When J.D. Salinger stopped publishing new work his 1951 novel “The Catcher in the Rye” was already an American classic. Until his death in 2010, Salinger lived in seclusion in New Hampshire. Meanwhile, the world wondered – What had caused him to write such a tortured work as his classic novel? Why had he become a recluse? And, was he still writing? SALINGER, a documentary nearly a decade in the making, claims to answer all of those questions.

Though the contents of the film have been closely guarded, director Shane Salerno claims to have obtained photos, documents, and testimony never before seen or heard. What does the film reveal about Salinger’s mysterious history, including his childhood and World War II service? What does it say about his years in hiding? And what of the many unpublished Salinger works that are believed to exist?

In addition to its theatrical release SALINGER is slated to be aired in 2014 as episode 200 of PBS’s “American Masters” series. Discussing Salinger’s influence on themselves and the broader culture are actors and literary luminaries, like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton, Danny DeVito, Martin Sheen, Tom Wolfe, E.L. Doctorow, Gore Vidal and Pulitzer Prize winners A. Scott Berg and Elizabeth Frank.