Arts & Life

Clubgoers amid the light towers on the dance floor at Studio 54 in 1978.

Books
Arts

'Inside Studio 54' Takes You Behind The Velvet Rope, And Into Some Dark Corners

10:00am September 23, 2017

by Glen Weldon

Owner Mark Fleischman's memoir drops plenty of celebrity names while detailing the day-to-day logistics (and the drugs) that kept the nightspot running.

New York City Ballet Director of Costumes Marc Happel and Draper Kellie Sheehan conduct a costume fitting with soloist Indiana Woodward for Justin Peck's Pulcinella Variations, with costumes designed by Tsumori Chisato.

Arts

Above The Ballet, Where The Tutus Are Made

8:11am September 23, 2017

by Jeff Lunden

Every year, the New York City Ballet asks top fashion designers to outfit its dancers for its Fall Gala. Good thing the capacity of its 18-person costume department is "the highest you can get."

Arts

Not My Job: 'Empire' Creator Lee Daniels Gets Quizzed On Cookies

7:33am September 23, 2017

On the hit TV show, Daniels created one of the great characters of our time — the ambitious record company matriarch Cookie Lyon. So we'll see what he knows about actual cookies.

Arts

'Battle Of The Sexes' Poised To Be A Crowd-Pleaser All Over Again

4:54pm September 22, 2017

by Bob Mondello

Battle of the Sexes tells the story of the 1973 tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King. The event drew an enormous audience and NPR's Bob Mondello says the movie could too.

Sports
Arts

'Battle Of The Sexes' Revisits Billie Jean King's Historic Win Against Bobby Riggs

2:18pm September 22, 2017

by John Powers

Emma Stone stars as King in a breezy new film that carries us back to '73, and the heyday of the women's lib movement. Critic John Powers says the message of Battle of the Sexes still resonates today.

Queue Listen Now

(From left) Timothée Chalamet in Call Me by Your Name; Jason Mitchell in Mudbound; Emma Stone in Battle of the Sexes; and Idris Elba in Molly's Game.

Arts

NPR's Movie Preview: 16 New Films To Watch This Fall

1:59pm September 22, 2017

As summer gives way to fall, blockbusters give way to award contenders. Here are some of the best, buzziest and otherwise noteworthy films coming to theaters.

Queue Listen Now

Taron Egerton stars in Kingsman: The Golden Circle as Eggsy.

Arts

'Kingsman' Sequel: This Time, A Flat 'Golden Circle'

7:00am September 22, 2017

by Chris Klimek

The new chapter in the spy franchise ramps up the first film's caustic, violent cynicism but leans even harder into the artifice; a reliance on soundstages and CGI dampens the excitement and energy.

Emma Stone stars as the famous professional tennis player and gender equality activist, Billie Jean King, in Battle of the Sexes.

Arts

A Competitor And A Clown Walk Onto A Tennis Court In 'Battle Of The Sexes'

5:00pm September 21, 2017

by Linda Holmes

The new film, starring Emma Stone and Steve Carell as the players facing off in one of the most famous tennis matches in history, shows how easy it is to paint a trailblazer into a corner.

If It's Not Brick, Don't Fix It: Lloyd, voiced by Dave Franco, and his father Garmadon, voiced by Justin Theroux, in The LEGO Ninjago Movie.

Arts

Plastic Less-Than-Fantastic: 'The LEGO Ninjago Movie'

5:00pm September 21, 2017

by Glen Weldon

LEGO films have become their own genre, and despite stellar voice work from Justin Theroux as the evil Lord Garmadon, the genre is — surprisingly — already showing its age.

Amusing, But Not Amused: Judi Dench stars as the Queen of England and the Empress of India in Victoria and Abdul.

Arts

'Victoria And Abdul': Part Satire, Part Love Story, All Charming

5:00pm September 21, 2017

by Ella Taylor

Judi Dench returns to the role of Queen Victoria — this time in her dotage — for Stephen Frears' film about the monarch's eyebrow-raising friendship with a young Indian man (Ali Fazal).