Movies

Jimmy Kimmel hosts the 95th Oscars Sunday night.

Arts

Jimmy Kimmel expects no slaps hosting the Oscars; just snarky (not mean) jokes

11:54am March 10, 2023

by Eric Deggans

Jimmy Kimmel is taking the stage to lead the Oscars one year after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during the last ceremony, and raised a host of expectations about what we might see this time around.

And the Oscar for best international film rarely goes to ...

11:24am March 10, 2023

by Ian Brennan

In the 74 years that the Academy of Motion Pictures has selected a winner in the international film category, the statistics paint a tilted global picture.

A quirky museum in Hollywood casts a nostalgic glow on movies' golden era

5:11am March 10, 2023

by Susan Stamberg

The Oscars will be handed out on Sunday. Ahead of this year's Academy Awards, we visit the Hollywood Museum in Los Angeles, a chance to browse through movie artifacts from years gone by.

The first Oscar presentation and banquet was held in the Blossom Room of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, Calif., in May 1929.

The first Oscars lasted 15 minutes — plus other surprises from 95 years of awards

8:13pm March 09, 2023

by Mandalit del Barco

A lot can happen in 95 years. Ahead of the Academy Awards on Sunday, we take a look back at the surprises, the scandals, the slap and — yes — even the streaker.

Queue Listen Now

Step inside a movie projection booth to see what's changed since film

4:37pm March 09, 2023

by Bob Mondello

Before digital projectors in movie theaters, projectionists had to quickly move from one film reel to the next. NPR looks at what has changed since the days of film in our series, "Backstage Pass."

Russian movie 'The Challenge' is the first to be filmed in space

6:06am March 09, 2023

An actor and a producer joined a real-life cosmonaut on the International Space Station. The film is about a female doctor performing life-saving surgery in space.

Park Ji-min stars as a young woman who was raised by adoptive parents in France in Return to Seoul.

Arts

'Return to Seoul' is a funny, melancholy film that will surprise you start to finish

2:18pm March 08, 2023

by John Powers

In this wonderfully unpredictable film, first-time actor Park Ji-min stars as Freddie, a young woman raised by adoptive parents in France who returns to the country of her birth.

Queue Listen Now

Gabriel LaBelle plays the young filmmaker Sammy — a lightly fictionalized version of Spielberg — in The Fabelmans.

Arts

Spielberg shared his own story in 'parts and parcels' — if you were paying attention

4:34pm March 07, 2023

by Bob Mondello

Steven Spielberg says he's been hiding from his own story since he was 17. The Fabelmans is a lightly fictionalized version of his life, without raptors, sharks, or historical figures to hide behind.

Akira Kurosawa's film Ikiru came out in 1952

Arts

How should we be 'Living'? Kurosawa and Ishiguro tackle the question, 70 years apart

9:59am March 07, 2023

by Bilal Qureshi

As a kid, Kazuo Ishiguro saw Akira Kurosawa's 1952 film Ikiru. "It made a terrific impact on me," the Nobel prize-winner recalls. His film Living is nominated for an Oscar for best adapted screenplay.

Queue Listen Now

"Naatu Naatu" from the film RRR is up for best original song at the 95th Academy Awards. The tiger flying in the air toward Ram Charan (right), however, is not.

Music & Culture

The 2023 Oscars' best original song nominees, cruelly ranked

8:35am March 06, 2023

by Stephen Thompson

This year's crop may not have a James Bond theme or a ubiquitous Disney banger, but it's got range — thanks in part to a viral dance number from RRR.