Arts

Books
Arts

In 'Distant Marvels,' A Witness To Revolutions Tells Cuba's Story

11:01am April 12, 2015

by NPR Staff

Chantel Acevedo's latest novel opens in 1963 and focuses on octogenarian Maria Sirena, part of a Cuban generation that lived through both the war of independence from Spain and the Cuban Revolution.

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In American Odyssey, Anna Friel plays Sgt. Odelle Ballard, who is stationed in Mali. After her team is killed, she finds herself running for her life — which includes disguising herself as a man.

Arts

'American Odyssey': Three Ordinary People, One Thrill-Filled Plot

10:47pm April 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

The show is about a government conspiracy. But co-creator Peter Horton says beneath the action, human stories drive the show. "That's the little dirty secret," he says. "This is a character piece."

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Books
Arts

A Dark, Funny — And Vietnamese — Look At The Vietnam War

9:04pm April 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

Viet Thanh Nguyen grew up in America with war movies like Apocalypse Now and Platoon, which offer accounts of the war focusing on Americans. His new novel, The Sympathizer, follows a Vietnamese spy.

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Mulgrew starred as Captain Kathryn Janeway, the first woman to command a Federation Starship, in Star Trek: Voyager.

Books
Arts

'Born With Teeth,' Actress Kate Mulgrew On A Life Lived With Abandon

7:22pm April 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

Mulgrew played Captain Janeway on Star Trek: Voyager and is a formidable kitchen manager on Orange Is the New Black. But her personal story is more dramatic than any she's ever played on screen.

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Super Troopers director and actor Jay Chandrasekhar (left), along with other castmates from the cult comedy film, solicit investment for a sequel in a screengrab from their IndieGogo campaign.

Arts

For Fans Of 'Super Troopers,' Meow They're Getting A Sequel

2:38pm April 11, 2015

by NPR Staff

Super Troopers is one of the silliest movies in the pantheon of cult comedies and the film's creators have raised more than $3.5 million for a sequel through crowdfunding.

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Books
Arts

How Jim Grimsley Shed His 'Racist' Skin

12:33pm April 11, 2015

In 1966, Jim Grimsley's North Carolina school was integrated. NPR's Tamara Keith talks to Grimsley and one of his first black classmates, Donnie Meadows, about Grimsley's book, How I Shed My Skin.

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Jake and Ella meet cute on the bumper cars in Cheatin', but their perfect romance goes wrong after another woman starts scheming to drive them apart.

Arts

Inside The Wild (And Hand-Drawn) World Of Bill Plympton

10:54am April 11, 2015

by Jon Kalish

Indie animation king Bill Plympton's latest feature, Cheatin', tells the loopy love story of Jake and Ella, and how their perfect romance fractured. Reporter Jon Kalish visited Plympton in his studio.

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Books
Arts

Autobiographical 'Indian' Probes A Painful Past

7:03am April 11, 2015

by Michael Schaub

Jón Gnarr, the punk rocker turned mayor of Rekjavík, paints a beautiful but disturbing portrait of a misfit childhood in his new novel. Critic Michael Schaub calls it hypnotic and heartbreaking.

As the new season of Game of Thrones begins, Tyrion Lannister (played by Peter Dinklage) is on the run after killing his manipulative father.

Arts

'Game Of Thrones' And 'Veep' Anchor HBO's Killer Sunday Lineup

8:26pm April 10, 2015

by Eric Deggans

HBO's Game of Thrones, Veep and Silicon Valley all start new seasons Sunday. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says these three shows just might form the best Sunday night lineup on television this spring.

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Kristen Stewart and Juliette Binoche in Olivier Assayas' Clouds Of Sils Maria.

Arts

Women Ascend With Uncertainty In 'Clouds Of Sils Maria'

4:03pm April 10, 2015

by Tomas Hachard

The drama from director Olivier Assayas is the rare work that can hold opposite ideas in tension, refuse to fully resolve them, and be entirely satisfying nonetheless, says Tomas Hachard.