Los Angeles

Nell Freudenberger lived every young writer's dream when her first short story was published in The New Yorker. She was 26 at the time and an editorial assistant at the magazine, writing fiction in the morning before work. Her award-winning short story collection, Lucky Girls, was published in 2003 and made our best books list that year. Freudenberger has just published her first novel, The Dissident.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Friends with Money, the new film by writer/director Nicole Holofcener who wrote and directed Lovely & Amazing and Walking and Talking.

A new Showtime cable miniseries tells the story of Muslim terrorists in America. The controversial thriller Sleeper Cell premieres Sunday night.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Crash, a new film by writer-director Paul Haggis. The movie's ensemble cast includes Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Thandie Newton and hip-hop artist Ludacris.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews the new season of The Shield. The critically acclaimed show is adding actress Glen Close to its cast of burly, often violent alpha males.

The Los Angeles theatre improv group The Groundlings celebrates its 30th anniversary. Groundlings launched the careers of the actors and comics including Phil Hartman, Lisa Kudrow and Will Ferrell. We talk with the group's founder, Gary Austin, and former member, Cheryl Hines, who now co-stars in HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Cellular, a new thriller starring Kim Basinger as a kidnap victim.

From Showtime's drama The L-Word, actor Jennifer Beals and creator Ilene Chaiken. Beals became a star for her role in the 80's dance classic, Flashdance. She's also starred in Devil in a Blue Dress, The Last Days of Disco and The Anniversary Party. On The L-Word, she plays Bette Porter, a gay art curator. Chaiken's previous TV work includes writing Damaged Care and Dirty Pictures. The L-Word wraps up its first season this weekend.

Weide is executive producer and a writer for HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. The show stars Larry David, who co-created Seinfeld, as himself. One reviewer calls Curb Your Enthusiasm "a comedy of hostility, resentment, paranoia and obsessiveness." The show is currently in its fourth season.

Boyle is a Jesuit priest who has worked with gangs in East Los Angeles since 1986. He was originally supposed to work with the Dolores Mission there for a six-year term, but when the time came to leave, the community revolted, and he was allowed to stay. He's received national acclaim for his work helping the people he works with to find jobs and quality schooling.

Rock historian Ed Ward tells us about the East LA band from the '60s, The Midniters.

She stars in the new film Wonderland. Set in 1980s Hollywood, it's about a mysterious mass murder that took place on Wonderland Avenue. Porn star John Holmes was involved somehow, but the crime was never solved. Kudrow plays Holmes' wife in the film. Kudrow is best known for her role on the popular NBC sitcom Friends, now in its 10th season. She also appeared in the films Romy and Michele's High School Reunion and Analyze This.

She is the author of Crescent, a new book about a single Arab-American woman chef in Los Angeles. Her previous novel Arabian Jazz won the Oregon Book Award. Abu-Jaber grew up in America in a traditional Jordanian household. Abu-Jaber is a writer-in-residence at Portland State University.

Walon Green is one of the executive producers of Dragnet, the remake of the 1950s crime drama set in Los Angeles. The new show revives the fictional detectives Joe Friday and Frank Smith. Green is a veteran producer and writer of other police dramas including Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, as well as the dramas ER and Law & Order. Green also wrote the screenplay for the classic Warner Bros. western The Wild Bunch, directed by Sam Peckinpah. He also wrote the screenplay for a more recent western, The Hi-Lo Country.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews the 4 CD box set "Central Avenue Sounds: Jazz in Los Angeles (1921-1956)" (Rhino).

TV critic David Bianculli previews the ABC telemovie "Columbo: Ashes to Ashes" starring Peter Falk. It airs tonight at 9:00.

Film critic John Powers discusses the film L. A. Confidential with Terry.

Director Curtis Hanson and actor Russell Crowe from the new film "L.A. Confidential" which is adapted from the 1990 novel by James Ellroy. (James Ellroy is a previous Fresh Air guest whose memoir "My Dark Places" was about his mother's murder in L.A. in 1958) The film, which has received a lot of attention at film festivals including Cannes, and Toronto, is about corruption and retribution in L.A. in the 1950s and 60s. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW)

Ellroy was born in Los Angeles in 1948. After his mother was mysteriously strangled to death when he was ten, he grew up obsessed with crime. His life spun towards booze, drugs, theft, and jail. He eventually cleaned up his life and began writing. He has written several novels, many of which were international best-sellers, including "American Tabloid," "The Black Dahlia," and his most recent book, "My Dark Places," in which he tells the story of his mother's murder.

Rock historian Ed Ward begins a special series on the contribution of various cities to rock and roll. He begins with Los Angeles. Artists discussed Roy Milton, Johnny Otis, Esther Phillips, Richie Valens, Eddie Cochran, Beach Boys, Phil Spector, The Ronettes, and The Byrds.