American Masters

Writing "In the Time of the Butterflies," Julia Alvarez felt a responsibility to bring the story of the assassination of the Mirabel sisters to life through her characters, stating that "a novel is the truth according to character."

Julia Alvarez released "Afterlife" in 2020, about a woman dealing with her husband's unexpected death and meeting an undocumented teenager. The book was dedicated to her oldest sister, Maury, who died in 2015, and was Alvarez's way of "[giving] voice to that landscape of aging."

Julia Alvarez and her sisters recount the day they had to escape from the Dominican Republic with their parents, because of her father's involvement in a plot to overthrew the dictator, Rafael Trujillo. The experience inspired a scene in her first novel, "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents."

Explore the story of Dominican-American poet and novelist Julia Alvarez, who burst onto the literary scene and blazed a trail for a generation of Latino authors.

For her second novel, "In the Time of the Butterflies," Julia Alvarez wanted to write about dictatorship from a female perspective. She chose the stories of the Mirabal sisters, Patria, Minerva, María Teresa and Adela, the first three of which were assassinated by the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic for oppossing the government.

While at the Yaddo writing retreat, Julia Alvarez found herself suffering from writers block. Inspiration struck when she befriended the maids, housekeepers and cooks and heard their stories, and eventually put together her book of poetry, "Housekeeping." "I wanted to write about the lore that comes when women are talking as they're doing their housework," said Alvarez.

Blake Edwards was looking to cast the “perfect woman” in his film “10” and offered the role to Bo Derek, whose performance shot her to stardom. “Blake changed my life forever,” said Derek.

Paul Feig recalls watching “The Pink Panther” for the first time and being enamored by not just the acting, but how the film was being directed. “I remember then watching the credits and seeing, ‘Directed by Blake Edwards,’ and that name just stuck with me,” said Feig in this outtake from “Blake Edwards: A Love Story in 24 Frames.”

Explore the story of director, screenwriter and producer Blake Edwards, known for cinema classics such as “Breakfast at Tiffany's,” “Days of Wine and Roses” and the “Pink Panther” series.

Jennifer and Geoffrey Edwards reminisce on the first time they realized their father was a renowned film director.

Explore the story of director, screenwriter and producer Blake Edwards, known for cinema classics such as “Breakfast at Tiffany's,” “Days of Wine and Roses” and the “Pink Panther” series. This version of the trailer contains on-screen ASL interpretation.

In this outtake from “Blake Edwards: A Love Story in 24 Frames,” Rob Marshall recounts the touching moment when Blake Edwards gifted him his trusted viewfinder to celebrate the release of Marshall’s first film “Chicago” (2002).