Movie Interviews

James Franco plays eccentric filmmaker Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist. Franco says Wiseau "looks sort of like a mix between a vampire and a pirate and Michael Jackson. ... He has long black hair that looks like it's dyed with magic marker."

Arts

James Franco Tackles A Hollywood Story 'Unlike Any Other' In 'Disaster Artist'

3:06pm December 06, 2017

by Terry Gross

Franco's new film is a behind-the-scenes take on the making of the 2003 cult classic The Room. "It was made for $6 million," he says. "It looks like it was made for about $60."

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Film actress Hedy Lamarr, pictured here around 1955, was both a major star on screen and an inventor by night.

Arts

In 'Bombshell,' The Double Identity Of Hollywood Star Hedy Lamarr

8:08am December 03, 2017

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

In Alexandra Dean's new documentary, the stunning silver-screen beauty of the 1930s and '40s is also the inventor of a technology that makes today's wireless encryption possible.

Actor Bambadjan Bamba recently revealed his status as an undocumented immigrant and DACA recipient.

National

Actor Who Came Out As Undocumented Is Fighting For Hollywood To Stand With DACA

8:09pm December 02, 2017

by Michel Martin

After announcing that he is a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, actor Bambadjan Bamba is working to place pressure on Hollywood to act in favor of saving DACA.

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Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen star in Wind River.

Arts

Elizabeth Olsen On A 'Wind River' Oscar Campaign Without Weinstein

7:44am December 02, 2017

by Scott Simon

The actress stars in the film once distributed by The Weinstein Company. "Everyday we're learning more about men in power and sexual assault," she says. "And those are what this film is about."

Sally Hawkins and Octavia Spencer play cleaning ladies Elisa and Zelda in The Shape of Water.

Arts

Guillermo Del Toro Says 'Shape Of Water' Is An Antidote For Today's Cynicism

5:04am December 01, 2017

by Tori Whitley

In the Mexican director's latest film, a mute cleaning lady befriends a sea creature who is able to communicate without words. "The movie is about connecting with 'the other,' " del Toro says.

James Franco And Seth Rogen Remake A Cinematic Disaster

5:05am November 28, 2017

by David Greene

In 2003, a film called The Room was released in Los Angeles. It became a cult hit. James Franco and Seth Rogen have made their own movie based on The Room — it's called The Disaster Artist.

Dan Stevens as Charles Dickens and Christopher Plummer as Ebenezer Scrooge in The Man Who Invented Christmas.

Books
Arts

Bookseller's Foray Into Hollywood Is A Dickens Of A Tale

4:38pm November 27, 2017

by Lynn Neary

Mitch Kaplan runs Books & Books in Miami, and helped start the popular Miami Book Fair. Now, he's making movies based on books, like the new Charles Dickens biopic The Man Who Invented Christmas.

In Call Me By Your Name, Oliver (Armie Hammer, left) and Elio (TimothÃ©e Chalamet) spend a summer falling in love in Northern Italy.

Arts

Armie Hammer Says Filming 'Call Me By Your Name' Was Its Own Summer Romance

5:31pm November 22, 2017

by Ari Shapiro

The film tells the story of two young men who fall in love one summer in Northern Italy. Hammer describes it as "just watching two people explore and learn that love is love."

In Coco, young Miguel's love of music ultimately leads him to the Land of the Dead where he teams up with charming trickster Hector.

Arts

Mexico, Music And Family Take Center Stage In 'Coco'

5:04am November 20, 2017

by Mandalit del Barco

Pixar's newest movie is meant to be a love letter to Mexico. Coco has an all-Latino cast, it's packed with references to Mexican culture, and it went right to No. 1 at the Mexican box office.

Hari Kondabolu is the writer and star of the new documentary "The Problem With Apu."

Arts

A New Documentary Calls Into Question The Simpson's 'Apu'

6:00am November 19, 2017

by Eric Deggans

Comedian Hari Kondabolu's new documentary, The Problem with Apu, unearths an essential truth about Hollywood: "Success justifies everything." Even racism.