Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles and Ratatouille, first caught the attention of Disney after making his first animated film at age 14. Now one of the premier filmmakers in the Pixar camp, Bird is going live-action with the upcoming blockbuster Tomorrowland, based on the Disney park attraction.  Bird talks about making smart, creative family films with the very funny Janeane Garofalo, who stars as the voice of Colette, the feminist chef, in Ratatouille. 

Tribeca Film Festival Live

Janeane Garofalo, Brad Bird and Really Smart Cartoons

There's a powerful group of people out there that are secretly running the world. The guys no one knows about. The guys that are invisible. The guys that play god without permission. And in the new USA Network series Mr. Robot, Christian Slater plays the leader of a hacker army at war with those guys. Hear Slater, his co-star Rami Malek, and the show's creator Sam Esmail discuss the show after a screening of the series premier.

Christian Slater Leads an Underground Hacker Army in Mr. Robot

Cary Fukunaga, the director of such edgy films as Jane Eyre and Sin Nombre, not to mention the often discomforting first season of True Detective, still has a fear of clowns. Fukunaga is now remaking Stephen King's It, and he told a crowd at the Tribeca Film Festival that in his mind, he still sees the same haunting image of Pennywise the clown that he saw as a kid.  Hear Fukunaga's full conversation with veteran independent film producer James Schamus.

'True Detective' Director Cary Fukunaga vs. The Clown

Iman Crosson, who's better known on social media as Alphacat, has been making YouTube videos since the site's inception. But he's now perhaps just as well known for his Vine videos, which include remarkable six-second impressions of President Obama that actually earned Crosson the opportunity to meet the president. And yes, he Vined it.  But social media filmmaking isn't just a hobby. Some of the top performers on Vine and SnapChat bring in up to $100,000 a week by making sponsored content and selling advertisements.  Joining Crosson on this panel about the art and business of social media storytelling are Michael and Even Gregory of The Gregory Brothers, famous for their Auto-Tune the News videos. And we'll hear from "the Godfather of SnapChat," Casey Neistat. 

The Stars of SnapChat, Vine and YouTube

There's a scene in the movie Good Will Hunting where the character played by Stellan Skarsgard implores anyone in his class to solve this insurmountably difficult math problem, and of course, the one who solves it is a townie janitor played by Matt Damon. It turns out -- at least according to this video by a Cambridge mathematician -- that the problem itself wasn't so difficult. But the point remains: there's real intellectual heft to the film. And after this special screening of the film in partnership with The Alfred P. Sloan foundation, we'll hear from psychiatrist Paul Browde and World Science Festival co-founder Brian Greene about some of the math, science and psychology in movie. Joining them on the panel is the film's director, Gus Van Sant, and actors Minnie Driver and Stellan Skarsgard.

The Psychological Depth of Good Will Hunting

Who could forget the psychedelic jams of The Big Lebowski; the old-timey ballads of the Soggy Bottom Boys in O Brother, Where Art Thou?; or the eerie silence, minus the sound of Javier Bardem's cattle prod, in No Country for Old Men? Composer Carter Burwell and sound mixer Skip Lievsay, who've worked on almost every Coen brothers movie, discuss the unique sound they create, and reveal further details on the upcoming Coen brothers movie Hail, Caesar!

Creating the Sound of the Coen Brothers

A lot has changed since 2003, when former CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity was leaked by members of the Bush administration. Now we're living in the age of WikiLeaks, Edward Snowden and the Sony hacking scandal, where digital information is more accessible than ever. Case in point: Ralph Echemendia, who goes by "The Ethical Hacker," showed just how easy it is to hack into someone's computer by pulling up a Tribeca Film Festival intern's desktop on a big screen during this panel.  Hear Plame and Echimendia, along with Alex Gibney, director of We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bart Gellman, discussing the intersection of "Secrecy and Power."

The Hacker and The Spy

Jesse Ventura, a former Navy Seal and fan of Aristophanes' play "The Birds," went into pro wrestling because he loved drama and competition. For Ventura, the political ring seemed like a reasonable next step. But for those in the two-party establishment, his victory in Minnesota's 1998 gubernatorial election came as a total shock. How'd it happen? Nate Silver, the data guru behind FiveThirtyEight.com, has answers. He spoke with Radiolab's own Robert Krulwich about the cause of Ventura's improbable rise. This discussion followed a screening of FiveThirtyEight's short documentary, Shock the World.

