Pop Culture

Listening Back To An Interview With Phil Ramone

10:15am April 02, 2013

Ramone started out as a sound engineer for Lesley Gore, and went on to work with Simon and Garfunkel, Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra. He died Saturday at the age of 79. Fresh Air remembers him by listening back to a 1995 interview. He talks about losing old demos and being mistaken for a member of The Ramones.

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DeGeneres performs on The Tonight Show in 1987.

Arts

How Ellen DeGeneres Helped Change The Conversation About Gays

5:59pm March 27, 2013

by Lynn Neary

In 1997, DeGeneres chose a very public forum — her television sitcom — to announce, "I'm gay." The entertainer's career has tracked the seismic shift in public opinion on gays and same-sex marriage.

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Anchor Chris Hayes will host a new MSNBC weeknight show beginning April 1.

Arts

Chris Hayes: From 'Up' In The Morning To 'All In' At Night

2:09pm March 27, 2013

After hosting his Sunday morning show on MSNBC for the past year and a half, Hayes is making the move to a weeknight news show that premieres April 1. At 34, Hayes will be the youngest prime-time anchor on any of the major cable news channels.

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Books
Arts

How And Why The Hollywood Star Machine Made 'Gods Like Us'

2:25pm March 25, 2013

In a new book about movie stardom and fame, Boston Globe film critic Ty Burr looks at the evolving history of the relationship between movie stars and the people who love them, and at how changing technology influences the kinds of stars the public wants.

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Print versions of Daily Variety, like this one from 2003, will no longer be available on L.A. newsstands. Variety will continue online and in a print weekly, but the daily print edition is being dropped.

Arts

Not Doing So 'Boffo,' 'Daily Variety' Drops Print Edition

10:55am March 22, 2013

by NPR Staff

Showbiz info is everywhere now, making it harder to sustain Hollywood's slang-filled must-read as a daily print publication. The magazine printed its last daily this week but will continue online and in a weekly edition. Cultural historian Neil Gabler explains why this shift is significant.

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Helen Mirren and Al Pacino star in the new HBO film Phil Spector, which was written and directed by David Mamet.

Arts

You Can't Trust HBO's 'Phil Spector,' But You Can Enjoy It

2:37pm March 21, 2013

by David Bianculli

David Mamet, the writer and director of the new HBO movie Phil Spector starring Al Pacino and Helen Mirren, includes a disclaimer at the beginning of the film: While the movie might be based on the controversial music producer, "This is a work of fiction. It's not 'based on a true story.' "

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Bracket Frenzy Moves Beyond College Basketball

9:23am March 21, 2013

March madness means NCAA brackets, along with brackets for practically everything else, from Star Wars characters to grooming products to public radio shows. What makes brackets so appealing?

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A new documentary about Philip Roth premieres on PBS next week as part of a slew of celebrations in honor of the novelist's 80th birthday.

Books
Arts

A Measured Look At Roth As The Writer Turns 80

2:11pm March 19, 2013

by John Powers

The celebration of Philip Roth's career reaches its peak in a new documentary — Philip Roth Unmasked — that will screen on PBS next week as part of the American Masters series. There's no doubt that Roth is a master, and not just an American one, but the film tiptoes around the novelist's dark ferocity.

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Elisabeth Moss (right) and Thomas Wright star in Jane Campion's new series Top of the Lake.

Arts

Two New TV Dramas Look Below The Surface

1:56pm March 18, 2013

by David Bianculli

Jane Campion directs a new Sundance Channel miniseries, Top of the Lake, about a young New Zealand detective played by Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss. Meanwhile, producers from Lost and Friday Night Lights team up to create a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, called Bates Motel.

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Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong invited sportswriter Michael McCann to his Texas home for a three-hour interview.

Sports

From Tweeting To Meeting Lance Armstrong

10:34am March 17, 2013

by NPR Staff

Sports Illustrated writer Michael McCann had been covering Lance Armstrong's legal issues for the past year when he noticed a new follower on Twitter. It was the disgraced cyclist himself, and he invited McCann over for an exclusive interview.

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