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Charlotte Renner reports on the filming of an HBO movie based on Richard Russo's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Empire Falls. The film, which describes life in a dying New England mill town, has brought a jolt of prosperity to the real-life mill town of Skowhegan, Maine.

NPR's Scott Simon talks to writer Peter Ackroyd about his new book, Albion: The Origins of the English Imagination. Ackroyd discusses some of the defining features of English literature and culture, such as a reverence for nature, privacy, and squeamishness about sex.

A new exhibit celebrates Joseph Cornell, one of the most influential and idiosyncratic American artists of the 20th century. The self-taught artist created small wooden boxes filled with knickknacks he collected in New York junk shops. As David D'Arcy reports, the results were beautiful, almost religious creations that inspired just about every visual artist who followed him.

The last installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy opens in theaters next week, and the three films could eventually earn $3 billion in worldwide ticket sales. But the project almost never happened -- Kim Masters reports on New Line Cinema's $400-million gamble on director Peter Jackson's sweeping vision.

Love Actually is a new film from writer and director Richard Curtis, who put together a series of vignettes about different types of love. The all-star cast includes Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Colin Firth, Billy Bob Thornton, and Keira Knightley. Hear Curtis and NPR's Scott Simon.

When the Beatles broke up in 1970, the group had one final album in the can. Let It Be was a collection of live studio performances that was marinated with orchestra, chorus and overdubs by producer Phil Spector. Now, EMI has released a new "back to the roots" version of the album, stripping away Spector's add ons. Music critic Tim Page has a review of Let It Be... Naked.

Weekend Edition Sunday begins its three-week-long CD Wish List series, with music insiders picking the best albums that have yet to be issued on CD. This week's picks come from JoAnn Falletta, music director for the Buffalo Philharmonic and Virginia Symphony orchestras; Sibley Music Library's Jim Farrington; and Rick Luningham of the Ernest Tubb Record Shops.

The documentary, Bringing Down a Dictator, tells the story of the downfall of Yugoslavia's former president Slobodan Milosevic. Hear executive producer Peter Ackerman.

Joe Rogan doesn't think of himself as a racist. But that doesn't mean his language isn't harmful.

In his latest book, Gore Vidal takes readers behind the scenes as America's founding fathers fought and worked to create a new country. In an interview with NPR's Bob Edwards, Vidal discusses Inventing a Nation, the historical writer's work about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Hear the extended interview and read an excerpt from the book.