Movies

Books
Arts

How And Why The Hollywood Star Machine Made 'Gods Like Us'

2:25pm March 25, 2013

In a new book about movie stardom and fame, Boston Globe film critic Ty Burr looks at the evolving history of the relationship between movie stars and the people who love them, and at how changing technology influences the kinds of stars the public wants.

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Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in a scene from the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing.

Arts

The Movie Chris O'Dowd Has 'Seen A Million Times'

9:41am March 25, 2013

by Lily Percy

Actor Chris O'Dowd could watch the classic romance Dirty Dancing a million times. "I didn't know what romance was until I saw Dirty Dancing," he says," and nothing has come close since."

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Justin Timberlake performs at Myspace Secret Show at SXSW on March 16 in Austin, Texas.

Timberlake On 'N Sync, Acting And Bringing Sexy Back

1:59pm March 22, 2013

Justin Timberlake rocketed to stardom as a teen heartthrob in the band 'N Sync. He has gone on to be a successful solo artist — and expanded his career into both comedic and dramatic roles on-screen. He discusses his long career in showbiz, his SNL digital shorts and his transition to film.

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Aaron Eckhart and Ashley Judd as the president and first lady in Olympus Has Fallen.

Arts

With Vengeance And Violence, 'Olympus Has Fallen' Flat

1:59pm March 22, 2013

by David Edelstein

This macho action film starring Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman is a vigilante fantasy about terrorists and turncoats invading the United States. It's a popular genre, but critic David Edelstein says he's tired of the American addiction to these tropes.

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Tina Fey stars as Princeton University admissions counselor Portia Nathan in the new comedy Admission. Fey says the movie's frankly manic depiction of the college application melee appealed to her.

Arts

Tina Fey, Movie Star? Not Quite Yet, She Says

10:55am March 22, 2013

by NPR Staff

The writer, actor and producer has a starring role in the new movie Admission. She speaks with Linda Wertheimer about comedy, being in control and — now that her long-running sitcom, 30 Rock, has ended — why she really means it when she says she's taking a pause to spend more time with her family.

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Print versions of Daily Variety, like this one from 2003, will no longer be available on L.A. newsstands. Variety will continue online and in a print weekly, but the daily print edition is being dropped.

Arts

Not Doing So 'Boffo,' 'Daily Variety' Drops Print Edition

10:55am March 22, 2013

by NPR Staff

Showbiz info is everywhere now, making it harder to sustain Hollywood's slang-filled must-read as a daily print publication. The magazine printed its last daily this week but will continue online and in a weekly edition. Cultural historian Neil Gabler explains why this shift is significant.

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Arts

Denzel Washington Remembers 'Malcom X' And 'The Wizard Of Oz'

1:29pm March 18, 2013

In highlights from a 2008 interview, the Oscar-winner talks with Terry Gross about reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which he calls "one of the greatest books I've ever read," and his love for the songs from The Wizard of Oz. He even sings a bar or two of "Follow the Yellow Brick Road."

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The noisy film is mostly wordless, with animals and nature filling in the blanks between its strangely stark images.

Arts

'Leviathan': The Fishing Life, From 360 Degrees

7:46am March 16, 2013

by Pat Dowell

Leviathan is a new film that's a documentary, and yet not quite a documentary. The mostly wordless art piece uses tiny cameras and dramatic soundscaping to probe the edges of human-animal interaction off the coast of New England. The filmmakers explain their unusual production process.

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Ginger & Rosa (starring Alice Englert and Elle Fanning) was directed by Sally Potter, who is perhaps best known for her 1992 film Orlando.

Arts

Three New Films Examine What It Means When Girls Act Out

5:37pm March 15, 2013

by David Edelstein

Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, Sally Potter's Ginger & Rosa and Cristian Mungiu's Beyond the Hills are wildly different films, yet they share a common impulse: to demonstrate indelibly how for girls, behaving outrageously is still a political act.

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Navy veteran Freddie (Phoenix) falls under the influence of cult leader Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) in Anderson's film, which critic Ella Taylor describes as "one of the most twisted father-son tales ever told."

Arts

Paul Thomas Anderson, The Man Behind 'The Master'

11:52am March 15, 2013

The director of Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood talks to Fresh Air's Terry Gross about The Master, a tense drama with indelible performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams.

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