Movie Interviews

In High Flying Bird, directed by Steven Soderbergh with a screenplay from Tarell Alvin McCraney, André Holland plays Ray Burke — a sports agent with a scheme to shake up the NBA.

Sports

'High Flying Bird': In An NBA Lockout, An Agent Shoots His Shot

8:07am February 02, 2019

by Scott Simon

Actor André Holland imagined professional basketball if athletes had real agency. So he teamed up with director Steven Soderburgh for a movie which imagines what that might look like.

As in Dan Gilroy's previous film, Jake Gyllenhaal stars in the comedy-horror hybrid Velvet Buzzsaw. Gyllenhaal plays an art critic named Morf, while Zawe Ashton plays gallery assistant Josephina.

Arts

Both Satire And Slasher, 'Velvet Buzzsaw' Sends Up Contemporary Art

5:42pm February 01, 2019

Writer and director Dan Gilroy brings back Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo for his newest feature, a horror-comedy set in the modern art world. Also, the male lead is named Morf.

Arts

Remembering Character Actor Dick Miller

1:22pm February 01, 2019

by Terry Gross

"You don't have to be a leading man" to make it in Hollywood, Miller told Fresh Air in 1990. He appeared in more than 100 films, including Gremlins and The Little Shop of Horrors.

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Composer Nicholas Britell says cellos were central to the score he wrote for If Beale Street Could Talk (starring Stephan James and KiKi Layne, above): "The cellos really became for us this symbol of love, because the movie is about love and injustice."

'Beale Street' And 'Vice' Composer Isn't Afraid To Play The 'Wrong' Notes

3:40pm January 30, 2019

by Terry Gross

Oscar-nominated film composer Nicholas Britell seeks out sounds that capture a movie's essence. His process involves many discussions with directors — and a lot of experimenting.

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Alan Alda On 'MASH' And His 'Tremendous Education' Growing Up In A Burlesque Club

1:33pm January 25, 2019

by Terry Gross

Alda, who spoke to Terry Gross in 1997, is being awarded the lifetime achievement award by the Screen Actors Guild on Sunday for his humanitarian efforts and acting roles.

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'Who Will Write Our History' Gives New Insight Into Warsaw Ghetto

6:19pm January 20, 2019

An unearthed archive of eyewitness accounts from the Warsaw ghetto forms the basis of a new Holocaust documentary Who Will Write Our History? NPR's Melissa Block interviews filmmaker Roberta Grossman.

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Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly star as the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy in the film Stan & Ollie.

Arts

John C. Reilly On The Comedy Of Laurel And Hardy: 'It's Almost Like A Ballet'

3:52pm January 15, 2019

by Dave Davies

"The brilliant thing about their work when you watch it, it seems so nonchalant," Reilly says of the iconic slapstick duo. He plays Oliver Hardy in the new film Stan & Ollie.

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Billy McFarland in a screenshot from FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened.

Music & Culture

Fyre Festival Documentary Shows 'Perception And Reality' Of Infamous Concert Flop

7:43am January 13, 2019

In 2017, the Fyre Music Festival was billed as an exclusive event in the Bahamas. The reality was very different. Director Chris Smith tells the behind-the-scenes story in a new Netflix documentary.

Actor and comedian Kevin Hart speaks onstage at the Academy Awards in 2016. Hart was slated to host the 2019 Oscars but withdrew after he was criticized for controversial jokes he made in 2010.

Arts

Kevin Hart Says Comedy's Full Of 'Flawed But Funny' People, Himself Included

11:26am January 11, 2019

by Terry Gross

Hart reflects on the controversial jokes from his past that led him to step down from hosting the Oscars. "Sometimes to grow as a comedian, you got to go through the stupid part," he says.

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Felicity Jones as Ruth Bader Ginsburg in On the Basis of Sex.

Arts

'On The Basis Of Sex' Follows A Fiery Young Ruth Bader Ginsburg

7:42am January 10, 2019

by Rachel Martin

The Supreme Court Justice is having a moment — a documentary, several biographies, even a coloring book. Now, a new movie chronicles her early career, including a landmark discrimination case.

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