So I recently got to see an advance screening of director Jason Reitman's new film Up in the Air. If you've ever watched the Director's Cut, you should have a pretty good idea of how into movies I am (I'm not doing this for the money, kids ... well, at least not only for the money). And personally, I think Jason Reitman is doing some of the best work out there at this current moment.

Up in the Air tells the story of a corporate downsizing expert who loves life on the road ... until life gets complicated and his travel is threatened. The film stars George Clooney and Vera Farmiga (and Zach Galifanakis, and Jason Bateman and Anna Kendrick and ...!) both of whom I just completely dig. I'm not sure there is anyone out there I enjoy watching more the George Clooney and I've been smitten with Ms. Farmiga since The Departed.

Anyway, the reason I got to see the film is because next Wednesday we will be interviewing Reitman here at the ThinkTalk studios. If you aren't familiar with his work, check your pulse, because you may not be of this world. He first made waves with the hilarious (pseudo) satire Thank You For Smoking and was a hit last year with the funny, smart and endearing Juno.

Reitman is certainly one of the most talented directors working today, and on top of that he has some great genes. His father, Ivan Reitman is a longtime producer and director responsible for the greatest films of my youth: Stripes, Ghostbusters, Kindergarten Cop ... most of which were before any of you were born, but are classics nonetheless (except Kindergarten Cop; that was a joke).

Our interview with Jason Reitman will be Wednesday, November 25th, so be sure to check him out and get your questions in before the interview. Reitman is a talented director, with excellent work and experience behind him. I'm sure we're going to have a great interview. I know I'm certainly excited and you should be too. Check out the trailer for Up in the Air below.

We just wrapped up an excellent interview with director F. Gary Gray, who was in town to discuss his new film Law Abiding Citizen. Gary is definitely a very talented and smart director who simply loves what he does. We talked about a number of topics, from the craft of directing, to the technical hot-to's of the job, to how he has accomplished so much in his career. The interview will be available at ThinkTalk.com next week, so be sure to check back for that.

I also want to give you all a heads up about some other guests we have coming up. Aside from Sharon Lechter, which we've already taped, I'm very excited to be joined by New York Times Financial Journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin. Andrew writes a regular column for the Times and also edits the daily Mergers and Acquisitions blog DealBook. Andrew will join us to talk about Financial Journalism, his career at the Times and his newest book on Wall Street Too Big to Fail. Make sure you get your questions in for Andrew right away

Along with Andrew, we're excited for our interview with director Kirk Fraser, who most recently completed a documentary for the very cool ESPN series "30 for 30." Kirk's documentary, Without Bias tells the tragic and heartbreaking tale of University of Maryland Basketball player and Boston Celtics draft pick Len Bias ... who died of a drug overdose before ever playing a game in the NBA. If you've got a question for Kirk make sure you get it to us soon.

OK, I think that takes care of what we have coming up in the immediate future. If you can't stand the wait, check out our Q&A with director Michael Moore or An Education director Lone Scherfig. And stay tuned to ThinkTalk.com.

It's been busy, busy, busy at ThinkTalk HQ lately. As I mentioned last week we had a great Q & A over at George Washington University with Capitalism: A Love Story director Michael Moore. Since our weekly show is a 30-minute program, we decided to cut the hour interview into two shows. Part 1 is available to watch now, so head on over to Michael's bio page now to watch that. Part 2 will be available next Monday.

After that we are going to put out our show from the National Book Festival. TT Host Erika Thomas got some great interviews with authors Nicholas Sparks, Junot Diaz, Gwen Ifill and more. So there's going to be some great advice with a number of very good and very successful writers. Definitely stay tuned for that.

Also, this Thursday we will be interviewing successful business woman and author Sharon Lechter (pictured at right). Sharon is a co-author of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of financial literacy books and also serves on the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy. So if you have questions for Sharon make sure you get them in by Wednesday, October 7th. Sharon's interview will be available online after the National Book Festival program.

In the meantime, we'll be posting here daily. So stay tuned to ThinkTalk.com for all your career advice needs.

Let's hit The Links ...

Jobacle Explains the Right Way to Leave a Job: The first book from the career-blog Jobacle is titled The Exit Guide, and has some useful information on leaving your job the proper way. Burning bridges is no an acceptable way to leave a job and it can come back to haunt you later in your career. It's a small world, so maybe this book can help you figure out how to keep relationships strong even when leaving a job.

The Wall Street Journal Reports That a lot of the Jobs Lost During the Downtown May Not Be Coming Back: "Economists say that when demand picks up -- as it is starting to do -- jobs eventually will follow. History shows that has always been true. But guessing which jobs will be created over the long run is often fruitless. Many of tomorrow's jobs don't exist today."

The Economist Riffs on Green Jobs and a Carbon Tax: "For heaven's sake. The point of putting a cap or a tax on carbon emissions is to curb carbon emissions, thereby saving the planet from cooking. It is not about creating jobs. It will certainly create some, but it will destroy plenty, too."

What Would Dad Say Rounds Up Resume Advice: "People like Bill Vick of Employment Digest who reminded us that networking is at least as important as the resume itself.  And JobAwfulTruth showed us their own series on the resume. Then Dorothy Beach hit an important point, that job seekers need to be able to validate proof of ability. Miriam of Keppie Careers adds that job seekers need a muli-facted approach these days."

Calling all aspiring writers! The National Book Festival is where you need to be on September 26, 2009.

Or, you can relax in your dorm room and let ThinkTalk do the legwork for you! The ThinkTalk staff is excited to announce that we will interview the successful authors at The National Book Festival.

This is our second year attending the event and we are eager to get some good advice for any of you looking to enter the publishing industry.

Founded in 2001 by Laura Bush, The National Book Festival is held annually on the National Mall and hosts over 70 popular and award-winning authors, illustrators, and poets. These writers discuss their works and are available for book signings.

The Festival, sponsored by the Library of Congress, is free and open to the public and has been known to attract over 120,000 attendees. At 2009’s festival, President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama will serve as Honorary Chairs.

Featured authors of the 2009 National Book Festival include:

• John Grisham: John Grisham began his career as a lawyer, paving the way for him to become a successful legal thriller novelist. All of his novels have become international bestsellers and nine of them have been turned into feature films.
• Nikki Grimes: Nikki Grimes began writing at the age of 6 and has yet to stop, this bestselling author has created award-winning stories and poems for children and young adults. She has done poetry readings around the world and also has created her own line of wearable-art jewelry.
• Jodi Picoult: Picoult is a bestselling author of 15 novels, among many other awards, she has been awarded the New England Booksellers Award for Fiction and the lifetime achievement award for mainstream fiction from the Romance Writers of America. She has also had three of her novels turned into made for TV movies and one into a feature film.

Other authors at the festival include Nicholas Sparks, David Baldacci (both former ThinkTalk guests), James Patterson, Judy Blume, and George Pelecanos. For a full list of authors, poets and illustrators attending check out The National Book Festival’s website.

The National Book Festival will be held on September 26th. So make sure you get your questions in for these authors by Friday, September 25th.

ThinkTalk Networks is excited to welcome Anne Fontaine - director, screenwriter and former actress – to our studios this fall. Anne will sit down with the ThinkTalk staff to talk about her experiences in the film industry, her new movie Coco Before Chanel, and of course to answer any questions you might have for her.