Movies

The documentary I Am Big Bird tells the story of Caroll Spinney (left), who has been the man inside the yellow suit for more than 40 years.

Arts

At 81, The Man Behind Big Bird Sees 'No Reason To Quit'

10:26am May 02, 2015

by NPR Staff

"It's an awfully good job," Caroll Spinney says, of the more than 40 years he has spent on Sesame Street. A new documentary tells the story of the octogenarian man playing a 6-year-old bird.

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Far From the Madding Crowd features feisty heroines, sturdy heroes, and three — yes, three -- men vying for the heroine's affection.

Arts

'Far From The Madding Crowd': Counterprogramming Writ Victorian

1:59am May 02, 2015

by Bob Mondello

NPR film critic Bob Mondello reviews the new movie version of Thomas Hardy's Victorian romance, Far From The Madding Crowd.

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Troubled Chicago Neighborhood Wary Of Spike Lee's 'Chiraq'

6:44pm May 01, 2015

by Natalie Moore

Mayor Rahm Emanuel objects to director Spike Lee's decision to set a new film in the beleaguered Chicago neighborhood of Englewood. The movie, Chiraq, focuses on black-on-black violence.

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Ariana Rivoire and Isabelle Carré in Marie's Story.

Arts

In 'Marie's Story,' A Tale Of Teaching And Faith

4:47pm May 01, 2015

by Mark Jenkins

A new French film about a girl born blind and deaf speaks not only to the questions of how she learns, but of her encounters with faith and loss.

Actors dressed in full Ku Klux Klan regalia for scenes in 1915's The Birth of a Nation.

Arts

100 Years Later, What's The Legacy Of 'Birth Of A Nation'?

3:45pm May 01, 2015

by NPR Staff

D.W. Griffith's film premiered in Los Angeles a century ago Sunday. In many ways, the movie — three hours of racist propaganda — was the beginning of Hollywood.

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Arts

Hollywood Offers Up A Bevy Of Superheroes In 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'

3:42pm May 01, 2015

by David Edelstein

Reviewer David Edelstein says Joss Whedon's new film plays like "a strategic set-up for a Hollywood franchise." Viewers will be blitzed by sound and fury — and a certain amount of "gobbledegook."

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Timothy Spall Takes On Painter J.M.W. Turner, A 'Master Of The Sublime'

3:12pm May 01, 2015

Spall had to "dig deep" to play the title role in Mr. Turner, which is now out on DVD. The 19th century painter was a "man of massive contradictions," he says. Originally broadcast Dec. 15, 2014.

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Zanta now lives on the outskirts of Beijing.

World News

American Film On A Tibetan Migrant Finds Unlikely Success — In China

2:51pm May 01, 2015

by Frank Langfitt

Because Tibet is a sensitive topic, you might expect the Chinese government to ban Nowhere to Call Home. But the documentary about a widow and her son is quietly making the rounds — and winning fans.

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Whiteness Project participants were filmed talking about race. The project doesn't use their names, to encourage frankness.

The Whiteness Project: Facing Race In A Changing America

2:48pm May 01, 2015

by Karen Grigsby Bates

A filmmaker invited white residents of Buffalo, N.Y., to speak candidly about race. NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates finds that the results are thought-provoking, often surprising and sometimes disturbing.

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Carey Mulligan plays Bathsheba Everdene in a new film adaptation of Thomas Hardy's 1874 novel, Far From the Madding Crowd.

Books
Arts

Carey Mulligan Returns To Period Drama For A Thomas Hardy Classic

1:54pm May 01, 2015

by NPR Staff

The actress spent years avoiding the genre for fear of getting pigeonholed, but she says she made an exception for Far From the Madding Crowd because of Hardy's modern, forward-thinking heroine.

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