Arts & Life

Teen, Idle: Owen Campbell stars as Zach in Super Dark Times.

Arts

In 'Super Dark Times,' An Act of Violence Imperils A Friendship

5:00pm September 28, 2017

by Scott Tobias

First-time director Kevin Phillips displays a remarkable gift for evoking a time and place, but loses control when this tale of a teenage friendship shifts from character study to grisly thriller.

The Indelible Mark Playboy's Hugh Hefner Left On American Culture

4:54pm September 28, 2017

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Gary Baum, senior writer at The Hollywood Reporter, about Hugh Hefner's business empire, Playboy, and what will happen to the brand after his death.

Arts

Farcical And Madcap, 'American Made' Stars Tom Cruise At His Best

1:54pm September 28, 2017

by David Edelstein

Cruise plays a drug-smuggling pilot working for the DEA, CIA and Medellin Cartel in his new film, a dark comedy set in the '80s. Critic David Edelstein calls American Made "breathlessly entertaining."

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The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine is based on notes for a story Mark Twain told his young daughters, about magical seeds and talking animals.

Books
Arts

A Modern Collaboration With Mark Twain In 'Prince Oleomargarine'

1:13pm September 28, 2017

by Mary Louise Kelly

Authors Philip and Erin Stead have turned 16 pages of Mark Twain's notes — on a serial bedtime story he wove for his daughters — into a new children's book, The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine.

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Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally once again play Jack McFarland and Karen Walker in NBC's Will & Grace.

Arts

'Will & Grace' Is Back, But Will Its Viewers Be?

9:54am September 28, 2017

by Linda Holmes

NBC is bringing back Will & Grace for at least two revival seasons, more than 10 years after it went off the air the first time. But the show has some work to do to get its viewers back.

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Books
Arts

In 'Dear Fahrenheit 451,' Loving Books Both Wisely And Well

7:00am September 28, 2017

by Margaret H. Willison

Librarian Annie Spence's new book is a collection of love letters and breakup notes to the books in her life — written in a warm, funny, specific voice that skillfully balances reverence and wryness.

Hefner looks over proof sheets for Playboy in 1961 in Chicago.

Arts

'Playboy' Founder Hugh Hefner, Champion Of Free Speech And 'Smut', Dies At 91

11:33pm September 27, 2017

by Scott Simon

Hefner's magazine was blamed for (or credited with) setting off a cultural revolution in America, but within a few years he was branded a male chauvinist.

Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Candy, a prostitute who hopes to get out of the trade by learning to make porn films, on the HBO series The Deuce.

Arts

'Deuce' Creators Capture The Birth Of America's Billion-Dollar Porn Industry

5:18pm September 27, 2017

by Terry Gross

David Simon and George Pelecanos' new show depicts the growth of porn from illegal enterprise to full-fledged industry. Since then, Simon says, "the 'pornographication' of America has been profound."

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Parwena Dulkun is a Uighur model who divides her time between Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, and Beijing. Uighurs share traits from both Asian and European ancestors, a look that is in demand among modeling agencies throughout China.

For Some Chinese Uighurs, Modeling Is A Path To Success

5:11pm September 27, 2017

by Rob Schmitz

China's Muslim-minority Uighurs often face persecution and suspicion. But their popularity has grown in recent years as models. "Not to brag, but we are very good-looking," says one Uighur model.

Sterling K. Brown as Randall, still being the best thing about the season premiere of This Is Us.

Arts

Death Watch: 'This Is Us' Kicks Off Its Second Season, Teary As Ever

9:19am September 27, 2017

by Linda Holmes

NBC's surprise hit of last fall, the drama This Is Us, began its second season with an episode that stayed mostly in the here and now before dipping dramatically back to the past.