Movie Interviews

Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron, front right) fights to liberate the wives of a tyrannical warlord in Mad Max: Fury Road.

Arts

'Mad Max' Director George Miller: The Audience Tells You 'What Your Film Is'

3:25pm February 08, 2016

Miller, who directed the first Mad Max film in 1979, says it will be a few years before he has any idea as to whether Mad Max: Fury Road "endures in some way."

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Jacir Eid plays the title character in Theed. Director Naji Abu Nowar says, "You put him in front of a camera and he just lit up the screen."

Arts

'Theeb' Looks At Middle East History Through The Eyes Of A Bedouin Boy

6:51pm February 05, 2016

by NPR Staff

The Oscar-nominated film is set in 1916 Saudi Arabia, a pivotal time in the region. Director Naji Abu Nowar says he wanted to explore "how strange and surreal it must have been" for the Bedouins.

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Spike Lee's new documentary charts the King of Pop's journey from child stardom to early fame as a solo act.

Music & Culture

Spike Lee On Michael Jackson's Evolution From Child Star To 'Off The Wall'

2:51pm February 05, 2016

by Mandalit del Barco

The director's new documentary, called Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall, explores the King of Pop's seminal LP. "Michael is alive, because his music is still here," he says.

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World News

Journalist James Foley's Beheading By ISIS Told In HBO's 'Jim'

7:04am February 04, 2016

Mary Louise Kelly talks to Brian Oakes about his documentary Jim: The James Foley Story, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival. Foley was a correspondent in Syria when he was abducted by ISIS.

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Arts

Revisiting The Craft And Vision Of 'Graduate' Director Mike Nichols

8:02pm January 29, 2016

The late director is the subject of a new PBS American Masters documentary. Another documentary about Nichols will be shown on HBO next month. Nichols spoke to Fresh Air's Terry Gross in 2001.

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Arts

In 'Hail, Caesar!' Josh Brolin Explores The Debauchery Of Old Hollywood

6:03pm January 29, 2016

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Josh Brolin about his role as a conflicted studio fixer in the new Coen brothers comedy Hail, Caesar! Brolin jokes about how the old Hollywood compares to the new.

Arts

'Rabin, The Last Day' Examines Probe Into Killing Of Israeli Prime Minister

7:18pm January 27, 2016

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to director Amos Gitai about his new film, Rabin, the Last Day, which merges news footage and dramatized scenes of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

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An Oscar statue, on display during the Academy Awards nominations announcement in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Jan. 14.

Arts

A Conversation With The Creator Of #OscarsSoWhite

12:26am January 25, 2016

by Aggi Ashagre

The hashtag resurfaced this year as a protest against the lack of diversity among Oscar nominees. The woman who started it, April Reign, explains her frustrations — and her hopes for the future.

In the 1960s, Maggie Smith starred in the Broadway hit Mary, Mary. One reviewer called her a "gem of an actress, an undeniable dish."

Arts

'60s 'Dish' Maggie Smith Says, 'That Was Never Me'

2:51pm January 12, 2016

by NPR Staff

"It must be lovely to be beautiful, but that's a really difficult thing to lose," says Smith, now 81. Best known in the U.S. for her role in Downton Abbey, she's now starring in The Lady in the Van.

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Arts

'Star Wars' Just Keeps Breaking Records

4:31pm January 08, 2016

by NPR Staff

NPR's Audie Cornish talks to director J.J. Abrams about making the movie; he says he feels an 'enormous relief that it's out in the world.' Warning: This will not be a spoiler-free conversation!