Movie Interviews

Oscar Isaac as the titular character in Joel and Ethan Coen's Inside Llewyn Davis.

Music & Culture

On Becoming Llewyn Davis, A Hero Who Excels At Failing

4:10pm December 06, 2013

by NPR Staff

Actor Oscar Isaac disappears into the title role of the new Coen brothers film, Inside Llewyn Davis, a black comedy about a '60s folk singer who just can't make it, no matter what he does. He speaks with NPR's Melissa Block about playing the less-than-likable character.

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The Best Man Holiday is Malcolm Lee's sequel to his film Best Man.

'Best Man Holiday' Resonates Across Racial Lines

7:36pm December 02, 2013

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Filmmaker Malcolm Lee most recently directed Best Man Holiday. His production company, Blackmaled Productions, focuses on the image of black men on-screen.

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Arts

Director Alexander Payne On Mining Every Film For Comic Potential

2:18pm December 02, 2013

Payne tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross that he first read Nebraska — a film about an old man who is beginning to show signs of dementia — as a comedy "with moments of gravity." Payne also directed Election, About Schmidt, Sideways and The Descendants.

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Idris Elba Portrays Mandela In 'Long Walk To Freedom'

11:42am November 29, 2013

A new movie captures the story of one of the world's great leaders. It's a classic biopic of a towering figure: Nelson Mandela. And it takes audiences through the many chapters of his sweeping life. Morning Edition's Renee Montagne talks to Idris Elba about playing the legendary South African leader.

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The new Disney film Frozen is the tale of sisters Anna and Elsa, whose relationship is captured in music by songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.

Music & Culture

In A Tale Of Two Sisters, The Story's In The Songs

5:52pm November 24, 2013

by NPR Staff

Iconic Disney moments aren't just about the characters, but the songs they sing. Husband-and-wife team Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez composed music for the new Disney film Frozen, capturing the friendship of sisters Elsa and Anna.

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Joel Allen Schroeder dove into the world of Calvin & Hobbes for Dear Mr. Watterson, an admiring documentary about the strip.

Arts

On The Timeless Appeal Of 'Calvin & Hobbes'

6:39pm November 16, 2013

by NPR Staff

The documentary Dear Mr. Watterson explores the world of the classic comic strip. NPR's Don Gonyea spoke with director Joel Allen Schroeder about the film and the strip, which still has devoted fans long after the final panels appeared in the paper.

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Steve Coogan acts alongside Judi Dench in Philomena, the story of a woman searching for her son and the cynical journalist helping her find him.

Arts

Steve Coogan, Tacking Toward The Funny Side Of Serious

8:07pm November 15, 2013

by NPR Staff

In Philomena, the British comedian plays a journalist helping an older woman track down the son she was forced to give up for adoption. Coogan tells NPR's Robert Siegel about the project — one with a bit more weight than his usual work.

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Bruce Dern has been acting for more than 50 years. In Nebraska, he plays a man on a mission to collect $1 million.

Arts

Actor Bruce Dern Gets Up Close And Personal In 'Nebraska'

4:08pm November 14, 2013

by NPR Staff

Dern's new film follows a man named Woody who is starting to show signs of dementia. When Woody falls for one of those junk-mail sweepstakes come-ons, he becomes convinced that he's won $1 million and sets out on foot to collect the cash. Dern tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross, "[Nebraska] is the most personal movie I've ever done in my career."

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Jake Gyllenhaal plays the stoic Detective Loki in Prisoners, trying to track down two missing girls.

Arts

Jake Gyllenhaal, Going After What's Real

8:08pm November 08, 2013

by NPR Staff

On a visit to the set of Nightcrawler, NPR's Audie Cornish talks to the actor about his changing career and his recent crime drama, Prisoners, where he plays a solemn detective in search of two young missing girls.

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In Dallas Buyers Club, Jared Leto plays Rayon, a transgender woman who is HIV-positive and struggling with a drug habit. "I always saw Rayon as someone who wanted to live ... life as a woman, not just someone who enjoyed putting on women's clothing," Leto

Arts

Jared Leto Was 'Seduced' By Role Of Rayon In 'Buyers Club'

3:25pm October 31, 2013

In Dallas Buyers Club, Leto plays Rayon, a transgender woman who is living with HIV and a drug habit. Rayon becomes an unlikely friend to Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey), a rodeo cowboy who starts smuggling HIV drugs from Mexico in the 1980s after he's diagnosed as HIV-positive and given just a few weeks to live.

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