Nate Silver on Jesse Ventura, Pro Wrestler-Turned-Minnesota Governor

Nonfiction filmmaking has truly revolutionized itself in recent years, bringing audiences stories which often seem too bizarre to be true. On this panel, leading documentary filmmakers expose how they choose their subjects and capture real life in new and innovative ways. You'll hear from Bobby Fischer Against the World director Liz Garbus, Big Men director Rachel Boynton, and God Loves Uganda director Roger Ross Williams. Film critic Eric Hynes moderates.

Unbelievably True Stories

From binge watching to virtual reality, today’s entertainment is getting more immersive both physically and psychologically. As the way we experience stories is evolving to where we no longer separate ourselves from the action, how does this affect the way storytellers are producing their work? This "Immerse Yourself" panel includes The Art of Immersion author Frank Rose, The Storytelling Animal author Jonathan Gottschall, and futurist and "Shots of Awe" video series creator Jason Silva. Journalist Jon Erlichman moderates.

The Future of Immersive Storytelling

Montage of Heck, the first authorized documentary about the late Kurt Cobain, combines home movies, journal entries, and interviews with those who knew him best and knew him early for a striking portrait of the artist who's still celebrated 20 years after his death. Courtney Love, Cobain's former wife, teared up after a screening of the film at the Tribeca Film Festival, telling director Brett Morgen that the movie made her rethink whether she could have prevented Cobain's suicide. Love also discussed the impact of watching the movie with her daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, who was an executive producer of the film. And addressing a scene in the movie of Love and Cobain kissing, etc., Love wryly told the audience, "everyone makes one sex tape once in their lives." Moderating this panel between Courtney Love and Brett Morgen is Rolling Stone writer Neil Strauss. Montage of Heck premiers on HBO May 4.

Courtney Love's Tearful Response to the New Kurt Cobain Documentary

Amy Schumer, who stars as a romantic train wreck in the new Judd Apatow film Trainwreck, is at the top of her game in real life. The third season of Inside Amy Schumer premieres April 21st on Comedy Central. The show just won a Peabody Award. And a screening of the new season's first episode at the Tribeca Film Festival showed there's nothing Schumer won't tackle. This season, the show takes on high school football and rape, declares 2015 the Year of the Butt, and Schumer and her staff told a packed audience that one of their favorite upcoming episodes will be a recreation of the film 12 Angry Men. Hear Schumer talking after the screening, along with the show's head writer Jessi Klein, director Ryan McFaul, writer Kim Caramele, writer Dan Powell, and producer Kevin Kane. Entertainment Weekly's Sara Vilkomerson moderates. 

Amy Schumer, Far From a Train Wreck

It's Super Bowl XVII. The New York Giants are playing an undefeated New England Patriots team. And losing in the fourth quarter, Eli Manning throws one up, receiver David Tyree pins the ball to his head and comes down on the 24-yard line, and the Giants go on to win.  New York sports superfan Spike Lee was impressed. After a screening of his documentary, The Greatest Catch Ever, Lee speaks with Giants players Plaxico Burress, Chris Snee, and David Tyree himself. Michael Smith, co-host of ESPN's His and Hers podcast, moderates.

Spike Lee Relives the Greatest Catch Ever

Harvey Weinstein—movie mogul, super-producer, founder of The Weinstein Company—has been involved with some of the most highly acclaimed films of the past few decades, from Pulp Fiction to Silver Linings Playbook. The Queens native spoke to a packed house at the Tribeca Film Festival about how he's stayed at the top of his game all these years.

Harvey Weinstein in Conversation

F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel doesn't lack for beauty, but costume and production designer Catherine Martin, who works regularly with director Baz Luhrmann (they're also married), is plenty responsible for making The Great Gatsby look so vibrant on the screen. Her work on other films, including Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet, has redefined the cutting edge of maximalist glamour in modern film. Martin speaks here with Vogue editor-at-large and a man who happened to throw himself a Gatsby-themed 50th birthday party, Hamish Bowles.   Tribeca Film Festival Live theme music provided by Jason Cowit

Outfitting The Great Gatsby

WNYC is partnering with the Tribeca Film Festival for the second year in a row to bring exclusive recordings of panels, discussions and interviews straight to your podcast feed. Hear conversations about the festival’s selected films, as well as the entertainment industry at large, with such luminary voices as George Lucas, Courtney Love, and Christopher Nolan. Find the full selection of talks here, along with 2014’s panels, and subscribe to the podcast to hear them all.

hubhopper

Tribeca Film Festival Live

hubhopper