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This summer, Warner Home Videos released four restored Charlie Chaplin classics on DVD -- The Gold Rush, Modern Times, The Great Dictator and Limelight. The biggest challenge restorers faced was in deciding which versions of Chaplin's films were authoritative. Howie Movshowitz of Colorado Public Radio reports.

Robert Redford has benefited from Hollywood's big-budget blockbuster formula system. But the star actor and director says art plays a crucial role in filmmaking and must not be left out. In an interview with NPR's Bob Edwards, Redford also discusses America's celebrity society, the benefits of public funding for the arts and the California governorship recall election. Hear the extended interview.

In 2000, author Jhumpa Lahiri won a Pulitzer Prize for her very first book, a collection of stories titled Interpreter of Maladies. Lahiri returns to the literary scene with her first novel, The Namesake. NPR's Melissa Block talks with Lahiri about the book, which tells the story of an Indian immigrant family in America.

Barry Levinson is the director of such award-winning movies as Good Morning Vietnam and The Natural. His first novel, 66, is the story of a group of friends struggling to retain their youths while taking on adult challenges. NPR's Susan Stamberg reports.

Illusionist David Blaine has suspended himself from a crane over London's Thames River, planning to endure starvation in a glass box for 44 days. But many Londoners express boredom with Blaine's latest stunt, deeming it unoriginal. Hear Sally Pook of London's Daily Telegraph.

The Saget family says they have been "overwhelmed with the incredible outpouring of love" from his fans, saying the support has been "a great comfort" to them.

The Scottish band Belle and Sebastian had been keeping to the shadows -- but that's about to change with release of the group's sixth album, Dear Catastrophe Waitress. Band founder and singer Stuart Murdoch explains to NPR's Steve Inskeep that the group was young and more than a little freaked out by the attention they first earned. Now that they've got an international following, Murdoch says the band is ready to take center stage.

Sena Jeter Naslund's latest novel, Four Spirits, melds real people and fictional characters to tell the story of the civil rights struggle in Birmingham, Ala. during the early 1960s. The title refers to the four schoolgirls killed Sept. 15, 1963, in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church. Hear an extended interview with the author.

Writer and Paris Review editor George Plimpton dies at his Manhattan apartment. He was 76. Plimpton's writing combined elegance and wit, and often showed a willingness to make himself the butt of the joke. Paper Lion was the most famous of several books he wrote chronicling Walter Mitty-like experiences in sports and other endeavors. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and NPR's Frank Deford.

The director of Russia's Bolshoi theater defends a decision to fire a popular ballerina. Her employer says Anastasia Volochkova was [too tall -- and at 109 pounds, too heavy -- to perform.] NPR's Lawrence Sheets reports.

The Bottom Line -- the Greenwich Village cabaret where Bruce Springsteen got his start, and where musicians from Miles Davis to Dolly Parton and Aaron Copland have performed -- faces financial problems and could be shut down. NPR's Jennifer Ludden speaks with Bottom Line co-founder Allan Pepper.

Journalist Mark Jacobson and his wife Nancy of Brooklyn, New York, thought a three-month trek around the world might remedy a serious case of teenage alienation and addiction to pop culture. Jacobson relates their travels to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, Jordan, Israel, France, and England in the book, 12,000 Miles in the Nick of Time. Jon Kalish reports. (Publisher: Canongate Books, ISBN: 0871138522)

For the past decade, author James Carroll has produced a string of nonfiction bestsellers. He returns to the novel with Secret Father, a psychological spy thriller set in Berlin during the beginning of the Cold War. Alan Cheuse has a review.

Amy Borkowsky's collection of funny telephone messages from her Mom has spawned a sequel: Amy's Answering Machine: Volume 2. Amy shares some of her mother's latest advice with NPR's John Ydstie. Hear messages from both CDs online.

Carl Reiner has been making people laugh for more than 50 years. In his new autobiography, My Anecdotal Life: A Memoir, Reiner recounts his experiences as a comic, producer, director, novelist and playwright. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Reiner about turning down Fidel Castro's star vehicle and other moments of his colorful Hollywood past.

George Wyle, who composed one of the most popular TV theme songs, dies of leukemia at age 87. Wyle wrote more than 400 songs, including the Christmas classic "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," but he was best known for "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island," a song he wrote in just one sitting with the show's creator Sherwood Schwartz. NPR's Lynn Neary has a remembrance.

Blue Car is a movie about a teenager who embodies all of the contradictions, confusions, yearnings and suspicions of someone who is growing up too fast but wants things to happen faster still. The movie is finally opening in theaters across the country after garnering rave reviews at last year's Sundance Film Festival. Los Angeles Times and Morning Edition movie critic Ken Turan says acting is the reason to see the film. Hear Turan's review.

Good Morning Midnight tells the story of renowned mountain climber Guy Waterman, who committed suicide atop New Hampshire's Mt. Lafayette. Waterman became passionate about the outdoors after leaving an unhappy marriage and abandoning his career as a Republican speechwriter. Host Melissa Block talks with author Chip Brown.

Movie-goers this summer can expect an onslaught of sequels and a surprising number of independent and foreign films, according to Los Angeles Times and Morning Edition movie critic Kenneth Turan. Hear NPR's Renee Montagne and Turan.

The Dancer Upstairs, a political thriller, features the directing debut of noted American actor John Malkovich. It's a character study of a detective who must negotiate political and personal issues while tracking a rebel leader in Latin America. NPR's Bob Mondello offers a review.

More than 400 objects from ancient Mesopotamia are on display in a new exhibition at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The rare pieces, gathered from museums around the world, are similar to artifacts feared lost in the looting of Iraq's museums. NPR's David D'Arcy reports.

Wayne Shorter's new record, Alegria, is being released just in time for the legendary jazz saxophonist's 70th birthday. From classical to avant-garde jazz, the album spans the myriad styles Shorter has embraced during his 50-year career. Michelle Mercer offers a review.

Growing budget deficits are forcing states across the nation to drastically cut or even eliminate funding for state arts councils. States pondering such measures include California, Oregon, New Jersey and Colorado. But the cost-cutting moves could jeopardize grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, which require states to match federal funds. NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports.

Impressionist Rick Miller has created a comic one-man version of Shakespeare's Macbeth, employing the wacky characters from the Simpsons -- the hit animated TV show. He's been on a U.S. tour, Homer and others in tow. Miller speaks with NPR's Jacki Lyden.

Style Wars celebrates New York City graffiti artists' modern-day hieroglyphics, and captures the days and nights when the young outlaws ruled the subway lines. NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports on the 20th anniversary re-release of the 1983 television documentary on DVD. See video clips and photos from the film.