I always love talking to Kate Winslet.  But for some reason, I was always terrified, or smitten, or both?  I have been a longtime fan and she does give great answers to your questions.  But somehow, she always leaves me tongue-tied.

In the film that Winslet also produced, cinematographer Ellen Kuras (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Be Kind Rewind”) makes her first full-feature debut as a director in this intriguing and entertaining, albeit flawed, look at Miller’s life from a career as a model to enlisting as a photographer for Vogue magazine.  There, she becomes a World War II photographer and gives us iconic photos such as her picture in Hitler’s bathtub.

Winslet embodies Miller to a T.  As a matter of fact, the film is full of wonderful performances including Andrea Riseborough as Audrey Withers, Andy Samberg as David Scherman, and even the underused Marion Cotillard as Solange d’Ayen.

I spent some time with Winslet to talk about her passion in making the film even pouring her own money into it, the biggest revelation about Miller that she discovered, and what she hoped for viewers to get after watching the film.

“Lee” is being released by Roadside Attractions and Vertical on September 27.

At the heart of the biographical drama lies the thought – at times of crisis, we need media.  And both Andy Samberg and Andrea Riseborough work on the industry in the film.  Samberg is David E. Scherman who was a Life magazine photographer during World War II.  Riseborough is Audrey Withers, Lee’s boss and editor at Vogue.

Both gave good performances so when I spoke to them, we talked about their characters, and the impact of media during critical times.