Movies

Responding to criticism over the handling of The Interview, Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton says his studio "very much wanted to keep the picture in release."

CEO Says Sony Pictures 'Did Not Capitulate,' Is Exploring Options

7:33pm December 19, 2014

by Bill Chappell

Melissa Block talks to Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton about the cyber attack against his company and the cancellation of the Christmas Day release of The Interview.

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Timothy Spall finds beauty in the unlikeliest places as painter J.M.W. Turner.

Arts

'Mr. Turner' Is A Snuffling, Growling Work Of Art

6:58pm December 19, 2014

by Bob Mondello

Critic Bob Mondello says Mike Leigh's earthy new biopic about the famed British painter J.M.W Turner shows viewers the incandescent beauty of the world as Turner himself must have seen it.

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Arts

The Strange World — And Life — Of 'Mr. Turner'

1:48pm December 19, 2014

by David Edelstein

The biopic of landscape painter J. M. W. Turner depicts a man whose mind is barely engaged by anything other than his work. He's a mystery, and his art is magically indefinite — just like the movie.

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National

Sony Cancels Christmas Day Release Of 'The Interview' Amid Threats

12:32pm December 19, 2014

by Krishnadev Calamur

The move follows the decision by major U.S. theater chains not to screen the comedy that centers on a plot to assassinate North Korea's leader.

Jamie Foxx and Quvenzhane Wallis star in the latest incarnation of the musical Annie.

Arts

A Different 'Annie,' But Still A Good Kid

12:19pm December 19, 2014

by Linda Holmes

The new adaptation of Annie, starring Quvenzhane Wallis and Jamie Foxx, isn't the same Annie some of us knew in childhood. But on her own terms, she's still a charmer.

Risky Comedies Could Be In Jeopardy After 'Interview' Is Pulled

6:32pm December 18, 2014

Audie Cornish talks with John Horn of KPCC's The Frame, about what Sony's decision to cancel The Interview means for Hollywood, freedom of speech and future artistic expression.

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Mathieu Amalric and Emmanuelle Devos in If You Don't, I Will.

Arts

A Married Couple In Decline

5:03pm December 18, 2014

by Tomas Hachard

The film If You Don't, I Will has some strong dialogue and performances, but its tale of a marriage in peril sags too often in its recounting of the journey.

During World War II, Louis Zamperini spent 47 days stranded in shark-infested waters before he was rescued by Japanese soldiers and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.

Arts

Angelina Jolie On Her Film's 'Unbroken' Hero: 'He Was Truly A Great Man'

9:05am December 18, 2014

by NPR Staff

Louis Zamperini was an Olympian before he enlisted in World War II and became a prisoner of war. Jolie says he told her to "make a film that reminds people that they have greatness inside themselves."

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Quvenzhane Wallis (second from right) stars in an updated version of Annie, produced by Jay Z.

Arts

An Updated 'Annie' And The Tradition Of Nontraditional Casting

9:07pm December 17, 2014

by Bob Mondello

As an African-American Annie arrives on movie screens, critic Bob Mondello looks at other cross-cultural reinventions, from Pearl Bailey's Dolly to the Americanization of Carmen as Carmen Jones.

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Sony Cancels Theatrical Release Of 'The Interview'

9:07pm December 17, 2014

by Mandalit del Barco

Sony Pictures decided to cancel the release after several big theater chains opted to drop the movie from their line up. The Interview is a comedy centered on a plot to kill the leader of North Korea.

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