Luis Guzman is one of America's most successful character actors. He's appeared in dozens of films and television series, from Short Eyes in the 1970s to Miami Vice in the 1980s to Carlito's Way, Boogie Nights and The Limey in the 1990s. Now he's featured on the new HBO show How To Make It In America.

He talks with us about growing up in New York's Lower East Side, and about his work there as an activist and social worker. As a teen, he hung out at the legendary New Yorican Poets Cafe, watching poets and writers like Amiri Baraka, Allen Ginsburg and Miguel Piñero, who cast Guzman in Short Eyes in the late 1970s, and got him his first television audition, for Miami Vice in the 1980s. Since then, Guzman has become a favorite of directors like P.T. Anderson and Steven Soderbergh, among others.

Jeffrey Blitz and Sean Welch Interview on The Sound of Young America from Jesse Thorn on Vimeo.

Jeffrey Blitz and Sean Welch were nominated for an Oscar for their first documentary feature, Spellbound. They made the film as a duo with money borrowed from credit cards - Blitz behind the camera, and Welch holding the microphone boom.

Blitz went on to direct the fictional feature Rocket Science (you can hear his interview on the show about that film here), as well as episodes of The Office.

Now, Blitz and Welch have a new documentary, called Lucky, about lottery winners. It premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, where we spoke to the pair.

Drunk History on The Sound of Young America from Jesse Thorn on Vimeo.

Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner are the creator and director of Drunk History, a series of shorts in which comedians get very, very drunk, then re-tell their favorite stories from history. The stories are re-enacted, with drunken narration and dialogue, by notable actors. Past participants have included Michael Cera and Jack Black. At Sundance, Konner and Waters screened two shorts, one featuring the story of Tesla and Edison, with actors John C. Reilly (above) and Crispin Glover, and one telling the story of Lincoln and Douglass, who were portrayed by Will Ferrel and Don Cheadle.

"Drunk History: Douglass & Lincoln," narrated by past Jordan, Jesse, Go! guest Jen Kirkman, won the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival. The new shorts will air as part of a new series on HBO, Funny or Die Presents, which premiers tonight.

Drake Doremus on The Sound of Young America from Jesse Thorn on Vimeo.

Drake Doremus' second feature, Douchebag, premiered at Sundance 2010.  It's about two estranged brothers who hit the road before one's wedding.  It was inspired by Doremus' relationship with Andrew Dickler, the editor of his first feature Spooner, who makes his acting debut in Douchebag.

The twenty-six-year-old director, already a filmmaker for ten years, grew up in Southern California in the sketch comedy and improv scene. He was the youngest graduate of the director's program at the American Film Institute, and has also directed a number of award winning short films, music videos and commercials.