film where he plays a responsible father and husband. After the refreshing “Definitely, Maybe,” he now stars in “Chaos Theory,” a lesser, but still sweet romantic comedy.

The similarities between the two films however are many. Each film features a flashback to a younger Reynolds, and each film centers around a question of parenthood. In “Chaos Theory,” Reynolds’ over-protective dad tells his future son-in-law about the ups and downs of his own marriage to Emily Mortimer. He’s very funny as an uptight “time management” author who finally gives in to the random, chaotic nature of fate.

I like both of these films and find Reynolds an appealing romantic hero. He’s not coasting on his “sexiest man” moniker and after “The Nines” he has shown that he has range as a dramatic actor as well.

Next up for Reynolds is a comedy “Adventureland” and a drama with Julia Roberts called “Fireflies In The Garden,” both due out later this year.

Bette Davis said that the more famous an actor becomes, the less acting he has to do. That has never been so true as in the case of Al Pacino who is on the way to becoming a self-parody.

I just saw his latest effort “88 Minutes,” a film with an interesting premise but with a terrible script, laughable acting and clumsy direction and which also runs a lengthy 105 minutes. He plays a forensic psychiatrist who receives a phone call saying he has 88 minutes left to live. It’s all part of some ridiculous revenge plot to do with a serial killer that he helped convict 9 years earlier. Of course he’s also psychologically haunted by the murder of his little sister years back, which he feels responsible for.

Al’s hair does more convincing acting in this, although it’s looking surprisingly full and bushy. He also has an admirable tan for someone living in rainy Seattle. There are a couple of typical ‘Al’ moments, where he sprays some spit around in anger, but the rest of it is just funny. How he could commit to such twaddle is a mystery. Leelee Sobieski and Alicia Witt also do some stunningly bad work here. Did I mention that all the murder victims are women? And they are all killed in their underwear? Come on Al, there must be better scripts than this?!

Charlton Heston was one of the last postwar stars to come of age right after the war (as World War II used to be referred to.) He studied acting with the legendary Alvina Krause, the most revered acting teacher of the Midwest, whose students at Northwestern University included Heston, Dick Benjamin and Paula Prentiss, Tony Roberts, the character actor James Olson, Oscar winner Patricia Neal, William Daniels (Dustin Hoffman's father in "The Graduate," playwright and actor George Furth, and many others.

The scene which defines much of Heston's life for me came not in his two most famous roles, the title one in "Ben Hur," the most honored movie of all time, nor as Moses in "The 10 Comandments." No, it came in my favorite Heston movie," The Big Country." It’s the fight scene with Gregory Peck.

Heston played the ramrod, the foreman of the huge ranch, presumably in Texas (it's never named but everything is "big" in that epic western), and he squared off with Peck, the "greenhorn," or "tenderfoot" easterner who'd come to marry the ranch owner's daughter, the object of Heston's affection as well. Director William Wyler filmed it from afar, two men seen in the distance amid an endless sea of grain and grassland. Peck, one of Hollywood's most prominent liberals, was fighting with Heston, whose own politics would turn rightward (as did his friend Ronald Reagan's) later in life.

Politically he was a curiosity -- he marched in the civil rights movements when not many other Hollywood stars had yet taken up the cause. Yet he later campaigned for Jesse Helms, the arch conservative North Carolina senator. Oh and he also campaigned for Strom Thurmond, who'd run for the white house on the 1948 "Dixiecrat" racist platform. Heston was his own man, as witness to his famous (or infamous, depending on your political perspective) speech to his minions of the National Rifle Association.

He was born Charles Cartger on October 4, 1923 in Evanston, a Chicago suburb. It was at Northwestern where he first starred in a student film production of the endless play "Peer Gynt" in 1942, then performed dramas on Chicago radio stations before his professional stage debut in summer stock.

Broadway first saw him billed 15th in "Anthony and Cleopatra" in 1947, as Proculeius, a soldier of “Caesar". More important, he got to work with the great director Guthrie McClintic and Katharine Cornell, then the reigning queen of Broadway. Kirk Douglas had made his stage debut with Ms. Cornell five years earlier. Other Broadway credits were long forgotten "Leaf and Bough," which ran just three performances, followed by "Design for a Stained Glass Window” (there's a title which grabs you!), which ran eight performances in 1950, and then, ten years later, in "The Tumbler," which lasted just six performances. Before heading West, however, he got notices in sweeping TV specials like "Julius Caesar" as Antony, Heathcliff in "Wuithering Heights" and as Petruchio in "The Taming of the Shrew."

