Movie Interviews

The Rescue chronicles the 2018 rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach who were trapped deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand.

Documentary follows the divers who risked it all in the Thailand cave rescue

9:00am October 11, 2021

by Dave Davies

The Rescue follows the 18-day effort to rescue 12 boys and their coach from an underwater cave. Filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin recount the harrowing mission with diver Rick Stanton.

Books
Arts

'Noir Alley' host celebrates cinema's double crosses and doomed characters

8:57pm October 04, 2021

by Terry Gross

Eddie Muller's book, Dark City, chronicles film noir from the '40s and '50s. "A lot of factors ... go into making something of film noir," he says, including, a "very dark vision of existence."

Queue Listen Now

New documentary highlights the struggles of teenage farm workers in California

5:16pm October 04, 2021

Fruits of Labor is a new documentary from director Emily Cohen Ibañez. It follows a teenage farm worker Ashley Pavon as she navigates working long hours and tries to graduate from high school.

Arts

Remembering Melvin Van Peebles, the 'Godfather' of Black cinema

1:42pm October 01, 2021

by Terry Gross

Van Peebles, who died Sept. 21, was best known for his 1971 film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. He spoke with Fresh Air in 1990. His son Mario, also an actor/director, was interviewed in 2004.

Queue Listen Now

Arts

'Dear Evan Hansen' Actor Ben Platt Escapes From Anxiety By Being In The Spotlight

2:27pm September 27, 2021

by Terry Gross

Platt frequently worries about the past and what's to come, but there's one place where his anxiety tends to subside. "Being on stage, for me, is kind of the antidote to that," he says.

Queue Listen Now

With 'Blue Bayou,' Filmmaker Justin Chon Asks: Who Decides Who Is American?

5:26pm September 26, 2021

by Alyssa Jeong Perry

Justin Chon's new film Blue Bayou is about a Korean-born, American-raised adoptee who faces deportation back to Korea. Many adoptees without U.S. citizenship face that same problem in real life.

Arts

Tom Skerritt Grapples With His Own Death In 'East Of The Mountains'

8:56am September 25, 2021

NPR's Scott Simon talks to Tom Skerritt, who stars in East of the Mountains, a film about a retired heart surgeon dying of cancer.

'A La Calle' Co-Director: Stories Of Venezuela's Humanitarian Crisis Are Universal

5:12pm September 19, 2021

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Nelson G. Navarrete, co-director of the documentary A La Calle, and Leopoldo Lopez, one of the Venezuelan opposition leaders featured in the film.

Sports

Ken Burns On His New Docuseries 'Muhammad Ali'

5:12pm September 19, 2021

A new PBS series explores the life of the late American icon and boxing legend Muhammad Ali. NPR's Michel Martin speaks with series co-director, Ken Burns.

Jessica Chastain Finds Out Tammy Faye Bakker Was More Than A Punchline

5:21am September 17, 2021

NPR's Rachel Martin talks with actor Jessica Chastain, who plays televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in the new movie: The Eyes of Tammy Faye.