Movie Interviews

Linda Emond, Hoffman and Andrew Garfield take their opening night curtain call in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman at The Barrymore Theatre in New York City in 2012.

Arts

Philip Seymour Hoffman On Acting: An 'Exhausting' And 'Satisfying' Art

8:21pm February 03, 2014

We listen back to interviews with Hoffman from 1999 and 2008, when he told Fresh Air's Terry Gross that carrying the emotional life of a character could be "burdensome." He was found dead on Sunday at age 46.

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World News

'Return To Homs' Follows Cycle Of Syrian Demonstrations

7:58am January 31, 2014

A new documentary about the war in Syria follows the transformation of peaceful demonstrators into insurgents. Steve Inskeep talks to Orwa Nyrabia, the producer of the film, about the toll of the Syrian civil war on the besieged city of Homs.

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Arts

How Breakthrough 'Captain Phillips' Actor Connected To The Role

6:43pm January 19, 2014

This past week, Somali-born actor Barkhad Abdi received an Academy Award nomination for his role opposite Tom Hanks in the film Captain Phillips. The part was his first acting role. Abdi plays a Somali pirate who leads the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama. He spoke with NPR's Arun Rath in October about learning to relate to his character. (This story originally aired on All Things Considered on Oct. 20, 2013.)

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From left, Meryl Streep, Julianne Nicholson and Juliette Lewis star in August: Osage County.

Arts

'Osage' Hits Close To Home For Writer Tracy Letts

12:53pm January 11, 2014

by NPR Staff

Playwright Tracy Letts won the Pulitzer Prize for August: Osage County, a story of secrets and family dysfunction. Now it's been released as a film, for which Letts wrote the screenplay. The story and its characters came from his own experiences, Letts says.

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In Saving Mr. Banks, Emma Thompson plays Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers, who, Thompson says, hated the whole idea of having her book made into a film.

Arts

Not-So-Cheery Disposition: Emma Thompson On Poppins' Cranky Creator

6:13pm January 09, 2014

When it came to turning her children's book into a movie, Thompson says, P.L. Travers was patronizing, demeaning, rude, and "reminded me of Margaret Thatcher." Thompson plays the acerbic author in Saving Mr. Banks.

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Will Ferrell and Christina Applegate reprise their roles as competing news anchors in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

Arts

A 'Kind Of A Big Deal' Gets Even Bigger In 'Anchorman 2'

2:43pm December 19, 2013

by NPR Staff

In a sequel, Ron Burgundy makes the leap from local to national news. "We felt like we needed to jack up the stakes," says director and co-writer Adam McKay. He and star Will Ferrell join Terry Gross to talk about making movies — and that epic 'stache.

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Joel (left) and Ethan Coen wrote and directed Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man and True Grit. Their latest film is Inside Llewyn Davis.

Arts

The Coen Bros. On Writing, 'Lebowski' And Literally Herding Cats

12:21am December 18, 2013

Inside Llewyn Davis -- starring Oscar Isaac and a disobedient cat — is the latest from the filmmaking duo. The brothers talk with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about their writing process ("It's mostly napping") and the cult status of their 1998 film The Big Lebowski ("How do you explain that? I have no idea.")

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Joaquin Phoenix plays a man in love with an operating system in director Spike Jonze's latest film, Her.

Arts

Spike Jonze Opens His Heart For 'Her'

8:49pm December 16, 2013

by NPR Staff

In the director's sci-fi romance, a man (Joaquin Phoenix) falls very much in love with his computer operating system (Scarlett Johansson). Jonze spoke with NPR's Audie Cornish about going to the future to direct an old-fashioned love story.

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In All Is Lost, Robert Redford plays an unnamed sailor, stranded at sea on a badly damaged yacht.

Arts

At 77, Robert Redford Goes Back To His Roots

6:23pm December 12, 2013

by NPR Staff

Redford says filming All Is Lost was a "pure cinematic experience — the way films used to be." He talks with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about how it's been "sort of weird" being known for his good looks, and about how he nearly wasn't cast in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

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Michael Sheen plays Dr. William Masters, the senior member of a research team that conducted pioneering studies for more than three decades into the physiology of human sexuality.

Arts

Michael Sheen On The 'Accuracy And Invention' Of Real-Life Roles

2:25pm December 11, 2013

Sheen has made a name for himself playing real historical figures, including Mozart, Caligula, Prime Minister Tony Blair and British TV host David Frost. Now, in the Showtime drama Masters of Sex, he plays the part of groundbreaking sex researcher William Masters.

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