Movies

National

A fan is reviving Orson Welles' poorly edited 'lost masterpiece' through animation

4:55pm July 05, 2023

by Neda Ulaby

The Magnificent Ambersons has been called Orson Welles' "lost masterpiece." The studio cut more than 40 minutes from the movie, but a filmmaker has used animation to recreate lost footage.

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Intersex activists Sean Saifa Wall, Alicia Roth Weigel and River Gallo share their stories in the documentary Every Body.

For the intersex community, 'Every Body' exists on a spectrum

2:05pm July 05, 2023

by Terry Gross

Alicia Roth Weigel is one of three activists profiled in Julie Cohen's new documentary. She says intersex is an umbrella term for people whose "anatomy doesn't fit super neatly into a binary box."

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Music & Culture

Wham's story as told by the duo, Andrew Ridgely and the late George Michael

5:05am July 05, 2023

NPR's Rob Schmitz talks to Chris Smith, director of Netflix's documentary WHAM! — George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley went from school friends to global stars.

Arts

Remembering Oscar-winning actor and British Parliament member Glenda Jackson

3:04pm July 03, 2023

by Terry Gross

Jackson, who died June 15, won Oscars for her performances in the 1969 movie Women in Love and the 1973 comedy A Touch of Class. She was elected to Pariament in 1992. Originally broadcast in 2019.

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Citizen Kane made Orson Welles a superstar. But his next movie, The Magnificent Ambersons, was edited into incoherence by the studio. Some 80 years later, a Welles fan is taking matters into his own hands. Welles is pictured above in London in May 1973.

Arts

An Orson Welles film was horribly edited — will cinematic justice finally be done?

11:03am July 03, 2023

by Neda Ulaby

Citizen Kane made Orson Welles a superstar. But his next movie, The Magnificent Ambersons, was edited into incoherence by the studio. Now, a Welles fan has used animation to recreate lost footage.

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Hollywood actors are pushing back against studios using AI to clone them

9:03am July 02, 2023

by Bobby Allyn

The rise of artificial intelligence has Hollywood actors on edge. Studios are interested in how the technology can allow for digital clones of actors - and actors are pushing back.

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Fran Drescher, left, president of SAG-AFTRA, and Meredith Stiehm, president of Writers Guild of America West, pose together during a rally by striking writers outside Paramount Pictures studio, Monday, May 8, 2023, in Los Angeles.

SAG-AFTRA agrees to contract extension with studios as negotiations continue

10:57pm June 30, 2023

by Mandalit del Barco

Talks have been underway since June 7. The union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers remain at odds on issues like the use of artificial intelligence and streaming residuals.

Nimona was ND Stevenson's power fantasy. Now, the comic is a Netflix animated film

4:42pm June 30, 2023

NPR's Scott Detrow talks with Nate "ND" Stevenson, who wrote the original graphic novel on which the new animated movie Nimona is based.

National

Documentary 'Every Body' centers the lives and activism of intersex people

4:30pm June 30, 2023

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with director Julie Cohen and Saifa Wall about the new documentary Every Body, which uncovers the misconceptions around intersex people and the mistreatment they've faced.

Arts

Alan Arkin has died — the star of 'Get Smart' and 'Little Miss Sunshine' was 89

11:17am June 30, 2023

by Neda Ulaby

Arkin knew from childhood that he wanted to be an actor, and he spent a lifetime performing — the Academy Award winner appeared in more than 100 films in a career spanning over seven decades.