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Wenlan Chia isn't as big a name as Anne Klein, Perry Ellis or Bill Blass, but the up-and-coming designer known as Twinkle is getting a chance to show her new collection alongside them in New York this week. Her story is the first of a week-long Morning Edition series looking behind the scenes of the style industry.

Leni Riefenstahl, renowned and despised for her depiction of Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Triumph of the Will, dies at 101. Riefenstahl maintained she should be above criticism for the 1934 film, which has been called the best propaganda film ever made, but she spent more than half her life apologizing for it. NPR's Bob Edwards has a remembrance.

Director Ridley Scott's career has been marked by oversized, epic films like Alien and Gladiator. In his latest effort, Matchstick Men, Scott makes a major departure by creating a comic study of a neurotic con artist, played by Nicolas Cage. NPR's Michele Norris talks with Scott.

The Passion, a film project co-written and directed by actor Mel Gibson, comes under fire from Roman Catholic and Jewish religious leaders. The unfinished film is about the death of Jesus, and critics say the movie fuels anti-Semitism. David D'Arcy reports.

In a summer of effects-laden movies, basic documentaries are proving surprisingly popular with audiences. Maybe people are looking for something other than kids' flicks, but films as diverse as the visually stunning Winged Migration and the simple-but-charming Spellbound continue to attract audiences. Hear NPR's Renee Montagne and Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan.

The daughter of acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola made her directorial debut with the well received Virgin Suicides. Her new movie, Lost in Translation, which features Bill Murray as a TV star struggling to find himself, is already generating Oscar talk. NPR's Bob Mondello has a review.

A main trend in this fall's movie selection seems to be book adaptations. Some well-known tomes are headed for the big screen, from The Cat in the Hat to Cold Mountain to The Human Stain. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan.

After 10 years of marriage, the lines between fantasy and reality begin to blur for a dentist who believes his wife may be cheating on him. Alan Rudolph's new film, The Secret Lives of Dentists, explores the emotional and psychological bonds of marriage. Hear Rudolph's interview with NPR's Melissa Block.

Joss Stone is 16, blond and British, but critics say she sings like a southern soul veteran. For her first CD, The Soul Sessions, she recorded with American R&B players in Miami. Jim Fusilli offers a review.

The new documentary OT: Our Town follows the production of the timeless Thornton Wilder play about a small New England town as it is produced at a high school in Compton, Calif. Los Angeles Times movie critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.

A new documentary tells the story of a father and son who went to prison after admitting to dozens of counts of child abuse. It raises doubts about whether justice was served. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for a documentary at the Sundance Film Festival, Capturing the Friedmans opens in theaters Friday. David D'Arcy reports.

Actor, director, writer and producer Hume Cronyn died Sunday at his home in Fairfield, Conn., from prostate cancer. He was 91. A veteran of both stage and screen, Cronyn was perhaps best known for his collaborations with his wife, the late Jessica Tandy. The couple received a special lifetime achievement Tony in 1994. NPR's Ari Shapiro offers a remembrance.

The new film In This World follows the fictional journey of two Afghan refugees trying to make their way to London. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan has a review.

Merriam-Webster releases the 11th edition of its Collegiate Dictionary, which includes new words such as "dot commer" and "headbanger." The Internet has made the biggest influence on the American language, both with the new words it has generated and the speed with which the public has adopted them. Hear John Morse, president and publisher of Merriam-Webster.

Luther is a new film about 16th century Protestant reformation leader Martin Luther, described by some as a rebel, a genius and a liberator. The movie is reminiscent of old-style Hollywood biopics, such as The Story of Louis Pasteur and The Life of Emile Zola. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan has a review.

Many artists and art historians consider Romare Bearden one of America's most important and inventive artists. But he's hardly a household name. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports that the National Gallery of Art intends to change that. Bearden is the subject of the gallery's first major retrospective of an African American artist.

Warren Zevon, known for such hits as "Werewolves of London," dies of cancer at age 56. Zevon continued to write and produce music even after he was diagnosed a year ago with a rare and inoperable form of lung cancer, finishing his last album, called The Wind. Hear NPR's Susan Stone.

David Mamet, the writer of gritty dramas like 'Glengarry Glen Ross' and 'Heist', first went to Vermont at the age of 17 and was stunned by its natural beauty. The filmmaker's book 'South of the Northeast Kingdom' is an homage to the state where he has lived for 40 years yet still feels like an outsider. Read an excerpt and see photos from the book.

German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, renowned and despised for chronicling Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Triumph of the Will, dies at age 101. The 1934 film has been called the best propaganda film ever made, but Riefenstahl insisted on being remembered as an artist, not a propagandist. NPR's Bob Mondello looks at the film's lasting influence.

Mondays in the Sun, a Spanish film, focuses on the lives of half a dozen men who lost their jobs -- but not their senses of humor and the absurd -- in a labor dispute. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.

For 40 years, Steve Winwood has created music that made the shy Brit a favorite of rock and R&B fans throughout the world. Some of the best of that music features Winwood on the Hammond B-3 organ. At its best, Winwood's latest effort, the self-produced About Time, recalls his earlier work. Music critic Jim Fusilli has a review.

Commerical airlines struggling in a sluggish U.S. economy, compounded by war, push for economic help from Congress. Airlines are asking for $9 billion in aid, but lawmakers are reluctant to grant that amount. They say the airlines remain inefficient, even after Congress granted a $15 billion bailout in 2001. NPR's Peter Overby reports.

Fred Rogers, the host of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, dies of cancer at the age of 74. Rogers hosted the popular children's program on public television for more than 30 years. NPR News reports.

Gods and Generals arrives in theaters. It's a film based on novelist Jeff Shaara's inner look at key Civil War figures in the early years of the conflict. Director Ron Maxwell also handled Gettysburg. That film was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Killer Angels, written by Shaara's father Michael. NPR's Bob Mondello offers a review.

On the eve of the annual Grammy presentations, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences seeks to recover from the departure of a scandal-plagued president. And the music industry confronts a steep decline in CD sales. Hear NPR's Michele Norris and Eric Boehlert of Salon.com.