The 81st Annual Academy Awards Oscar Nods Give 'Slumdog' A Box Office Bump January 31, 2009 • This year's Oscar season illuminates an interesting quirk in box-office strategy: How theaters and studios place bets on re-releases of movies they think will be nominated. Some pay off — but some sure don't. Oscar Nods Give 'Slumdog' A Box Office Bump Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/100109046/100109015" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Oscar Nods Give 'Slumdog' A Box Office Bump Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/100109046/100109015" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Summary Judgment New Movies: 'New In Town,' 'Taken' And 'The Uninvited' January 30, 2009 • Writer Mark Jordan Legan takes us through reviews of three news films. Which is more deserving of the price of admission, New In Town, a comedy about a Miami businesswoman who relocates to a tiny city in Minnesota or Taken, an action film about a former spy who rescues his daughter from the slave trade? And then there's also The Uninvited to consider, a thriller about a young woman who returns home after a stint in a mental hospital to find a ghost. New Movies: 'New In Town,' 'Taken' And 'The Uninvited' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/100057058/100057031" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
New Movies: 'New In Town,' 'Taken' And 'The Uninvited' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/100057058/100057031" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Harvard Beats Yale': Winning By Not Winning January 30, 2009 • Critic-at-large John Powers reviews Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, the new documentary about the famous 1968 game. 'Harvard Beats Yale': Winning By Not Winning Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/100054481/100054546" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Harvard Beats Yale': Winning By Not Winning Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/100054481/100054546" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review 'Taken' Lightly: An Unintentionally Funny Abduction January 30, 2009 • When kidnappers steal his teenage daughter from a Paris hotel, an ex-spy takes matters into his own hands and plunges into the underworld of human trafficking. 'Taken' Lightly: An Unintentionally Funny Abduction Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/99904618/100049753" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Taken' Lightly: An Unintentionally Funny Abduction Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/99904618/100049753" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review A City Girl And A Townie, In A Slushy Romance January 30, 2009 • Renee Zellweger jumps out of the corporate frying pan and into the snow in New in Town, a fish-out-of-water farce set in Minnesota. Harry Connick Jr. keeps her company, but hardly turns up the heat.
Review A Family's Affairs, In A Venue Full Of Surprises January 29, 2009 • Melodrama takes center stage in Serbis, Brillante Mendoza's gritty but warm portrait of a struggling Filipino family. Their adult-movie house might be sinking, but their lives are overflowing.
Review In 'Match,' A Story of Resistance Is Illuminated January 29, 2009 • Director Roberta Grossman sketches a portrait of Hannah Senesh, a Hungarian-born woman living in Palestine who trained as a paratrooper and returned to her homeland to organize resistance to the Nazis.
Review Terence Davies, In Search Of Lost Liverpool January 29, 2009 • A montage of sound, music and memory, Of Time and the City goes beyond the Beatles in a memorial to Liverpool's past. Director Terence Davies guides his audience through the streets of his native city.
Opinion Case Against Blagojevich Stirs Political Furor Blagojevich At The Movies: A Hero In His Own Epic January 27, 2009 • The Illinois governor has taken to using movie quotes to make the case that he's being railroaded in the ongoing corruption case brought against him back in December. Bob Mondello takes stock of the footage. Blagojevich At The Movies: A Hero In His Own Epic Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/99918144/99920187" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Blagojevich At The Movies: A Hero In His Own Epic Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/99918144/99920187" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
At Sundance, Coping In A Recession January 25, 2009 • The Sundance Film Festival wrapped up in Park City, Utah, on Sunday. Films were well attended, despite the trying economic times. But what about the wheeling and dealing behind the scenes? Entertainment writer Adam B. Vary and film distributor Andrew Herwitz talk to host Jacki Lyden about the business of film at Sundance. At Sundance, Coping In A Recession Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/99855388/99855443" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
At Sundance, Coping In A Recession Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/99855388/99855443" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Arts & Life Niche Celebrities: Musicians For Silent Film January 24, 2009 • A number of old Art Deco movie palaces across the country still feature live organ performances 30 to 60 minutes before film screenings. Some theaters occasionally feature old silent films with an organist playing his own composition as a soundtrack underneath. These musicians have an enthusiastic following and become celebrities — although most people only see the back of their heads. Niche Celebrities: Musicians For Silent Film Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/99838349/99838317" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Niche Celebrities: Musicians For Silent Film Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/99838349/99838317" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The Challenges Of Filming 'Slumdog Millionaire' January 23, 2009 • Tabrez Noorani was in charge of logistics, schedules and meetings while shooting Slumdog Millionaire. He tells NPR how making a film in India is different from filmmaking in the U.S. and describes the extreme challenges of shooting in a Red Light District and at a train station. The Challenges Of Filming 'Slumdog Millionaire' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/99806648/99825913" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The Challenges Of Filming 'Slumdog Millionaire' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/99806648/99825913" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Arts & Life From Gollum To 'Inkheart,' Actor Enlivens Fantasies January 23, 2009 • British actor Andy Serkis is best known for his iconic role as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In the new film, Inkheart, he plays another fantastical villain. He discusses fantasy, reality and why he thinks he should have been considered for an Oscar for Gollum. From Gollum To 'Inkheart,' Actor Enlivens Fantasies Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/99800276/99800249" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
From Gollum To 'Inkheart,' Actor Enlivens Fantasies Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/99800276/99800249" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Summary Judgment New Movies: More Mickey Rourke Or 'Underworld'? January 23, 2009 • Writer Mark Jordan Legan takes us through reviews of three new films. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is a fantasy about the struggle between vampires and werewolves. Inkheart is a family film about a man who brings fairy tale characters to life. And Killshot, starring Mickey Rourke, is about a couple placed in witness protection after a horrible crime. New Movies: More Mickey Rourke Or 'Underworld'? Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/99800273/99800248" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
New Movies: More Mickey Rourke Or 'Underworld'? Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/99800273/99800248" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The 81st Annual Academy Awards The 81st Academy Awards Winners and Nominees January 23, 2009 • Slumdog Millionaire led the trophy tally at the 81st Academy Awards with eight wins, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Cinematography. Read the list of Oscar nominees and winners.