Movies

Actress Anne Heche attends the WIN Awards at Santa Monica Bay Womans Club on December 11, 2013 in Santa Monica, California.

Arts

Anne Heche's reported hospitalization after a car crash divides social media

2:08pm August 06, 2022

by Chloe Veltman

The 53-year-old, who first rose to fame on the soap opera Another World, was reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed when she crashed into two homes.

Aasif Mandvi as Ben Shakir, Mike Colter as David Acosta, and Katja Herbers as Kristen Bouchard in Evil

Arts

What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend reading, listening and viewing

5:44pm August 05, 2022

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: Devil in a Blue Dress, Evil, and more.

Leslie Grace as Batgirl in the latest incarnation of the superhero.

Arts

New studio execs slay 'Batgirl,' but she's been through tougher fights

2:41pm August 05, 2022

by Mandalit del Barco

Warner Bros. Discovery has shelved production of its film Batgirl. It's a good time to recall her path to this point.

Super Fly, lobbycard, from left: Sheila Frazier, Ron O'Neal, 1972.

Arts

Super Fly at 50: A blaxploitation classic that remains a powerful pop culture force

6:23pm August 04, 2022

by Eric Deggans

The movie's gritty, authentic depiction of street life and its flamboyant lead character created archetypes that have inspired legions of future storytellers and musicians.

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A girl sits in front of a bakery in the crowd with Afghan women waiting to receive bread in Kabul on Jan. 31, 2022.

World News

Undercover journalist in Afghanistan finds Taliban are abducting, imprisoning women

1:57pm August 04, 2022

by Terry Gross

Filmmaker Ramita Navai has seen girls and women forced to marry Taliban members or arrested for violating the morality code. Her new PBS Frontline documentary is Afghanistan Undercover.

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Actress Leslie Grace at the MTV Video Music Awards in Sept. 2021. Grace filmed the title role in Batgirl — which the studio has permanently shelved.

Arts

Warner Bros. kills off 'Batgirl' movie, $90 million in

5:11pm August 03, 2022

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Sorry, DC universe fans: the movie, which starred 'In The Heights' actress Leslie Grace in the title role, will not be released theatrically or on HBO Max.

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Nichelle Nichols made history for her role as communications officer Lt. Uhura on Star Trek.

Nichelle Nichols, Lt. Uhura on 'Star Trek,' dies at 89

6:00pm July 31, 2022

by Mandalit del Barco

Nichols broke ground and paved the way for Black actors in Hollywood as Uhura. Her castmate George Takei wrote, "We lived long and prospered together."

Will Smith apologizes to Chris Rock in a video on YouTube.

Arts

Will Smith apologizes to Chris Rock, this time in video

1:43pm July 29, 2022

by Mandalit del Barco

The Oscar winner had released a written apology earlier, but this time posted one on YouTube. He said his behavior, striking Rock in response to a joke, was unacceptable.

B.J. Novak says his movie 'Vengeance' is about breaking down false assumptions

6:37am July 29, 2022

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to actor B.J. Novak about starring in the new movie Vengeance. He also wrote the film's screenplay and made his directorial debut.

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James Caan was so persuasive as "Sonny" Corleone in The Godfather, that he got turned down when he tried to join a country club because its members thought that he, like his character, was a "made man."

Arts

Like a mob hit – the passing of a generation of movie gangsters

2:06pm July 28, 2022

by Bob Mondello

Funerals for Ray Liotta, Paul Sorvino, James Caan, Paul Herman, and Tony Sirico — all in a few weeks. It's the passing of a generation of Hollywood's most celebrated "mobsters."