Movies

Oscar Nominations Lack Diversity; 'Selma' Snubbed

10:59pm January 18, 2015

All 20 nominees in the actor and actress categories are white. The directors and screenwriters nominated are male. David Greene talks to Wesley Morris, who writes for the online magazine Grantland.

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Arts

London Project Aims To Increase Diversity Of Filmmakers

6:59pm January 17, 2015

Deborah Sathe, head of talent development and production for Film London's Microwave project, talks with NPR's Arun Rath about the project's efforts to recruit and mentor diverse filmmakers.

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Desiree Akhavan plays Shirin in Appropriate Behavior. Akhavan says she chose the name Shirin because it means sweet in Farsi. "Even though she's insane, she has a sweetness," says Akhavan.

Arts

Iranian-American Filmmaker Breaks Out Of Boxes, Into The Box Office

4:25pm January 17, 2015

by Shereen Marisol Meraji

Desiree Akhavan wrote, directed and stars in the new comedy Appropriate Behavior. It's informed by her life as a bisexual Brooklynite, but the film, like its maker, defies easy categorization.

Arts

'Still Alice' Is A Triumph For Julianne Moore, But The Rest Of Film Is Thin

1:59pm January 16, 2015

by David Edelstein

The movie is based on neuroscientist Lisa Genova's novel about a linguistics professor with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. While Moore is fascinating, the rest of the characters are half-formed.

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A drawing of two clinking martini glasses.

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Selma' And Dramatic License

10:04am January 16, 2015

by Linda Holmes

On this week's show, we look at Ava DuVernay's Selma, and then use some questions about that film to look at the issue of factual accuracy in historical dramas more generally.

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'Blackhat' Offers Fictionalized Version Of Cyberterrorism

7:59am January 16, 2015

by Kenneth Turan

Michael Mann's new cybercrime thriller stars Chris Hemsworth. Mann's skill as a director holds the audience's attention as the team follows lines of electronic breadcrumbs in pursuit of the evil one.

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Arts

'Birdman,' 'Grand Budapest Hotel' Lead Oscar Nominations

6:33pm January 15, 2015

by Bob Mondello

The Oscar nominations were announced Thursday. Birdman and The Grand Budapest Hotel led with nine nominations each, followed closely by The Imitation Game with eight.

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In Birdman, Michael Keaton (a real-life former Batman) plays a former movie superhero who's trying to get a grasp on his career.

Arts

At The Oscar Nominations, It's A Good Year To Be An Idiosyncratic Man

1:26pm January 15, 2015

by Linda Holmes

It was a good day for complicated male leads and the movies that feature them, and a rough day for just about everybody else at the Oscar nominations.

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Arts

This Year At The Razzies, An Award Actors Might Actually Want To Win

6:33pm January 14, 2015

The 35th Annual Razzie nominations are out — that not-so-coveted prize for the worst of Hollywood. This year there is a new category, the Redeemer Award, for those stars who have tried so hard and come so far.

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Benedict Cumberbatch plays British mathematician Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. "You're not asked to like the character," Cumberbatch says. "You're introduced to him, warts and all."

Arts

Benedict Cumberbatch: Code Breaker Alan Turing Was A Puzzle Himself

6:49pm January 13, 2015

by NPR Staff

Cumberbatch stars in The Imitation Game, as the British mathematician who helped break German codes. "It's a war thriller, it's a love story and a tragic testament to a genius wronged," he says.

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