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.
-
Nia Vardalos is back to write, star as Toula and, this time, direct My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, which takes the family back to the fatherland at the request of Gus, the family patriarch. -
The Equalizer 3 reteams Denzel Washington, reprising his role as Defense Intelligence Agency officer Robert McCall, with director Antoine Fuqua.
-
Gran Turismo is based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe), who went from being a "Gran Turismo" gamer to a driver in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and international sports car races.
-
Blue Beetle is based on a lesser-known comic book superhero from DC Comics. The movie has a Latino cast in the lead roles, including Xolo Maridueña as Jaime aka Blue Beetle, said to be the first Latino superhero.
-
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem returns the famous foursome to the big screen in bright new, rough-hewn, sketch-style animation.
-
Haunted Mansion is based on the popular Disney theme park ride. Get on board with LaKeith Stanfield, Chase W. Dillon, Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish and Danny DeVito for some old-fashioned fun.
-
Oppenheimer, based on the book, American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, is director Christopher Nolan's interpretation of the life of Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy), regarded as "the father of the atomic bomb."
-
The movie Barbie is based on the children's fashion doll created by Ruth Handler and launched in 1959 by the Mattel toy company. Barbie (Margot Robbie) travels from Barbieland to the real world, with Ken (Ryan Gosling) along for the ride.
-
Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One returns Tom Cruise to his role as Ethan Hunt in the seventh movie in the franchise. This time, Hunt is on an assignment to prevent the Entity, an AI system, from controlling the world.
-
Sound of Freedom is said to be based on a true story about Tim Ballard (Jim Caviezel), a United States Department of Homeland Security agent who saved children, mostly from outside the U.S., from human traffickers.
