Movies

Just 10% Of Popular Movies Had A Muslim Character. Riz Ahmed Wants To Change That

12:24pm June 12, 2021

by Mandalit del Barco

The Oscar-nominated actor is launching an initiative on Muslim representation in movies, after a new study showed less than 10% of the top films between 2017 and 2019 depicted Muslims on screen.

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Benny (Corey Hawkins), Sonny (Gregory Diaz IV) and Usnavi (Anthony Ramos) chat in Usnavi's Washington Heights bodega.

How Lin-Manuel Miranda And Quiara Alegría Hudes Assert Dignity With 'In The Heights'

8:04am June 12, 2021

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Lin-Manuel Miranda and screenwriter Quiara Alegría Hudes about their new film In the Heights, based off the Tony-award winning musical Miranda created and starred in.

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Asha Gond, 21, with her skateboard. She tried the sport when a skatepark was set up in her rural village and is now one of India's top female skateboarders.

Skateboarding Gives Freedom To Rural Indian Teen In Netflix Film — And In Real Life

6:57pm June 11, 2021

by Sushmita Pathak

A new Netflix movie called Skater Girl chronicles the journey of an Indian teenage girl who discovers a life-changing passion for skateboarding. It's also the story of Asha Gond.

Arts

Remembering 'Mod Squad' Actor Clarence Williams III

2:25pm June 11, 2021

by Terry Gross

Williams, who died June 4, acted on Broadway before moving on to TV and film roles, including The Mod Squad, Purple Rain, Half Baked and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka. Originally broadcast in 1995.

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Anthony Ramos and Melissa Barrera play Usnavi and Vanessa in the film In the Heights.

Arts

'In The Heights' Is A Spirited, Socially Undistanced, Summer Crowd Pleaser

2:25pm June 11, 2021

by Justin Chang

Set during a record-breaking New York City heat wave, this vibrant screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's stage musical pulses with musical numbers that blend of hip-hop, Latin pop and salsa.

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Arts

COMIC: Director Jon M. Chu's Long Journey From Home Videos To 'In The Heights'

7:38am June 11, 2021

Hollywood director Jon M. Chu got his start splicing VHS tapes of home videos, but it took him two decades — and acceptance of his cultural identity — to realize what stories he really wanted to tell.

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'In The Heights' Leaps From Stage To Screen With Exuberance To Spare

8:00pm June 10, 2021

by Bob Mondello

In the Heights is Lin-Manuel Miranda's pre-Hamilton Broadway musical directed by Jon Chu for the big screen. The story celebrates not a founding father, but a New York neighborhood.

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Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights has been adapted for the big screen, directed by Jon M. Chu. Filming on the street, they'd stop for passing emergency vehicles and their time was limited by the natural light.

Arts

'In The Heights' Dances From The Stage, To The Streets, To The Screen

9:33am June 10, 2021

by Mandalit del Barco

Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tony-winning musical is an ode to the neighborhood near where he grew up. Now a movie musical, the film's director, cinematographer and choreographer discuss the new adaptation.

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Multifaceted Mod Clarence Williams III Dead At 81

5:30pm June 08, 2021

by Mandalit del Barco

Actor Clarence Williams III has died. He was best known for playing Linc Hayes on The Mod Squad and Prince's father in Purple Rain.

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Rita Moreno won an Academy Award for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Anita in the 1961 film West Side Story.

Arts

Rita Moreno On 'West Side Story' And Becoming The Role Model She Needed

3:09pm June 07, 2021

by Terry Gross

Moreno moved to New York from Puerto Rico as a child. She says her West Side Story role is "the only part I ever remember where I represented Hispanics in a dignified and positive way."

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