Arts & Life

Books
Arts

Fresh Air Remembers Literary Biographer Justin Kaplan

2:46pm March 04, 2014

Kaplan died Sunday at 88. His biography of Mark Twain won a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize. He also edited two editions of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. Kaplan spoke to Fresh Air in 1992.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Alain Resnais, Director And Master Of Disorientation, Dies At 91

7:19pm March 03, 2014

by Bob Mondello

Bob Mondello talks about the contributions of French filmmaker Alain Resnais, who died Saturday at the age of 91.

Queue Listen Now

Mark Harris' previous book is Pictures At A Revolution: Five Movies And The Birth Of The New Hollywood. He is also a columnist for Entertainment Weekly and Grantland.

Books
Arts

During World War II, Even Filmmakers Reported For Duty

1:35pm March 03, 2014

A new book looks at how the military and Hollywood directors teamed up during the war. The films they made helped show Americans what was at stake, and served as evidence during the Nuremberg Trials.

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

Roving Literary Death Match Aims To Breathe Life Into Literature

7:09pm March 02, 2014

by Alex Schmidt

Imagine writers on stage, squared off in a fight to the death. That's the idea behind Literary Death Match –- kind of. It's a performance series that pits authors against each other in live readings.

Queue Listen Now

Every year, Entertainment Weekly writer Anthony Breznick covers the Oscars from behind the scenes.

Arts

The Human Moments We Miss, Backstage At The Oscars

7:08pm March 01, 2014

by NPR Staff

He was there when Jennifer Lawrence stumbled. He received life-changing advice from Philip Seymour Hoffman. Entertainment Weekly writer Anthony Breznican shares stories from the Academy Awards.

Queue Listen Now

A Picket Line At The Oscars: Visual-Effects Artists To Protest

11:37am March 01, 2014

by Neda Ulaby

For the second year, hundreds of visual-effects workers will be protesting instead of celebrating Hollywood's big night. They say subsidies luring studios abroad are draining the profession.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Liam Neeson's Action Chops Take Flight In 'Non-Stop'

1:24pm February 28, 2014

by David Edelstein

Neeson became a bankable action hero in 2008 after the thriller Taken. Now almost 62, he's still getting out of tight corners with his fists. His new film unfolds on a transatlantic flight.

Queue Listen Now

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts a new TV series called Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey. It's an update of the influential 1980 PBS series Cosmos: A Personal Journey, hosted by Carl Sagan.

Science
Arts

Neil DeGrasse Tyson Explains Why The Cosmos Shouldn't Make You Feel Small

9:45am February 28, 2014

The astrophysicist says that participating in a "great unfolding of a cosmic story" should make us feel large, not small. This spring, Tyson hosts a TV series called Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

Remembering Harold Ramis, Master Of The 'Smart Dumb-Movie'

2:36pm February 27, 2014

by John Powers

Best known for Animal House, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day, Ramis died Monday at 69. Critic John Powers says Ramis was like a favorite uncle who spices up the family reunion by spiking the punch.

Queue Listen Now

Chinese billionaire Xander Feng, played by Terry Chen, shakes hands with Francis Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, in Netflix's House of Cards.

Arts

To Play The Part, Actors Must Talk The Talk — In Chinese

12:08pm February 27, 2014

by Hansi Lo Wang

As Hollywood and China grow closer, more roles are opening up for Asian-American actors to play Chinese-speaking characters. But before they can sound fluent on screen, some turn to dialect coaches.

Queue Listen Now