Movies

'Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind' Explores Comic's Creative Life

5:48pm July 15, 2018

by Eric Deggans

A new documentary, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, airs Monday on HBO. It aims to bring the viewer into his mind to see how he saw the world and the challenges he struggled with.

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National

MoviePass CEO Discusses Future Of Company And Business Model

5:48pm July 15, 2018

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe about the future of the MoviePass subscription service, which is on the brink of bankruptcy.

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Arts

Movie 'Eighth Grade' Dares You To Relive Those Teenage Years

10:18am July 15, 2018

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with comedian Bo Burnham about his new film, Eighth Grade.

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Nigel Ndlovu, a filmmaker and independent candidate for Zimbabwe's parliament in this month's elections, was a judge for the competition. "Being Zimbabwean right now, it means freedom, it means speaking out against injustices," he says.

'Free But Not Free': Zimbabwe's Amateur Filmmakers Turn A Lens On Their Country

9:00am July 14, 2018

For a contest after the ouster of Robert Mugabe, filmmakers responded to the question "What does it mean to be Zimbabwean?" Their short films featured some uncomfortable answers.

Scarlett Johansson announced on Friday she is dropping out of the starring role in Rub & Tug, a film about a transgender man who ran an extensive prostitution ring during the 1970s and '80s.

National

Amid Backlash, Scarlett Johansson Drops Transgender Role

7:47pm July 13, 2018

by Vanessa Romo

"In light of recent ethical questions raised surrounding my casting as Dante Tex Gill, I have decided to respectfully withdraw my participation in the project," Johansson said in a statement Friday.

Arts

Remembering 1950s Hollywood Heartthrob Tab Hunter

5:09pm July 13, 2018

by Terry Gross

Hunter, who died Sunday, made more than 50 films, including Damn Yankees, Battle Cry and That Kind of Woman, before coming out as gay later in life. He spoke to Fresh Air in 2005.

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In 'What Will People Say' A Norwegian Teenager Must Navigate A Clash Of Cultures

4:34pm July 13, 2018

by Bob Mondello

Immigration, culture clashes and divided families are all part of the cultural conversation in What Will People Say. Filmmaker Iram Haq based this story on her own experience as a young woman in Norway.

If You're Familiar With Bo Burnham's Humor, 'Eighth Grade' Will Surprise You

5:01pm July 12, 2018

by Bob Mondello

YouTube star Bo Burnham is mostly known for the rapid-fire comic videos he started making as a teenager. Now 27, he has an impressively diverse resume that now includes movie director asEighth Grade, a film from about the moment when adolescence kicks in debuts.

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Dark Money shadows Montana journalist John Adams as he uncovers the influence of untraceable corporate money on the electoral process.

Arts

Riveting Documentary Sheds Light On 'Dark Money' In Montana Politics

5:00pm July 12, 2018

by Ella Taylor

"If 98 movie minutes about the subversion of campaign financing isn't quite your idea of beating the summer heat," says critic Ella Taylor, "there's not a dull or dry moment" in this incisive doc.

Elsie Fisher plays Kayla, a teenager voted the "most quiet" girl in her class, in the film, Eighth Grade.

Arts

'Eighth Grade' Captures Awkwardness And Impermanence Of American Adolescence

5:00pm July 12, 2018

by Justin Chang

Elsie Fisher stars as a teenage girl about to graduate from middle school in Bo Burnham's new film. Critic Justin Chang calls Eighth Grade an "enormously affecting" film that plays like a documentary.