One film historian described Heston as "tall and muscular, with a dominant physical presence and a strong-jawed, patrician facial bone structure suggesting intelligence and dignity," qualities which would soon serve him well.

He didn't lose touch with theater, however, even as Hollywood beckoned. In 1954, for example, he starred with Paul Douglas and Jan Sterling, then husband and wife, in a production of "Born Yesterday," the classic Garson Kanin comedy, in the role made famous in the movie by William Holden, hired by Douglas' blustery character tutor, his dumb blonde wife (Judy Holliday's classic screen role.). The box office quickly sold out, so the producers removed the chairs from the stars' dressing rooms to sell to eager stand by patrons in the aisles. But it was a Moses for director Cecil B. DeMille where he won international fame. One of the early scenes shot was the one in which he carried the tablets down from Mt. Sinai. "I'd better not slip up," he joked.

Just three years later he won his Oscar as Judah Ben Hur, a remake of a silent version, this time for director William Wyler. Wyler was known for doing lots of retakes; something to be avoided in a chariot race, of course. When I interviewed Heston he told me that was the scariest scene he'd ever done, because the use of a double was kept to a minimum. "I was even scared for my double," he said. “Ben Hur” It ranks as one of the greatest action scenes in movie history.

He worked with Orson Welles in "Touch of Evil," a brilliant film noir classic toward the end of the heyday of that genre, "The Wreck of the Mary Deare, Gary Cooper's penultimate film. Soon came "The Big Country" in a supporting role, really, but an unforgettable one with Heston astride in a gorgeous pinto. He played Andrew Jackson in "The Buccaneer" for director Anthony Quinn; the only movie Quinn (coincidentally a former son-in-law of Cecil B. DeMille would direct). After the frivolous "The Pigeon That Took Rome" and "Diamond Head,” he returned to a war epic, in this case the boxer rebellion, in "55 Days At Peking", then another biblical epic "The Greatest Story Ever Told" for director George Stevens, as John the Baptist. (In case you're wondering, the role of Christ went to a young Max von Sydow).

I first met him on the set of "The Agony and the Ecstasy,” in which he portrayed Michelangelo. Not on the set, really. I tagged along to Rome with my father, Broadway columnist Leonard Lyons, in the days when press junkets were really that; the studio sent 50 journalists (and one eager son) to London, then Rome. There in the Sistine Chapel, he gave us an informed tour and detailed explanation of the works of the master artist and sculptor. He found a resurgence to his career in action movies with those "Planet of the Apes" movies, which still have a huge cult about them, gave the role of Anthony another shot in "Anthony and Cleopatra," a still relevant sci-fi drama in "Soylent Green," the screen farewell of Edward G. Robinson, incidentally. He eased into character roles as Cardinal Richelieu in the "Three Musketeer" movies, did another war epic "Midway" and nearly a score of other movies.

One movie was "El Cid," Heston played the legendary medieval spanish hero, with Sophia Loren. If you look closely at the scene when he and Loren ride into Seville, you may spot a stagehand in an alleyway; one of Hollywood's many "goofs."

He did other Westerns like the underrated "Will Penny" and "Major Dundee" and worked with some of Hollywood's greatest directors; Wyler, Stevens, Peckinpah, Franklin J. Schaffner, Rudolph Mate, and William Dieterle, to name a few.

Charlton Heston was one of the few "larger-than-life" postwar stars who left a legacy of great films.

Directing, hitting, and football. Jeffrey and George had a man-to-man talk Thursday morning when Mr. Clooney stopped by our REEL TALK studios to discuss directing and starring in "Leatherheads," which opens Friday.

The death of Richard Widmark on Wednesday at 93 marked the passing of one of the last great postwar movie stars. Only a few remain -- living treasures like Kirk Douglas, Maureen O'Hara, Eli Wallach, Ernest Borgnine, Karl Malden and not many more.

Widmark was amazing; he could convince you he was a cowboy, a sailor or a more conventional type, too. A native of Sunrise, Minnesota, he came to NY in 1938 when radio dramas were at their height; it was the year, after all, that Orson Welles, spooked America with his "war of the worlds" broadcast and scores of radio dramas were the country's main entertainment between movies.

