Pop Culture

A candlelight march honors Sarah Jones, a camera assistant who was killed by a train in February while shooting the film Midnight Rider.

National

Fatal Accident Fuels Safety Concerns On Hollywood's Sets

8:47pm March 22, 2014

by NPR Staff

On Feb. 20, Sarah Jones was killed in an accident on the set of the film Midnight Rider. But Jones wasn't a stuntwoman who might expect to face a high degree of danger — she was a camera assistant.

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Dolly Wells (left) and Emily Mortimer have been real-life friends since childhood. Now they're co-starring in an inside-showbiz comedy airing on HBO.

Arts

When Your Best Friend Is A Star — And You're Her Minion

3:29pm March 19, 2014

by David Bianculli

The British import Doll & Em is another inside-Hollywood comedy from HBO; Emily Mortimer and her real-life friend Dolly Wells play outsize versions of themselves.

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Remembering Cory Monteith — Not Finn Hudson In 'Glee'

4:29pm March 18, 2014

by Nathan Rott

Cory Monteith was known to most Americans as the star of TV's Glee. But Monteith, who died at age 31, was a former high school dropout who used an unorthodox audition tape to get noticed.

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Arts

'Fresh Air' Remembers Comedian David Brenner

1:52pm March 17, 2014

Brenner appeared on The Tonight Show more than 150 times, often as the substitute host. The comic died Saturday at 78. He spoke to Fresh Air in 1990.

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Lance Gross plays Marcus Finley. Think of him as the show's Jack Bauer.

Arts

NBC Hostage Drama 'Crisis' Takes Viewers On A Rare TV Trip

4:44pm March 14, 2014

by David Bianculli

The show's season-long crime story follows a busload of kids whose field trip gets detoured by kidnappers. Critic David Bianculli says it could wind up being just as good — and intense-- as 24.

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Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson hosts a new TV series called Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey. It's an update of the influential 1980 PBS series Cosmos: A Personal Journey, hosted by Carl Sagan.

Science
Arts

Neil DeGrasse Tyson Explains Why The Cosmos Shouldn't Make You Feel Small

9:45am February 28, 2014

The astrophysicist says that participating in a "great unfolding of a cosmic story" should make us feel large, not small. This spring, Tyson hosts a TV series called Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey.

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Chinese billionaire Xander Feng, played by Terry Chen, shakes hands with Francis Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, in Netflix's House of Cards.

Arts

To Play The Part, Actors Must Talk The Talk — In Chinese

12:08pm February 27, 2014

by Hansi Lo Wang

As Hollywood and China grow closer, more roles are opening up for Asian-American actors to play Chinese-speaking characters. But before they can sound fluent on screen, some turn to dialect coaches.

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A Major Oscar Dust-Up Over A Song From A Minor Movie

5:45pm February 25, 2014

The song "Alone Yet Not Alone" had been nominated for Best Original Song at this year's Oscars. Not anymore. Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter explains why.

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Jimmy Fallon took over as host of The Tonight Show on Monday. "I hope I do well," he told the audience. "I hope that you enjoy this."

Arts

With Humor And A Nod To History, Fallon Takes Over 'The Tonight Show'

3:03pm February 18, 2014

by David Bianculli

On Monday night, Jimmy Fallon paid homage to 60 years of Tonight Show history while claiming his own place in line. "I just want to do the best I can and take care of the show for a while," he said. "If you guys let me stick around long enough maybe I'll get the hang of it."

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Classical Music Piece Enhances Roald Dahl's 'Dirty Beasts'

11:03am February 18, 2014

by Ari Shapiro

On Sunday, the London Philharmonic debuted a new piece of music based on Roald Dahl's Dirty Beasts. With Matilda playing to sold-out crowds on Broadway and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory running in London's West End, this is just the latest work by the author to get a musical soundtrack.

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