Movie Interviews

Jon Stewart's New Film Is About What's Gone Wrong With American Politics

3:52pm June 25, 2020

NPR's David Greene talks to Jon Stewart, former host of The Daily Show, about Irresistible, which stars Steve Carell and Rose Byrne. Stewart wrote and directed the comedy set in the world of politics.

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Spike Lee's 'Da 5 Bloods' Is Timely Amid Anti-Racism Protests

6:32am June 15, 2020

NPR's Noel King talks to director Spike Lee about his new film, Da 5 Bloods, in which four black veterans go back to present day Vietnam to bring home the remains of their beloved former squad leader.

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Delroy Lindo (center) stars in Da 5 Bloods as Paul, a Vietnam veteran whose conservative politics are driven by a sense of betrayal

Arts

Delroy Lindo: I Think Of 'Da 5 Bloods' As 'A Love Story'

8:00am June 13, 2020

by Scott Simon

Lindo stars in Spike Lee's new film about four black Vietnam vets who return decades later to bring home the body of a fallen friend. "These men are human beings ... loving human beings," he says."

Books
Arts

'Fresh Air' Listens Back To James Baldwin And Documentary Filmmaker Raoul Peck

1:25pm June 12, 2020

by Terry Gross

In 1986, Terry Gross interviewed Baldwin, one of the most influential black writers of the civil rights era. Then, in 2017, she spoke to Peck, director of I Am Not Your Negro, about Baldwin.

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Pete Davidson says playing a fictionalized version of himself in The King of Staten Island helped him come to terms with losing his father in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Arts

For Pete Davidson And Judd Apatow, 'Comedy Is A Beautiful Escape'

11:06am June 11, 2020

by Terry Gross

Davidson plays a fictionalized version of himself in The King of Staten Island, a film about a young man grieving the loss of his firefighter dad. Director Apatow calls the movie a "hopeful story."

Tracee Ellis Ross stars in The High Note as a legendary singer who is running out of ideas. Meanwhile, her personal assistant, played by Dakota Johnson, has too many.

Music & Culture

Tracee Ellis Ross Can Hit The High Notes, Too

2:23pm May 30, 2020

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks to Tracee Ellis Ross about starring in The High Note, a movie about an over-40 superstar singer navigating the music industry with her assistant, who has her own music dreams.

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Arts

Sharon Horgan And Kristin Scott Thomas' 'Military Wives' Out On Hulu

8:00am May 23, 2020

NPR"s Scott Simon speaks to actors Sharon Horgan and Kristin Scott Thomas about the new movie, which follows a group of women who form a choir to cope with their husbands' deployments to Afghanistan.

New FX Documentary Explores Life Of The Woman Behind Roe v. Wade Decision

3:58pm May 22, 2020

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with film director Nick Sweeney about his new documentary AKA Jane Roe, which is available on FX starting Friday.

Arts

Remembering Fred Willard, Emmy-Winning Comedy Actor And Improviser

1:55pm May 22, 2020

by Terry Gross

Willard, who died May 15, was known for his scene-stealing roles in the Christopher Guest films Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman, and later the series Modern Family. Originally broadcast in 1997.

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Arts

'Fresh Air' Remembers Screenwriter And Director Lynn Shelton

2:31pm May 21, 2020

by Terry Gross

Shelton, who died May 15, directed the films Humpday and Your Sister's Sister, as well as episodes of the TV shows Mad Men and Little Fires Everywhere. Originally broadcast in 2012.

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