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Robert Altman Talks About 'A Prairie Home Companion'

Altman has high hopes for the upcoming movie.

Comedy film "A Prairie Home Companion," directed by Robert Altman opens today in cinemas.

The film, based on 'A Prairie Home Companion,' a program broadcast on public radio stations in the United States, is a fictional representation of behind-the-scenes activities on a long-running radio show that has unexpectedly been cancelled.

Talking about his movie Altman said: "Each one's a struggle; each one's a birth, you know. If you drop them out without anyone knowing you did it, it's not very satisfying."

Altman, known for his huge success with "M*A*S*H," has high hopes for "A Prairie Home Companion," a joint venture between him and Garrison Keillor, who wrote the script and most of the songs.

"It's his script. It's his personality. It's his sensibility," Altman said regarding Keillor. "They're his jokes, not my jokes. Mainly, what I brought to it is this cast. We built this cast around it and put it all together like that."

The movie also features: Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin, Lindsay Lohan, as the "Emo" daughter of Streep's character, Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly, as singing cowboys Lefty and Dusty, Tommy Lee Jones as the Axeman, and Keillor as himself.