Movies

Gael Garcia Bernal stars as an advertising man in Chile under Pinochet in the 2012 film No, which is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Academy Awards.

Arts

Voting Pinochet Out Was More Than Just A Yes Or 'No'

1:40pm February 20, 2013

by John Powers

In the Chilean film No, which is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, a young ad man devises a campaign to vote the dictator Augusto Pinochet out of office using rainbows and catchy theme songs.

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Christoph Waltz (right, with Jamie Foxx) stars in Quentin Tarantino's new film Django Unchained.

Arts

'Unchained' Admiration Between Actor And Director

12:56pm February 20, 2013

Austrian actor Christoph Waltz won an Oscar for his portrayal of Nazi Jew hunter Hans Landa in Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds. Teamed up with Tarantino again in Django Unchained, he says Tarantino's writing and the rhythm of the language speaks to him as a performer.

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Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx star in Tarantino's new spaghetti western-inspired film, Django Unchained.

Arts

Quentin Tarantino, 'Unchained' And Unruly

12:46pm February 20, 2013

With his latest film, director Quentin Tarantino was inspired both by spaghetti Westerns and the drama of slavery and the Civil War. The movie is extremely violent — but, says Tarantino, "What happened during slavery times is a thousand times worse. ... If you can't take it, you can't take it."

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Cousin Ben (Jason Schwartzman), Sam (Jared Gilman) and Suzy (Kara Hayward) show that nothing can stand in the way of young love in Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom.

Arts

Bob Mondello's Best Movies Of 2012

12:41pm February 20, 2013

by Bob Mondello

NPR's movie critic looks back on 2012 and his picks for the year's best movies.

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Quvenzhane Wallis plays Hushpuppy in the film Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Arts

Quvenzhane Wallis: 'If I Have To Be Fierce, I'll Be Fierce'

5:38pm February 19, 2013

by NPR Staff

The 9-year-old beat out thousands of other potential young actresses for the role of Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild. Now, she's juggling being the youngest ever nominee for the best actress Academy Award with the equally challenging job as a fourth-grader.

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Billy Crystal hosts the 84th Annual Academy Awards in 2012. Writing jokes for hosts is a tricky game, says longtime joke writer Dave Boone.

Arts

Playing The Big Room: An Oscars Joke-Writer Reflects

3:45pm February 19, 2013

by NPR Staff

After the teary acceptance speeches, the most quotable moments from any Oscars telecast are the jokes. Comedy writer Dave Boone, a regular joke writer for Hollywood's biggest night, offers his tips on how to make 'em laugh in Movieland and beyond.

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Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Edward Norton and Bruce Willis star in the film — the story of a 12-year-old girl and boy who merge their imaginative worlds on an island off the coast of New England.

Arts

Wes Anderson, Creating A Singular 'Kingdom'

10:38am February 19, 2013

The filmmaker's latest project, Moonrise Kingdom, is up for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. It's the story of a 12-year-old girl and boy who fall in love and then make a pact to run off into the woods together.

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Arts

The Movie Connie Britton Has 'Seen A Million Times'

5:00pm February 17, 2013

by Lily Percy

Actress Connie Britton could watch Colin Higgins' comedy Foul Play a million times. "From watching a movie like Foul Play, I have always wanted to bring a sense of humor to really every role that I'm playing," she says.

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Tony Kushner based his screenplay for Lincoln in part on Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography of the president, Team of Rivals â but he read many other histories and biographies, in addition to Lincoln's own writings.

Arts

Kushner's 'Lincoln' Is Strange, But Also Savvy

1:11pm February 15, 2013

Tony Kushner wrote the screenplay for the film Lincoln, which focuses on the 16th president's tumultuous final months in office. Kushner read more than 20 books before writing about Lincoln, a man who had "an enormous capacity for grief that didn't deprive him of the ability to act."

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The bright colors and throwback feel of the Chilean drama No mask the very real political consequences of the 1988 plebiscite it depicts. (Pictured: Gael Garcia Bernal as Rene Saavedra)

Arts

The Story Of 'No' Is The Story Of Modern Chile

8:39am February 15, 2013

by Mandalit del Barco

The Chilean political drama No is the first film from that country to be nominated for the Best Foreign Language Academy Award. The powerful, poignant film uses an unlikely main character to chart the surprising end of a dictator's reign.

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