The young actor found work in that medium and on Broadway. He was billed 17th in something called "Kiss and Tell" at the Biltmore Theatre, which is still in use. On march 17, 1943. He was ‘Lieutenant Lenny Archer’ and luckily for him “Kiss and Tell” ran 956 performances. His next job was in November, 1944 when this reporter was just 18 days old, by the way, in a show called "Get Away Old Man" which featured future character star Ed Begley, who would be one of the movies' "12 Angry Men" 13 years later. But it only ran 13 performances and is otherwise forgotten today.

On to three other shows, "Trio, "Kiss Them For Me" and " Dunnigan's Daughter," before his movie career began. It was "Kiss Of Death," his 1947 screen debut, which provided him with his most famous character, the killer with a trademark chilling laugh as he pushed a wheelchair-bound elderly lady down a flight of stairs to her death. He earned an Oscar nomination that year.

Some of his other memorable movies were "Panic In The Street,” “No Way Out," "The Hall of Montezuma," “The Frogmen," “Destination Gobi," "Saint Joan" (miscast, alas, as the dauphin for director Otto Preminger), "Two Rode Together" and "Judgement at Nuremberg" as a prosecutor of Nazi war criminals. I loved his work in "How the West Was Won" in 1963 as a gruff railroad boss, determined to lay track for the transcontinental railroad at a furious pace -- even if it meant encroaching on sacred Indian land. Other films included "Murder On The Orient Express," "Twilight's Last Gleaming," two “National Lampoon Movies," the otherwise-unbearable "The Alamo" for director and costar John Wayne (Widmark played Jim Bowie), and a superb cold war drama called "The Bedford Incident" with Sidney Poitier. He was also, for a few years, the father-in-law of baseball hall-of-famer Sandy Koufax.

Richard Widmark was one of the most dependable and durable Hollywood stars of a bygone era has died.

A decade as part of the classic TV hit "Friends" apparently was more than enough onscreen work for David Schwimmer. Aside from the occasional guest-starring role on shows like "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "30 Rock," Schwimmer told Alison during a recent interview he's focused on behind-the-scenes work, like his feature directorial debut "Run Fatboy Run," which opens March 28.

Here's part of the interview. You can hear more on this week's RT:

David Schwimmer, whose debut as a film director "Run Fatboy Run" hits theaters March 28, told Alison Bailes not to hold your breath waiting for a "Friends" reunion.

Besides concentrating on directing and roles in upcoming films like "Nothing But The Truth," Schwimmer said the way the show ended was perfect -- and why mess with perfection?

Catch more of Alison's chat with David Schwimmer this week on RT. And Alison & Jeffrey review "Run Fatboy Run" as well!

Peter O'Toole breezed through town this week, touting "The Tudors," the new Showtime miniseries in which he portrays Pope Paul III.

He became a star with "Lawrence of Arabia," a part coveted by everyone from Albert Finney to John Hurt. But it wasn't his first film. No, before that breakthrough role, he appeared in "Kidnapped" and "The Day They Robbed England," as well as bit roles on British TV.

O'Toole is one of the last of the post war so-called "Angry Young Man" generation of English actors; Richard Harris, Sir Stanley Baker, and Oliver Reed were others; Richard Burton, too, though he had more stage experience.

O'Toole holds a record which, like some baseball records, will surely never be broken: most Best Actor Oscar nominations with no wins -- an incredible eight. Most recently it was "Venus," and before that, "My Favorite Year," as an inebriated Errol Flynn-type, "The Stunt Man," "The Ruling Class," "Becket, " “Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” "The Lion in Winter" and his starring debut in the aforementioned "Lawrence of Arabia." He once told me he loved that role, but hated the camels. "Horrid creatures," he would say.

I first met him on the set of "Lord Jim" in 1965. He is truly a world-renowned movie star, with an honorary Oscar and soon, I hope, a knighthood. Hey Queen Elizabeth (she regularly checks our REEL TALK blogs) what're you waiting for?

The news of the sudden passing of Anthony Minghella, the talented writer/director was shocking. His passing, which was confirmed Tuesday by his agent, ends a magnificent career with top notch films like "The English Patient," "Truly Madly Deeply" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley" on his resume. Or more appropriately, as his legacy.

The 54-year-old filmmaker, born in England, was a former professor in the years he formulated his craft as a composer and playwright. He even won the most Promising Playwright award from the London theater critics in 1986 and later he would be appointed a CBE or Commander of the British Empire award from the Queen, one of the stepping stones en route to a knighthood.

