Arts

Arts

Stylistically Dazzling 'Vox Lux' Draws Link Between Pop Stardom And Terrorism

1:27pm December 07, 2018

by John Powers

Natalie Portman plays a young Christian woman who is propelled to pop stardom following a mass shooting. Critic John Powers says Vox Lux is inventive — and exasperating.

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Arts

How The 'Golden Age' Of Corporate Musicals Used Songs To Boost Sales

1:27pm December 07, 2018

by Terry Gross

Sheldon Harnick, John Russell and Steve Young discuss "industrial musicals," Broadway-style productions written and performed at the behest of corporations. Originally broadcast Nov. 5, 2013.

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Kevin Hart, seen attending the NFL Honors ceremony in February. Just a couple of days after he was announced as host of the next Oscars awards ceremony, the comedian said he would be stepping down amid a firestorm over his past tweets.

Arts

Kevin Hart Bows Out As Oscars Host Amid Backlash Over Past Tweets

9:22am December 07, 2018

by Colin Dwyer

"I'm sorry that I hurt people," the comic said, referring to anti-gay tweets he had posted years earlier. He had initially refused to apologize, only to announce hours later that he was stepping down.

Natalie Portman's performance as pop star Celeste is bold, glittery and fearless in Vox Lux.

'Vox Lux' Is Too Much — And That's What Makes It So Invigorating

9:22pm December 06, 2018

by Andrew Lapin

Sure, this lush, blistering riff on pop stardom — and the many ways it intersects with a culture obsessed with both violence and celebrity — is over-the-top. That's the point.

2 Milly does his signature dance, the Milly Rock, while performing at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles in 2015.

Rapper Sues Video Game Maker Over Fortnite Dance Move

8:26pm December 06, 2018

by Ian Stewart

2 Milly introduced the popular Milly Rock dance in a 2014 music video. As of July, characters in Fortnite are able to perform a similar dance.

Stephan James and KiKi Layne star as Fonny and Tish, the couple at the center of If Beale Street Could Talk. The movie is director Barry Jenkins' adaptation of a James Baldwin novel of the same name.

Arts

Director Barry Jenkins Talks On Behalf Of 'Beale Street'

5:35pm December 06, 2018

The director of Moonlight has made a new film: If Beale Street Could Talk, based on the James Baldwin novel. He's using it to represent black complexity, vulnerability and skin colors.

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Two queens stand before me: Margot Robbie stars as Elizabeth I and Joe Alwyn as Robert Dudley in Mary Queen of Scots.

Arts

In 'Mary Queen Of Scots,' 2 Queens Become Pawns In A Struggle For Supremacy

5:00pm December 06, 2018

by Ella Taylor

Director Josie Rourke's epic, fiercely feminist period piece "does make a powerfully moving case for an uneasy dance between two powerful women hamstrung by male politics."

Hey-La, Hey-La: Holly (Julia Roberts) keeps a watchful eye on her son Ben (Lucas Hedges) in Ben is Back.

Arts

'Ben Is Back': Well-Acted Addiction Drama Loses Its Way

5:00pm December 06, 2018

by Scott Tobias

The first half is a tense, painfully real family drama about the lingering toll of opioid addiction; the second half lurches into thriller territory thick with stock types and cliches.

Click here to browse more than 300 recommended titles in NPR's 2018 Book Concierge.

Books
Arts

Can't Find Time To Read? Poetry Might Make The Perfect Gift

4:53pm December 06, 2018

by Mary Louise Kelly

Poet Tess Taylor says a good poem can "reroute your day" in under five minutes. She offers suggestions for poetry that "takes you to a different place, and then allows you to return a little altered."

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A promotional balloon — styled after the red, heart-shaped balloon in one of Banksy's famous artworks — floats at the grand opening of The Art Of Banksy show in Miami.

Arts

This Art Show Doesn't Have Banksy's Blessings — His Fans Don't Seem To Mind

4:53pm December 06, 2018

by Greg Allen

"I know he doesn't like the show," says organizer Steve Lazarides, who worked for Banksy for years before the two had a falling out. Banksy's management company says legal proceedings are underway.

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