Pop Culture

This year's Oscars will be given out at the 87th Academy Awards on Sunday night. At O'Brien's Pub in Santa Monica, Calif., pub trivia regulars — including many former game show champs — had their own competition, answering harder-than-average question

Arts

'I'll Take Insanely Hard Oscar Trivia For 400, Alex'

8:57am February 23, 2015

by Neda Ulaby

Can you name the longest title of a film nominated for best picture? Or most Oscar-nominated family? At O'Brien's Irish Pub in Santa Monica, the trivia night regulars are former game show champions.

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Preparations continue for the 87th Annual Academy Awards at the Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood, CA.

Watch The Oscars With Us

11:01am February 22, 2015

by Linda Holmes

Follow along as Linda Holmes, Stephen Thompson, Bob Mondello and Glen Weldon live tweet the 87th Annual Academy Awards.

Arts

King Of Condensed Films: Meet Chuck Workman, The Oscars' Montage Master

9:20am February 21, 2015

by Neda Ulaby

It's a classic element of the Oscars telecast: that sequence of clips paying tribute to film industry greats. Chuck Workman created them for 20 years, and likens his craft to making a fruitcake.

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Arts

The Oscars Are Coming, With 1 Big Hit And Few Close Contests

10:43pm February 20, 2015

by Linda Holmes

Linda Holmes and movie critic Bob Mondello sit down with Audie Cornish to talk about the upcoming Oscars.

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Along with Colton Dunn (L), Harris Wittels (R) played a bumbling member of the Pawnee animal control team on the show he co-executive-produced, Parks And Recreation.

Arts

The Comedy And Good Conversation Of Harris Wittels

2:24pm February 20, 2015

by Glen Weldon

NPR contributor Glen Weldon remembers writer, actor, producer, musician, and comedy podcast mainstay Harris Wittels, who died Thursday, just 30 years old.

In the "Winter's Gift" episode of Sofia the First, Disney Princess Tiana (left) from The Princess and the Frog makes a special appearance to help Princess Sofia learn that a true gift comes from the heart.

Arts

And The Moral Of The Story Is ... Kids Don't Always Understand The Moral

8:28pm February 19, 2015

by Elizabeth Blair

"Research among U.S. populations of kids indicates that this ability to articulate a moral theme develops fairly slowly, emerging only around age 9 or 10," says researcher Seeta Pai.

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Supervising sound editor Rob Nokes (left) and looper Lanei Chapman watch a silent scene to get a sense of what to say during a looping session for the television show Bones.

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Arts

Never Seen And Sometimes Barely Heard, Loopers Fill In Hollywood's Soundtrack

6:33pm February 19, 2015

by Susan Stamberg

In movies, crowd noise, hospital waiting room chatter and barroom brawl sounds are created by voice actors called loopers. "If it's done right, you shouldn't even notice it," one sound mixer says.

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Jon Cryer, left, and Ashton Kutcher in a scene from Kutcher's 2011 debut on CBS' "Two and a Half Men."

Arts

As CBS' 'Two And A Half Men' Ends, Questions On How It Lasted So Long

4:12pm February 19, 2015

by Eric Deggans

CBS' Two and a Half Men ends a 12-season run tonight as TV's longest-running multicamera sitcom. NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans says some experts still struggle to explain the show's longtime success.

Larry Wilmore debuts Comedy Central's The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore on Jan. 19.

Arts

For Host Larry Wilmore, A Year Of 'Extraordinary' Highs And 'Humbling' Lows

3:12pm February 19, 2015

Wilmore is still fine-tuning The Nightly Show, which fills the late-night spot on Comedy Central vacated by Stephen Colbert. The show launched just as Wilmore's 20-year marriage was coming to an end.

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Arts

Popular Mexican Actress Lorena Rojas Dies

2:57am February 18, 2015

by Jasmine Garsd

She acted in telenovelas, but also made a name for herself in film and on stage.