Five of his actors went on to earn Oscar nominations; Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, Renee Zellweger, Juliette Binoche and Kristin Scott Thomas, with Zellweger and Binoche winning Supporting Actress Oscars. The brother of writers and the father of an actor and actress, he'd completed "The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency," based on the novel, to air on British television. He also had two other films coming. We can only imagine how many more classy, intelligent films he would've made. His passing is a terrible loss.

Our guest on this week's show is Oscar winner Charlize Theron. The South African stunner is the co-star and producer of "Sleepwalking," which opens this weekend in select cities. Watch this clip where the classic movie fan tells Jeffrey about the time she ran into Elizabeth Taylor!

Watch more of Jeffrey's interview with Charlize Theron this weekend on RT, as well our review of "Sleepwalking."

Sprinkled among all the special-effects heavy blockbuster hopefuls due to be released this summer, the most controversial film of the summer season could be a documentary on religion.

Television commentator Bill Maher, no stranger to controversy, has teamed with Larry Charles, the director of "Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," to make "Religulous", a documentary due out in June featuring Maher's POV on the sensitive topic. The two traveled all over the world to research and interview people about God and and faith.

"Comedically, the topic of religion is hitting the side of a barn;" Maher told the industry trade Daily Variety. "It's literally hard to miss. This movie will make you laugh so hard you'll pray for it to stop."

Lionsgate will release "Religulous" June 20th. If early reaction is any indication, the film could touch off heated debate. Religion, like politics, is one of those topics that always invites passionate, sometimes irrational responses. The idea of mixing religion and comedy in general sounds like a potentially volatile mix. Many other comics have been doing it for years, like George Carlin. It will be interesting to see how Maher's take on it comes across.

Interesting article in Sunday's NY Times about Christopher Nolan and his upcoming 'Batman Begins' sequel "The Dark Knight." It looks at how Gotham City will look much different in the sequel, Nolan's hands-on approach to film making, and of course, it also touches on how Heath Ledger's tragic death has impacted the movie.

Read the article and check out the trailer below. "The Dark Knight" opens July 18.

Movie fans know Jason Statham from movies like “Crank” and of course the “Transporter” series, films heavy on action and light on character development. But with his new film “The Bank Job” [check out Jeffrey & Alison’s review] Statham is showing he can do more on screen than just drive fast and beat people up.

Check out Jeffrey’s interview with the British star after the jump.

Christina Ricci’s currently starring in the romantic fable “Penelope.” In this clip from her recent visit to our studios, she talked to Jeffrey about working with The Wachowski Brothers on her next film “Speed Racer.”

Watch more of Jeffrey’s interview with Christina Ricci on this weekend’s RT.

As one of the outspoken teen starlets of the 1990s, Christina Ricci made her mark in Hollywood at the age of nine in "Mermaids," in which she played the daughter of a self obsessed mother -- played by Cher. We've watched her career sky-rocket through the years with films such as "The Ice Storm," "Pumpkin" and "Prozac Nation."

The beautiful Miss Ricci dropped by the RT studios recently to chat with Jeffrey about one common theme in her movies -- masks.

Check out the interview snippet after the jump.

Every time I see a photo of Katherine Heigl or Jessica Simpson or any other dazzling-looking blonde actress (giving Ms. Simpson the benefit of the doubt), I think of Marilyn Monroe, who once again is back in the news.

First, Lindsay Lohan did a photo spread for "New Yorker" magazine inspired by Marilyn. And, the other day a returned Bronx mechanic recently discovered a photo of Marilyn Monroe taken 45 years ago. A Las Vegas retiree worked on a Ford Sunliner convertible at a Bronx gas station in 1962, but the car was never claimed.

Unloading the trunk, the mechanic sorted the items over, it was among those things that the photo was discovered.

Sounds like a plot from a "B" movie, but it's true. She was posing as a hitchhiker in a 1960 photo taken during the shooting of her last movie, "The Misfits."

"Here is a face that burns with more kilowatts than any other" said the great director Billy Wilder after he'd directed "Some Like It Hot." Her drama coach, Constance Collier once said “she possesses that quality which no amount of lessons can give to anyone. She's a born star."

My father knew her and we have photos of them together. My 16th birthday present, in fact, was a congratulatory phone call from her, a few years before she tragically and mysteriously died.

As an unknown she came to New York to promote her first film, "Love Happy" which featured the Marx Brothers. The studio installed her in a huge hotel suite to meet film exhibitors. That night she forgot to cancel room service in the small room to which she'd been moved.

" I didn't care," she said, " I kept ordering caviar. That's what I first remembered about New York; caviar for breakfast."

