For decades on PBS, Julia Child brought her infectious enthusiasm for French cooking into the kitchens of her rapt viewers, passing on the culinary lessons she had learned during the years she lived in France.

"Julie & Julia," a new film opening today, tells Child's story, along with that of Julie Powell, whose blog chronicled her endeavor to prepare all of the recipes in Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

The film was written and directed by Nora Ephron, who adapted the two women's best-selling memoirs for the movie. Recently I spoke with journalist and author Alex Prud'homme, Child's grand-nephew, who co-wrote her memoir, "My Life in France." Prud'homme joined me by phone from his office in Manhattan:

To watch full episodes of Julia Child's show on PBS, click here. Below is a trailer for "Julie & Julia," which opens in theaters Friday.