Terry Gross

We feature an interview with screenwriter/director David O. Russell. His movie Three Kings is being re-released for the holiday season. His other movies include Spanking the Monkey and Flirting with Disaster.

Director and Screenwriter Anthony Minghella. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for the 1996 film The English Patient. The movie also won the Oscar for Best Picture. His new film, The Talented Mr. Ripley opens December 25th, and stars Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Cate Blanchett. Its based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith

We feature an interview with singer/Hollywood legend Rosemary Clooney. She will talk about her life as a singer and performer. We will also listen to songs from throughout her career. Her new autobiography, called Girl Singer, reads like a who's who from the golden age of Hollywood. She has also released a CD companion to the book. Its called Songs from the Girl Singer.

From the band the Continental Drifters: singer/songwriters Vicki Peterson (formerly of the Bangles), Peter Holsapple (of the dBs) and his wife Susan Cowsill (formerly of the Cowsills). They've just released their second album, "Vermillion" (Razor and Tie label). They performed earlier this month in New York at a concert called "The Songs of the Century." They play and talk about some of their picks for the greatest songs.

Singer-songwriter Marshall Crenshaw performs some of the songs he did at the same Songs of the Century concert.

Bob Zmuda is the co-executive producer of the new film "Man on the Moon" about the late comic Andy Kaufman. Zmuda was also Kaufman's writer, co-conspirator, and close friend. In the 1970s Kaufman was best known for his portrayal of the sweet-natured foreign-born Latka on the TV sitcom "Taxi." On stage he took on mind-bending personas like an obnoxious master of ceremonies, or a wrestler who fought women and challenged them on stage, or an Elvis impersonator. Often he left his audience perplexed as to whether or not he was for real.

Inventor and ex-magician David Levy. His inventions include a tiny keypad - the size of a credit card, a tattoo whose design can be changed at will, and a devise that seals severed arteries in one minute. In 1996, at MIT, he won the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize, which acknowledged him as one of the nation's premier young inventors.

Paleontologist Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago. He recently unearthing Jobaria (Joe-BAR-ee-ah) and Suchomimus (sue-coe- MIME-us) -- two new rivals to Tyrannosaurus Rex in West Africa. They're two of the newest additions to the dinosaur family.

Writer Alan Ball. His first feature film screenplay was for this year's critically acclaimed movie, "American Beauty." He's also creator, head writer, and executive producer of the new TV comedy "Oh Grow Up." Previously, Ball wrote for the TV shows "Grace Under Fire," and "Cybill."