Paul Willistein
Program HostPaul Willistein is Editor of the Lehigh Valley Press Focus section, a position he has held for 10 years. He has received more than one dozen Keystone state journalism awards and an Allentown Arts Commission Arts Ovation Award. He reviews movies and theater and writes features stories about arts and entertainment, news stories about municipal and school topics and takes photographs for Lehigh Valley Press newspapers and web sites.
He has taught screenwriting and media studies at Northampton Community College. He was marketing and public relations director at The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. For 22 years, he worked at The Morning Call, where he was Features Editor, Arts Editor and Entertainment Editor. He worked for the former Bethlehem Globe-Times as Arts Editor, Night Editor and News Reporter. He studied American Studies and film-making at Syracuse University and attended Southern Lehigh High School.
He has written, directed and produced documentary films, some of which have been telecast on public television stations, and narrative fiction films, some of which have been shown in film festivals. He was host and producer of “Hot Splices,” a movie review-interview show; producer and co-host with Michael Gontkosky of ”The Movie Show,” a movie review show, and “Valley Arts,” a Lehigh Valley arts interview show, all telecast on RCN. He is a songwriter, having co-written “Do The Dutch (Hey Now)” with Steve Brosky and Mike Krisukas.
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Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is nominated for an animated feature film Oscar. Here's why the latest animation movie from DreamWorks Animation is deserving of such a nomination. -
The latest entry in the killer-doll genre of cinema is M3GAN, as in "Model 3 Generative Android." The animatronic doll is engineered to be a little girl's best friend and protector, but M3GAN becomes a little bit too protective.
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Tom Hanks plays Otto Anderson in A Man Called Otto. Look for an actor Oscar nomination for Hanks as Otto, a distraught widower who must learn to live again with the help of new neighbors and a fluffy stray cat.
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Paul Willistein, editor of the Lehigh Valley Press Focus section and co-host Kathy Lauer-Williams, “Curtain Rises” columnist for the LVP Focus section discuss the 17th annual ABE - as in Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton - Awards.
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The Whale is an Oscar contender for the impressive performance of Brendan Fraser as a person with a food addiction. The film confronts many topical subjects.
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Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery brings back Daniel Craig as detective Benoit Blanc to solve a whodunit at the island mansion of Miles Bron (Edward Norton). The "unusual suspects" are played by a stellar cast, directed by Rian Johnson.
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Avatar: The Way of Water is extraordinary. Writer-director James Cameron, in the sequel to his landmark production Avatar (2009), has exceeded nearly all expectations.
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Spirited is an all-singing, all-dancing take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol - the classic tale of Scrooge, time-traveling, spirits and redemption.
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In Tár, Cate Blanchett plays Lydia Tár, the high-powered conductor of a Berlin symphony orchestra. Life and career hits some sour notes for Lydia. Look for an Oscar actress nomination for Blanchett.
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Director Steven Spielberg has made the movie of his life: his own life. The Fabelmans is loosely based on Spielberg's formative years.
