Movies

Movie trailers can drive people to the theaters or keep them away altogether.

Arts

Movie Trailer Math: Getting 'Butts In The Seats' In Minutes

3:05pm February 27, 2013

by NPR Staff

Before films hit theaters, they are heralded by trailers that can either drive people to the box office or keep them away. Stephen Garrett, owner of the trailer production company Jump Cut Creative, talks about what it takes to lure audiences without spoiling a film.

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Linguist Geoff Nunberg finds that in the film Lincoln, screenwriter Tony Kushner oscillates between old and modern meanings of "equality."

Arts

Historical Vocab: When We Get It Wrong, Does It Matter?

7:12pm February 26, 2013

by Geoff Nunberg

We're living in an age obsessed with authenticity, says linguist Geoff Nunberg, but we often choose to nitpick the wrong details. Whether it's Downton Abbey, Mad Men, Lincoln or Argo, Nunberg argues, a historical novel or screenplay should give us a translation, not a transcription.

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Adele performs the theme song to "Skyfall."

Arts

The Oscars Broadcast, Zooming Way Past Cheeky To Land Squarely On Crass

4:36pm February 25, 2013

by Linda Holmes

Seth MacFarlane hosted the 85th Academy Awards which Monkey See's Linda Holmes says was one of the worst hosting performances in Oscar history. Jokes about women just kept coming. His sexist jokes were in poor taste, sure, but if they'd been funny, nobody would have cared.

Arts

'Argo,' 'Life Of Pi' Win Top Oscars

4:26pm February 25, 2013

by Mandalit del Barco

The movies Argo and Life of Pi and actors Daniel Day-Lewis and Jennifer Lawrence were among the winners at Sunday's Academy Awards. But no one movie swept the show.

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Jennifer Lawrence's 'Silver Linings' Night

3:55pm February 25, 2013

Jennifer Lawrence's best actress win at the Oscars on Sunday may be remembered longer than her performance at the awards show. On the red carpet, she was bleeped after uttering a four-letter word; and while walking to the stage to accept her award, she tripped on the stairs.

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Anthony Breznican is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly and its chief Oscars correspondent.

Arts

EW's Oscar Guy: Predictions, Backstage Tales

6:40pm February 23, 2013

by NPR Staff

At this Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony, Entertainment Weekly's Anthony Breznican will be watching from an enviable location: behind the scenes with the stars. He joins NPR's Jacki Lyden to share his winner predictions and favorite backstage moments.

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For Some Americans, Finding A 'Place At The Table' A Struggle

11:55am February 23, 2013

Weekend Edition guest host Don Gonyea talks to co-directors Lori Silverbush and Kristi Jacobson about their documentary A Place at the Table. The film looks at the problem of hunger in America.

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Despite its dark themes (slavery and the Civil War are hardly feel-good topics), Lincoln, like other Oscar nominees, has done very well at the box office. Disney has spent about $10 million campaigning for the best-picture prize, hoping for a payoff down

Arts

Despite Dark Themes, A Big Oscar Bounce

6:47pm February 22, 2013

by Bob Mondello

At the Oscar ceremony on Sunday night, there'll be lots of talk about excellence — the movie industry honoring its own. But as NPR's Bob Mondello notes, there has always been another side to the Oscars: money.

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Bradley Cooper has been nominated for an Academy Award for his role in the film Silver Linings Playbook.

Arts

Bradley Cooper Finds 'Silver Linings' Everywhere

1:18pm February 22, 2013

The actor, nominated for an Academy Award for his role in David O. Russell's film, talks about watching movies with his father as a kid in Philadelphia, his childhood fascination with soldiers and being up against Daniel Day Lewis for an Oscar.

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Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez in Argo. Affleck also directed the film, which is based on events surrounding the Iran hostage crisis of 1979.

Arts

Affleck On 'Argo' And The 1979 Hostage Crisis

1:18pm February 22, 2013

Ben Affleck's Argo won Golden Globes for best director and best motion picture/drama. The film now has Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Affleck talks about his approach to the story of six diplomats who managed to escape a hostile Iran in 1979.

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