Movies

Cover of Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations

Books
Arts

You'll Want To Hang Up On These 'Secret Conversations'

5:34pm July 20, 2013

by Bob Mondello

Movie star Ava Gardner agreed to write her memoirs with British journalist Peter Evans in 1988. Now, after the deaths of both Gardner and Evans, the results of their abortive collaboration are being published. Reviewer Bob Mondello says the book is dead on arrival.

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European Films In Russia's Heartland

4:48pm July 20, 2013

by Eleanor Beardsley

For the past few years in July, a sleepy Russian provincial town has rolled out the red carpet to host the best in European film.

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Arts

Neorealism Goes Hollywood

4:48pm July 20, 2013

A new video essay compares two 1952 films that resulted from the collaboration of two renowned filmmakers, Vittorio De Sica, a master of Italian neorealism, and David O. Selznick, a Hollywood producer most famous for Gone With The Wind. Guest host Linda Wertheimer talks with filmmaker Ernie Park, who uses a pseudonym, Kogonada.

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Kristen Wiig (with Darren Criss) stars in Girl Most Likely as a hard-luck case who learns how to reboot her disastrous life after she's forced to move back in with her mom.

Arts

Kristen Wiig: That Loud, Strange Lady Isn't Me

6:12pm July 19, 2013

by NPR Staff

The star of Saturday Night Live, Bridesmaids and now Girl Most Likely joins NPR's Melissa Block to talk about lost characters, loud characters, and how shy she is in real life.

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The new documentary Blackfish looks at the practice of keeping orca whales in captivity.

Arts

Two Documentaries Examine Violence, Human And Animal

1:49pm July 19, 2013

by David Edelstein

Two new documentaries are making headlines. Gabriela Cowperthwaite's Blackfish centers on the whale that killed a trainer before an Orlando SeaWorld audience in 2010. The Act of Killing by human rights researcher Josh Oppenheimer, looks at the mass executions of communists in Indonesia in the 1960s.

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Arts

Maria Bamford: A Seriously Funny Comedian

3:05pm July 18, 2013

The comedian's routines tackle some of the really serious problems she has: OCD, bipolar disorder, suicidal thoughts. But you have to laugh, because she's that funny. Bamford talks to Fresh Air's Terry Gross about her parents and her Web-only programs.

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Use The Books, Fans: 'Star Wars' Franchise Thrives In Print

10:56am July 16, 2013

by NPR Staff

More than 200 novels, the Star Wars' book series spans 25,000 years, from the beginning of the Jedi Order to 40 years beyond where the original trilogy left off. According to The Wall Street Journal's Alexandra Alter, the books help keep fans interested between movies.

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Francisca Gavilán plays the Chilean musician and visual artist Violeta Parra in the film Violeta Went to Heaven.

Music & Culture

In 'Violeta Went To Heaven,' A Folk Icon's Tempestuous Life

6:39pm July 13, 2013

by Betto Arcos

Violeta Parra has been called mother of the Latin American folk movement, and her work as a visual artist has been shown at the Louvre. The Chilean icon, who committed suicide at 49, is the subject of a new film.

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Mads Mikkelsen's Lukas is a recently divorced kindergarten teacher whose life is turned upside down when officials leap to conclusions after a 5-year-old says something that suggests improper conduct.

Arts

A Kindergarten, A Story And A Life In Shambles

6:39pm July 13, 2013

by Bob Mondello

Mads Mikkelsen (TV's Hannibal) anchors The Hunt, a powerful Danish social drama about a teacher whose life is derailed when a 5-year-old's emotional upset sets a citywide witch hunt in motion. (Recommended)

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Arts

Troubles Linger In 'Shadow Dancer'

1:22pm July 13, 2013

by Pat Dowell

The new film from the director of Man on Wire and Project Nim, James Marsh, is a fiction film about the period toward the end of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It stars Clive Owen and up-and-comer Andrea Riseborough.

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