Movies

Arts

'Star Wars' Just Keeps Breaking Records

4:31pm January 08, 2016

by NPR Staff

NPR's Audie Cornish talks to director J.J. Abrams about making the movie; he says he feels an 'enormous relief that it's out in the world.' Warning: This will not be a spoiler-free conversation!

Original American Idol judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell on stage in 2008.

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'American Idol' Sails Off Into The Sunset

3:18pm January 08, 2016

by Linda Holmes

This week, we look back on American Idol as it prepares to finally take its gargantuan self out to the place where old shows live happily in retirement. Plus: a new round of People We're Pulling For.

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World News

Why 'Star Wars' Tickets May Be A Tough Sell In China

6:14am January 08, 2016

by Frank Langfitt

The franchise isn't well known in the world's second-largest movie market. When the first Star Wars film debuted in 1977, Chinese were still wearing Mao suits and were largely cut off from the world.

Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett (right) begin a love affair after meeting in a department store in Carol.

Arts

'Carol' Star Cate Blanchett On The 'Empathetic Connection' Of Acting

6:59pm January 07, 2016

NPR's Kelly McEvers talks to Cate Blanchett about playing the title character in Carol, which tells the story of two women who fall in love in 1950s New York.

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Kristen Stewart in a scene from Anesthesia.

Arts

In 'Anesthesia,' Separate Threads That Take Too Long To Be Joined

5:00pm January 07, 2016

by Scott Tobias

Sam Waterston stars in this ensemble piece that frustratingly refuses to reveal connections between its many stories until it's too late to engage viewers.

Cuzin Toma and Adrian Purcarescu in a scene from The Treasure.

Arts

For 2 Men, A Search For 'Treasure'

5:00pm January 07, 2016

by Mark Jenkins

Romanian writer-director Corneliu Porumboiu follows two men using a metal detector to find riches a family once buried.

Oona Laurence and Ross Partridge in a scene from Lamb.

Arts

A Trip No Young Person Should Take In 'Lamb'

5:00pm January 07, 2016

by Andrew Lapin

Writer-director Ross Partridge also stars in this story of a man who, for reasons of his own, fixates on a young girl he meets in a parking lot.

Animation Pairs With Soul-Crushing Isolation In 'Anomalisa'

1:43pm January 07, 2016

by David Edelstein

The new film by Duke Johnson and Charlie Kaufman uses stop-motion animation to tell a quasi-love story. Critic David Edelstein calls Anomalisa amazing — but also creepy and, ultimately, unsatisfying.

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Arts

In 'Carol,' 2 Women Leap Into An Unlikely Love Affair

4:47pm January 06, 2016

Screenwriter Phyllis Nagy and director Todd Haynes discuss their new film based on Patricia Highsmith's 1952 novel, The Price of Salt. Nagy says the story was "extremely forward thinking."

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Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, was the central figure in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But she was far from a central figurine when it came to the movie's tie-in toys and games.

Arts

#WhereIsRey? She's On Her Way, Says Hasbro

3:22pm January 06, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

The newest Star Wars Monopoly game featured Finn, Kylo Ren, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader — but not the latest film's heroine, Rey. Hasbro says it will add her to the game this year.