Movies

Carol Duarte and Josh O'Connor in La Chimera.

Arts

'La Chimera' is marvelous — right up to its most magical ending

1:59pm April 02, 2024

by Justin Chang

An archeological tomb robber wanders Italy, haunted by the memory of lost love. La Chimera is a playful fable that builds to not one but two thrilling scenes of underground exploration.

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Women's college basketball is hot, says now-retired WBNA player Sue Bird (shown here in 2022). "If you liked us in college, why didn't you follow us to the WNBA? It is probably one of the more interesting and maybe more difficult questions to answer."

Sports
Arts

Why haven't NCAA fans always followed the WNBA? Sue Bird has her theories

1:49pm April 01, 2024

by Terry Gross

Bird notes that WNBA players represent society's most marginalized groups. "We're Black, we're women, we're gay," she says. "And those are the groups that are held back in our society."

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Arts

'Shirley' is a celebratory biopic that doesn't end in triumph

6:43pm March 30, 2024

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Regina King and John Ridley, star and director of the biopic Shirley which celebrates Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress.

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People walk by a poster to promote the movie Oppenheimer on Friday in Tokyo.

'Oppenheimer' finally premieres in Japan to mixed reactions and high emotions

7:27pm March 29, 2024

by Anthony Kuhn

The film's release in Japan, more than eight months after it opened in the U.S., had been watched with trepidation because of the sensitivity of the subject matter.

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Arts

Louis Gossett Jr., first black man to win Best Support Actor Oscar, dies

4:33pm March 29, 2024

by Neda Ulaby

Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as a gunnery sergeant in An Officer and a Gentleman, has died. He was 87.

Arts

2 filmmakers capture a young Nigerian ballet dancer's journey in 'Madu'

5:14am March 29, 2024

NPR's Debbie Elliott speaks to Anthony Madu, a young Nigerian ballet dancer who's featured in a new Disney+ documentary about his discovery, and move to a prestigious ballet school in England.

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The wooden door panel that saves Rose's life in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic was one of hundreds of iconic Hollywood props, and several from the movie, auctioned off in a five-day sale last week.

The piece of wood that saved (only) Rose in 'Titanic' was auctioned off for $718k

1:15pm March 28, 2024

by Rachel Treisman

The debris that saved Rose's life in Titanic — and sparked a quarter-century of debate — fetched over $718,000 at an auction of iconic Hollywood movie props last week. It's based on a real artifact.

Kevin Hart received the 25th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on March 24th, 2024.

Arts

Kevin Hart takes home his Mark Twain Prize for American humor

9:19am March 25, 2024

by Elizabeth Blair

Kevin Hart received the 25th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at The Kennedy Center Sunday night. Fellow comedians Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld and Chelsea Handler were there to roast him.

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World News

Iranian filmmakers escaping censorship at home finds it has followed them abroad

7:59am March 24, 2024

by Peter Kenyon

Iranian filmmakers produced a movie about Tehran's crackdown on the 2022 women's protest movement in Iran. They have fled to Turkey but still find it hard to get their message out.

Jake Gyllenhaal is a former UFC star who becomes a bouncer in Road House.

Arts

This recycled 'Road House' can't capture the B-movie spirit of the original

11:35am March 22, 2024

by Justin Chang

The new remake of the 1989 Patrick Swayze film comes up short, caught between an unironic '80s homage and a more wised-up contemporary sensibility.