When she returned from entertaining the troops in Korea, she told her husband Joe, "It was great. They cheered and cheered. You can't imagine what that's like."

"Oh yes, I can," smiled Joe.

There isn't a college dorm which doesn't have her poster up somewhere, lo these many years after her time.

Today's stars, those who can act, and even those who can't, owe her an eternal debt.

It hit me the other day that it feels like two lifetimes ago that Will Ferrell was making a name for himself spoofing Pres. Bush on "Saturday Night Live." Several years and a handful of comedy smashes later, his career is firing on all cylinders.

To think he once had plans to go into sportscasting!

He's back in a new comedy with another sports theme, the retro-basketballer "Semi-Pro" which should be another slam-dunk hit with the 18-24 demo that worships Ferrell.

Alison asked him if it's strange for a 40-year-old father of two to have such a young fan base .. and they also commiserated over the lousy existence of a sports TV intern.

Hear more of Alison's interview with Will Ferrell this weekend on RT.

Since he always seems to be working on a new movie, it was surprising at first to hear Will Ferrell was involved in an online comedy venture, FunnyorDie.com.

Not because I didn't think the comedy genius behind "Anchorman" and "Talladega Nights" couldn't handle transferring his brand of laughs to the 'Net, but where would he find the time??

During a recent visit to our studios to talk with Alison about "Semi-Pro" for this weekend's RT, Ferrell says all it took for him to be able to get involved with FunnyorDie.com was a little sacrifice:

See more of Alison's interview with Will Ferrell this weekend on RT.

Congrats To Lisa! She guessed correctly on Marketa Irglova's quote

Looks like we need to make these harder!

Wow, you guys are fast! Mark R. was the first to send us the answer to the 'Who Said That' game.

Congrats Mark and thanks for playing.

We'll add another quote today -- hopefully a much harder one!

Well whaddaya know? Just this past weekend Matthew McConaughey talked with Jeffrey on Reel Talk about his role in "Fool's Gold", another movie that puts McConaughey's "Statue of David”-like chiseled abs on full display.

Now Dolce and Gabbana are taking advantage of the actor’s famous physique to promote their new men's cologne, "The One."

Check out the commercial after the jump!

I'm interviewing Jessica Lange this week. She has had an incredible career. First, the debacle that was the disastrous 1976 remake of "King Kong." She'd signed a seven year contract with producer Dino DeLaurentis, but after the movie flopped, he lost interest in her and she didn't work for two years.

She quickly redeemed herself with the torrid remake of "The Postman Always Rings Twice" opposite Jack Nicholson, taking up the roles made famous in the forties by Lana Turner and John Garfield. Lange even opted out of her DeLaurentis contract to get the part she knew would make or break her career. Intelligently, she'd spent those two years studying acting in New York, including Method acting (for my money this form of acting is the best training technique of them all. Everyone should study it, even if acting is the last thing on one's mind.)

Her rave reviews solidified her as an actress to be reckoned with. "She's in it for the work, not the fringe benefits," her friend, the great actress Kim Stanley correctly observed.

After an Oscar nominated performance as the title character in 1982s "Frances," Lange moved on to win a supporting Oscar for 1982s "Tootsie," one of the few times an actress has been nominated for two roles in the same year. It's ironic that she'd win an Oscar for "Tootsie," a role with not nearly the depth of "Frances” nor " The Postman Always Rings Twice."

Since then she has continued to distinguish herself, winning another Oscar for "Blue Skies," a movie which had been put on a studio shelf for three years before being released in 1994. Lange has always kept away from the nonsense of Hollywood, returning to her roots in Northern Minnesota, Virginia or previously in New Mexico.

I'm looking forward to the interview with Ms. Lange, whose new movie is "Bonneville." We'll have the interview on an upcoming episode of REEL TALK and also post the full conversation in the interviews section of REELTALKtv.com.

It's either good or bad news, depending on how you look at it, but the Starship Enterprise will have to wait awhile longer before beginning its next voyage. Paramount has pushed back the release date for J.J. Abrams' revival of the Star Trek franchise from Christmas to May 9, 2009.

No official reason for the push back, but according to Variety, studio sources say holding the film until next summer makes sense because it could make more money than during the crowded holiday movie season. Also, the writers strike delayed production on many films, possibly leaving holes in the release calendar that the studio had to fill.

Paramount already has a full 2008 slate, with this weekend's "The Spiderwick Chronicles" plus "Iron Man" and "Indiana Jones 4" in