PARIS, Sept. 23 — President Nicolas Sarkozy of France strode into the Napoleon III salon of the Élysée Palace and staked his claim to the leadership of Europe.

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Ed Alcock for The New York Times

Nicolas Sarkozy in his office at the Élysée Palace.

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Excerpts From Interview With Nicolas Sarkozy (September 23, 2007) He took credit for pushing through a revised treaty for the European Union. He declared that France would return to NATO’s military command if his conditions are met. He announced that the French Navy would help protect food delivery to Somalia. He assailed his fellow Europeans for having no ideas.

“I can’t be criticized for wanting first place for France,” Mr. Sarkozy said in an interview with The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune, his first with English-language news organizations since becoming president last May. He added, “If France doesn’t take the lead, who will?”

This projection of French power is like that of Gen. Charles de Gaulle, and every French leader since. But Mr. Sarkozy departs from classic Gaullist doctrine by suggesting that the path to that goal sometimes lies in aligning France — and Europe — alongside Washington rather than as a counterpoint to it.

He is, both his critics and admirers agree, a man in a hurry. In the hourlong encounter conducted in French on Friday evening, Mr. Sarkozy resisted efforts to be drawn into small talk.

Visibly restless, at times brusque, he greeted his guests with stiff handshakes and unadorned “Bonjours.” Perpetually in motion, he rocked uncomfortably in a green brocade armchair and gripped the backs of the gilt chairs on either side of him. His jaw muscles twitched. His gait was awkward. He cut off his interviewers in mid-sentence.

He stumbled twice on the word “multilateralism,” laughing at himself the second time and turning to his national security adviser, Jean-David Levitte, to finish the word for him.

But there was nothing hesitant about the way Mr. Sarkozy, the 52-year-old leader on the French right, laid out his agenda before departing for New York to make his debut at the United Nations General Assembly.

For Mr. Sarkozy, the most burning issue is Iran’s nuclear program.

Tom Brokaw called them "the greatest generation," and that description is seconded by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick in "The War." This 15-hour treasure recounts America's role in World War II on the battlefronts and the home front. It took longer to produce than the U.S. spent fighting the war, but the result is nearly as glorious.

It couldn't come at a better time. Although it offers no comparisons, there are obvious and stark contrasts viewers can draw between this war, which reached into every American life, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that, despite advances in communication technology, feel remote and have scant impact on most Americans.

By showing the way American lives were shaped and changed by the conflict, "War" sets itself apart from previous documentaries on the subject. Even more ambitious than any previous Burns docu, including "The Civil War," this one paints a panoramic portrait not just of the fighting and the strategy in Europe and the Pacific but also of the impact on the country -- the entire American experience (to borrow the title of another PBS series).

To organize and shape this staggering volume of material, Burns selected four towns: Waterbury, Conn.; Mobile, Ala.; Sacramento; and the small farming community of Luverne, Minn.

There was nothing haphazard about their selection. Waterbury and Mobile became war towns as factories were converted and built to turn out ammo and equipment. In Mobile, racial strife was a factor as thousands poured into the city for wartime jobs. Waterbury was a city of identifiable ethnicities.

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Glendale, Calif. - DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., together with Paramount Pictures Corp., a unit of Viacom Inc., announced that Monsters vs. Aliens, DreamWorks Animation’s first-ever film produced in stereoscopic 3D technology, will be released into theatres on March 27, 2009. The film had been previously slated for its domestic release on May 15, 2009.

(9/20/2007)

“I believe that next-generation 3D will make our CG films even more special and unique,” says Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation. “We are thrilled to have Monster vs. Aliens as the first opportunity for audiences to enjoy this exciting new movie experience. Moving to a March release date, which has proven to be a great slot for family films, allows us to roll out our first 3D project on the maximum amount of screens as the year’s first big event film to hit the market in this new format.”

“We are really excited to be distributing Monsters vs. Aliens, the marriage of a new technology with the classic family entertainment audiences have come to expect and love from DreamWorks Animation,” adds Rob Moore, president of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for Paramount Pictures. “This new immersive 3D experience will fully exploit the latest in exhibition technology—and with the March 27 release date, we'll be able to take full advantage by showing it in as many theaters with this advanced 3D capability as possible.”

Monsters vs. Aliens, which reinvents the classic '50s monster movie into an irreverent modern-day action comedy, is being directed by Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2) and Rob Letterman (Shark Tale), produced by Lisa Stewart (I Think I Love My Wife) and co-produced by Jill Hopper and Latifa Ouaou.