Kurt Andersen talks with director Terry Gilliam about his new movie, The Brothers Grimm, when it’s worth it to work with famous actors, and why his movies defy the genres that Hollywood understands.

Kurt and director Terry Gilliam continue their conversation. They discuss what it takes to balance live effects with computer-generated animation, and why Gilliam keeps making movies about characters who challenge the limits of the world in which they live.

The Oxford Companion to Jazz is a hefty tome of over 800 pages with articles by 59 different jazz specialists, and it’s just become available in paperback. Sara Fishko found that wandering through its pages took her through as many delightful surprises as a great jazz solo. ...

Roger Housden is an Englishman living in America who writes poetry and books on spiritual topics. One rainy day, while in London on business, Housden wandered into the National Gallery. He was basically just killing time when he stumbled onto something utterly transforming, a self-portrait by Rembrandt.

Terry Gilliam was a co-founder of Monty Python, and over the past 25 years has made his mark as a visionary director of such films as Brazil, The Fisher King, Time Bandits, and 12 Monkeys. His new film, The Brothers Grimm, opens nationwide August 26th.