Supporting Exceptional Playwrights

Washington was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He spoke to Fresh Air in 2008, about the film The Great Debaters, which he directed and starred in.

The Room (2003) has been called the Citizen Kane of bad movies. Eccentric filmmaker Tommy Wiseau wrote, directed and starred in the movie, and it has since developed a cult following. Around the country, fans flock to midnight screenings.

Ross' new film, which he wrote and directed, is about a father living with his six children in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. "The movie is about choices we make, especially as parents," he says.