Movie Interviews

Rebecca Miller's new documentary film Arthur Miller: Writer is based on decades of home footage and interviews she conducted with her father.

Arts

Documenting The Offstage Life Of Playwright Arthur Miller (AKA Dad)

5:12pm April 08, 2018

by Michel Martin

In a new film, Rebecca Miller paints an intimate portrait of her father, the towering icon of American theater and one-time celebrity, out of decades' worth of home interviews.

In this image released by HBO, Al Pacino portrays Joe Paterno in Paterno, a film about the late Penn State football coach. The movie directed by Barry Levinson debuts April 7.

Sports
Arts

Barry Levinson's 'Paterno' Examines A Coach's Passion, And His Complicity

8:11am April 07, 2018

by Scott Detrow

The Penn State coach's fall from grace is depicted in a new HBO movie, Paterno, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Al Pacino.

Carol (Edie Falco) is a teacher whose life is thrown into disarray when a former student returns from prison.

Arts

Edie Falco Plays A Middle-Aged Teacher With A Lot To Learn In 'Outside In'

8:16am April 01, 2018

by Korva Coleman

Falco's character, Carol, feels trapped in her mundane job and marriage. But everything changes when a former student returns after 20 years in prison.

Queue Listen Now

The new two-part documentary The Zen Diaries Of Garry Shandling relies on personal journals and private documents to better understand the late comedian.

Arts

Judd Apatow Mines The Mystery Of His Mentor: Garry Shandling

5:00am March 26, 2018

by David Greene

Apatow drew on the late groundbreaking comedian's personal journals to create a 4 1/2 hour HBO documentary called The Zen Diaries Of Garry Shandling.

Queue Listen Now

"I'm just like you," says the titular lead of Love, Simon (played by Nick Robinson, second from left) in his opening voiceover.

Arts

'Love, Simon' Is Your Typical Glossy, Hollywood, Teenage, Gay Rom-Com

1:48pm March 18, 2018

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

It's a coming-of-age story that's also a coming-out story — and it's in mainstream theaters around the country. Director Greg Berlanti says that's a big deal.

Queue Listen Now

Storm Reid, who plays Meg Murray in the film, arrives at the world premiere of "A Wrinkle in Time" at the El Capitan Theatre on Monday, Feb. 26, 2018, in Los Angeles.

Arts

Imagining — Yet Again — A New Disney Heroine

6:00am March 18, 2018

by Christabel Nsiah-Buadi

For decades, Disney has been criticized for its passive, love-struck heroines. Do the women in Black Panther and A Wrinkle In Time finally signal real change?

The new documentary Take Your Pills spoke with over 100 college students and working adults about their use of prescription stimulants as productivity aids.

A New Documentary About Adults On Adderall — And Not Just For ADHD

10:05pm March 15, 2018

by Sarah McCammon

Alison Klayman's new film Take Your Pills looks at the pervasiveness of prescription stimulants — Adderall, Ritalin, and others — in college classrooms and workplaces in the U.S.

Queue Listen Now

Actor Danny Trejo, shown here in 2014, produced the documentary Survivors Guide To Prison, which focuses on injustices within the criminal justice system.

Arts

Danny Trejo On Acting, Addiction And Playing 'The Mean Chicano Dude'

5:34pm March 14, 2018

by Terry Gross

Trejo says that his experience standing in the San Quentin prison yard waiting for a riot prepared him for acting: "You're absolutely scared to death ... [but] you have to pretend you're not."

Queue Listen Now

Books
Arts

From The 'Fresh Air' Archives: Eddie Bunker, Who Honed His Writing Craft In Prison

2:05pm March 14, 2018

Bunker, who died in 2005, spent 18 years in prison before becoming a successful writer. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1985 film Runaway Train, which helped launch the career of actor Danny Trejo.

Queue Listen Now

National

In 'Bomb City,' First-Time Filmmakers Tell True Crime Story From Texas

4:26pm March 12, 2018

by Wade Goodwyn

Two filmmakers from Amarillo, Texas, released their debut film about the death of a young man in the late '90s after a jocks versus punks brawl that got widespread national attention and exposed deep divisions in the city. The film, Bomb City, carries a nickname for Amarillo, the only city in the country with a nuclear assembly plant.

Queue Listen Now