Arts

Arts

Bradley Cooper And 'American Sniper' Widow Team Up To Tell SEAL's Story

9:11pm January 19, 2015

by NPR Staff

Cooper worked closely with Taya Kyle to turn her late husband's book, about his time as a Navy SEAL, into a film. "We all felt him the whole time we were shooting the movie," Cooper says.

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Amy Adams stars as painter Margaret Keane in the new movie Big Eyes.

Arts

The Eye-Opening Saga Of Walter And Margaret Keane, Now On Screen

9:10pm January 19, 2015

by NPR Staff

Walter Keane made his name with wistful paintings of big-eyed children — paintings actually done by his wife. Tim Burton directs and Amy Adams stars in Big Eyes, a new movie about the Keanes.

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Chris Rock talked with Audie Cornish from NPR's New York bureau.

Arts

Chris Rock On Standup, Sellouts And Defining Success

9:02pm January 19, 2015

by NPR Staff

Rock wrote, directed and stars in Top Five, the story of a marquee comedian who abandons his standup roots for blockbuster film glory.

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A still from the art film #Blackmendream. The film features nine men, turned away from the camera and talking about their hopes and fears.

Arts

'#Blackmendream': Showcasing A Different Side Of Black Manhood

9:01pm January 19, 2015

by Priska Neely

In Shikeith Cathey's short film, faceless strangers answer questions like "What makes you happy?" and "Do you cry?" The artist says, "These questions, as simple as they are ... they aren't discussed."

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Books
Arts

How A Skeptic Learned To Love Meditation

8:35pm January 19, 2015

Fancy feeling happy in 2015? Dan Harris, co-anchor of ABC's Nightline, has written a book called 10% Happier. He shares with NPR's Rachel Martin the reasons that drove him to write a self-help book.

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Actors Tituss Burgess and Ellie Kemper horse around on the set of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt while filming in New York in March. Tina Fey's new TV series was developed for NBC, but will air on Netflix instead.

Arts

New Streaming Services Are Changing TV — And Viewers, Too

7:49pm January 19, 2015

by Eric Deggans

Streaming services like Netflix and the DISH Network's new Sling TV are helping consumers break free of cable subscriptions. That means TV shows must find new ways to connect with their viewers.

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Michele Vaccaro buries a fig tree in the yard of Mary Menniti in Sewickley, Pa.

Why Bury Fig Trees? A Curious Tradition Preserves A Taste Of Italy

7:42pm January 19, 2015

by Hal Klein

For generations, Italian-American fig growers in the Northeast have buried their trees in trenches for the winter. It's a tradition that preserves both flavor and ancestral ties to southern Italy.

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Books
Arts

Dark, Disturbing And Playful, 'Seventh Day' Takes On Modern China

3:06pm January 19, 2015

by Nishant Dahiya

In Yu Hua's new novel, a recently dead man decides to attend his own funeral and ends up wandering a strange sort of afterlife, full of characters whose stories reflect the troubles of modern China.

Arts

Larry Wilmore's 'Nightly Show' Brings A New Voice To Late Night TV

1:22pm January 19, 2015

by Eric Deggans

The former Daily Show correspondent becomes the only black man to host an entertainment show on late night TV. And he starts on an important occasion; the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

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Cover detail of The Girl from Human Street.

A Memoir Of A Family's Diaspora, And A Mother's Depression

11:25am January 19, 2015

by NPR Staff

New York Times columnist Roger Cohen looks back on his life and asks: Could a family's constant movement — four countries in four generations — contribute to a mother's struggle with mental illness?

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