Movies often are about escape and adventure. We root for the underdogs and cheer their success. Sometimes heroes beat the odds with dazzling superpowers. But many of the great cinematic stories come from a uniquely American well, where real life trumps even the best fiction and inspires us to strive...

The selection of Dr. Rajiv Shah to lead the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is a tremendous choice and one that underscores the Obama Administration's commitment to the vital role development plays in foreign policy and to the rebuilding of USAID as the strong agency the country and...

I had the opportunity this weekend to catch a movie filled with adventure, romance, suspense and period glamor. As with so many films, the story literally flew out of the pages of our history books and onto the silver screen. Hilary Swank is a revelation as "Amelia" Earhart, the barrier-breaking...

No American ever embraced the power of science to do good more than Norman Borlaug. Father of the "Green Revolution" that transformed agriculture in India, Pakistan and Mexico, he was a compassionate realist convinced that there was no way to feed more than 6 billion people without the judicious use...

The new pledge to commit $20 billion to global agricultural development, announced at this week's G-8 summit, has the potential to dramatically improve the livelihoods of more than 700 million of the world's poor living in rural areas. If realized, this would be the most significant investment in the developing...

Spring is here. That means one thing for movie fans--summer blockbuster season is upon us. Thoughts turn to Star Trek, Harry Potter, Transformers and other big action films. Spoiler alert: In the end, good prevails over evil, the world--in fact--does not come to an end and all is right in...

Financial news reporting has been in the news itself of late as Americans ask the timely question 'who knew what and when' about the state of our economy and the subsequent extraordinary burden being placed on every American as we strive as a nation to right the ship.

Amid the...

As MPAA Chairman, the last thing I'd do during Oscar season is publicly declare the best picture vote on my Academy ballot. But in addition to the extraordinary films receiving accolades on Sunday night, I recently had the opportunity to see HBO's Taking Chance. And, it is that rare film...

The selection of Leon Panetta to serve as President-Elect Barack Obama's Director of the Central Intelligence Agency is a remarkably good choice. In December 1976, Panetta and I attended our first orientation session for newly elected members of the freshman class of the 95th Congress. While we did not know...

The recent release of the film, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, about the relationship between two 8-year old boys, separated by a concentration camp fence, is a painful reminder of the horrific human toll exacted by genocide. The movie, like others of the Holocaust-era genre, leaves the viewer angry,...

The action hero chief executive. Senior advisers manipulating affairs of state. Crusading reporters (or bloggers) exposing the truth. Scenes from the last few weeks in American politics or the last few decades of American cinema?

With the Republican and Democratic conventions just days away and the congressional and presidential...

When I was working at Harvard's Kennedy School, then dean Joe Nye spoke often of "soft power," the notion that America's abiding influence extends far beyond its military and economic might to the timeless appeal of its enduring values of democracy, freedom, opportunity and innovation -- celebrated and advanced by...

It's been just a few weeks since the official start of summer. As folks break out their summer whites, dive into the local swimming pool and fire up the grill, one additional seasonal pastime is off to a blazing start: it seems everyone is heading to the movies.

Moviegoers...