Scott Simon speaks with Dori Bell, of Houston, Tex., about the 1978 movie, “Grease,” which she just watched for the first time.
Julian Fellowes of ‘Downton Abbey’ says misery isn’t ‘compulsory’ in entertainment
NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly talks with Downton Abbey executive producer Julian Fellowes about the latest chapter in the Crawley family’s story, Downton Abbey: A New Era.
‘Memoria’ is a marvelously strange sonic detective story
Tilda Swinton plays a botanist who is haunted by a mysterious sound in an intriguing new film. Reviewer Justin Chang says Memoria’s climax will leave your jaw on the floor.
Actor Fred Ward dies. He had the right stuff in movies from ‘Tremors’ to ‘The Player’
Ward died on Sunday at age 79.
Netflix alters corporate culture memo to stress the importance of artistic freedom
In a substantive edit to Netflix’s public-facing statement on work culture, the company states that employees might have to work on titles they “perceive to be harmful.”
‘Pleasure’: A young woman’s matter-of-fact pursuit of porn stardom
Ninja Thyberg’s film about an aspiring porn star challenges conventional wisdom around sex work and women’s agency.
‘Rust’ producers defend safety measures before shootings on the Alec Baldwin film set
Rust Movie Productions is challenging the basis of a $137,000 fine against the company by state regulators who say managers on the set failed to follow standard industry protocols for firearms safety.
Winners in a student film festival are announced
Film Prize Junior, the South’s largest student film festival, has awarded two grand prize honors to two middle and high school students in New Mexico.
‘In Between Girl’ navigates the gray areas of growing up
Ayesha Rascoe speaks with writer and director Mei Makino about her new coming-of-age film called ‘In Between Girl.’
A timely new HBO doc chronicles a secret group of women who provided abortions
A new documentary tells the story of “The Jane Collective,” a group that helped women with nowhere else to turn for a safe abortion, in the days before Roe v. Wade.
A millionaire wanted to give away his money. ‘Dear Mr. Brody’ shows how it went awry
Scott Simon speaks with Keith Maitland, director of the documentary “Dear Mr. Brody,” about a young millionaire who pledged to give his fortune away in 1970.
‘Happening’ takes place in France in the 1960s, but speaks to this particular moment
A college student in 1960s France encounters difficulties in seeking an abortion that feel very of-this-moment in Audrey Diwan’s timely drama Happening.
Timely and urgent, ‘Happening’ is a film that speaks to today’s abortion debate
A 23-year-old literature student discovers she’s pregnant after a fling. This movie, based on Annie Ernaux’s autobiographical novel, traces her desperate attempt to get an abortion in 1963 France.
Marvel’s ‘Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness’ is all over the place
The latest MCU film is at its best when director Sam Raimi leans into its horror elements, and at its weakest when it coasts on cameos and callbacks from a now-diffuse network of Marvel properties.
Review: Doctor Strange and the Scarlet Witch take on the ‘Multiverse of Madness’
After unleashing all kinds of trouble in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel’s Doctor Strange will try to clean up the mess in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Dave Chappelle attacker charged with assault with a deadly weapon
23-year-old Isaiah Lee has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon.
Alexander Skarsgård lost his voice — and found catharsis — as a Viking berserker
The Swedish actor describes himself as “quite a mellow guy.” Playing a Viking warrior in the film The Northman gave Skarsgård a chance to tap into his animalistic nature.
On May the 4th, let’s remember the time NPR had a ‘Star Wars’ radio drama
Some of you may have forgotten (and some might not even know) that the network created three radio dramas based on George Lucas’ original three movies.
Encore: Tom Shales’ 1977 review of the new movie ‘Star Wars’
On this May the 4th, now known as Star Wars Day, we listen back to an original NPR review of the now beloved classic. In 1977, Tom Shales reviewed the new film Star Wars for NPR.
Encore: Movie theater owners are optimistic big audiences will return
Movie theater owners from across the country gathered in Las Vegas to strategize about how they can get audiences back in front of their big screens. (Story first aired on ATC on April 30, 2022.)
What makes a good movie sequel?
Multiple movie sequels are coming out this year. NPR’s A Martinez talks to TV and film critic Matt Zoller Seitz about what makes a good movie sequel.
Latest Caped Crusader movie is a hit and so is a video spoof of ‘The Batman’ trailer
Video producers have inserted Adam West, star of the 1960s Batman TV series, into the trailer for the new movie, The Batman.
Bill Murray says his behavior led to a complaint and a pause on ‘Being Mortal’
In his first comments about the halt of his latest film, the actor described the incident as a difference of opinion. “I did something I thought was funny and it wasn’t taken that way,” he said.
Movie theater owners are optimistic about an industry return at this year’s CinemaCon
Movie theater owners from around the country gathered in Las Vegas this week to strategize about how they can get audiences back in front of their big screens.
‘The Duke’ salutes the British legend who stole a Goya from the National Gallery
In the new movie, “The Duke,” Jim Broadbent plays an elderly taxi driver who stole a famous portrait by Francisco Goya in 1961. Scott Simon speaks with Broadbent about the role and his career.
A lot of material from this John Waters interview couldn’t be published
It’s been 50 years since the famed director released the movie Pink Flamingos. And as much as the world’s changed since then, his first-ever novel shows that his propensity for bad taste …hasn’t.
What’s making us happy: A guide to your weekend viewing, reading and listening
Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour share what’s bringing them joy. This week: Bob Odenkirk’s memoir, the guy collecting every Gap store playlist ever made and more.
Netflix promised secure jobs at Tudum. Now, one of its teams has been laid off
Yesterday, Netflix laid off some of its staff, many of them recently hired women of color. They were working on its new fan-focused website.
In Hanna Bergholm’s new horror film, a girl’s adolescence is ‘Hatching’
NPR’s Rob Schmitz talks with Hanna Bergholm, the director of the new horror movie ‘Hatching,’ in which a girl finds a mysterious egg in the woods and nurtures it until it hatches.
One of the dresses from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is up for auction
For decades, a version of the dress Judy Garland wore in the movie was assumed lost at Catholic University of America, where it had been given to someone in the drama department in the early 1970s.