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Dying Star Wars Fan Gets Early Screening Of 'The Force Awakens'

November 6, 2015 • The director J.J. Abrams okayed a screening of a rough cut for a fan who feared he would not survive until the film reaches the theaters on December 18th.

Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery and Brian D'Arcy James are members of the Boston Globe investigation team that uncovers a sex-abuse scandal involving the Catholic Church in the film, Spotlight. Kerry Hayes/Open Road Films hide caption

itoggle caption Kerry Hayes/Open Road Films

Movie Reviews

All-Star 'Spotlight' Cast Creates A Riveting Movie About Investigative Journalism

Fresh Air

November 6, 2015 • A new film chronicles the real-life team of reporters who exposed a network of pedophile priests and Church enablers in Boston. Critic David Edelstein calls Spotlight a brilliant work.

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The Sounds Of James Bond, From The Editors Who Created Them

November 6, 2015 • Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg won the Oscar for their sound work on Skyfall. Now they're back with the new James Bond movie, Spectre. NPR's Becky Sullivan talks to the pair about just what a sound editor does.

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Movie Reviews

Movie Review: 'Spotlight'

November 6, 2015 • The new movie Spotlight is about the team of investigative reporters at the Boston Globe that broke the story of sexual abuse in Boston's Catholic Archdiocese.

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James Bond (Daniel Craig) is back in Spectre. It's everything Bond fans could want, and then some. Jonathan Olley/Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures hide caption

itoggle caption Jonathan Olley/Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures

Movie Reviews

In 'Spectre,' Bond's Back And Looking Over His Shoulder

November 5, 2015 • NPR film critic Bob Mondello reviews Spectre, the latest in the Bond franchise. It's got the Bond cars, the Bond villain and the Bond girls, but it lacks the feeling of its predecessors.

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Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the Peanuts gang (Franklin, Lucy, Linus, Peppermint Patty and Sally) enjoying a snow day in The Peanuts Movie. Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox & Peanuts Worldwide LLC hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox & Peanuts Worldwide LLC

Movie Reviews

Snoopy Gets Out Of The Doghouse In 'The Peanuts Movie'

November 5, 2015 • Sure, Charlie Brown is a little too cheerful, but in many ways, Charles Schulz's voice is maintained by his descendants in the Peanuts gang's first feature in 35 years.

Saoirse Ronan as Eilis and Emory Cohen as Tony in Brooklyn. Kerry Brown/Courtesy of Fox Searchlight hide caption

itoggle caption Kerry Brown/Courtesy of Fox Searchlight

Movie Reviews

'Brooklyn' Follows A Dream In Ireland And New York

November 5, 2015 • Former child actress Saoirse Ronan finds a fully adult role in the adaptation of the Colm Toibin novel about a woman conflicted over pursuing her dreams in America or returning to Ireland.

Drew Barrymore as Jess and Toni Colette as Milly in Miss You Already. Nick Wall/Courtesy of Roadside Attractions hide caption

itoggle caption Nick Wall/Courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Movie Reviews

Tears Aplenty In 'Miss You Already'

November 5, 2015 • Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette are convincing as lifelong friends facing both good and bad together, even if the film feels ragged and too forcefully directed at times.

Daniel Craig returns as James Bond in Spectre. Jonathan Olley/Courtesy of Sony Pictures hide caption

itoggle caption Jonathan Olley/Courtesy of Sony Pictures

Movie Reviews

'Spectre' Pleads The Case For Bond's Relevance In The Drone Age

November 5, 2015 • Playing James Bond for the fourth time, Daniel Craig loses much of the vulnerability and dimension he once gave the character, while director Sam Mendes provides too much metacommentary on 007.

Bryan Cranston plays Dalton Trumbo in Trumbo. Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/Courtesy of Bleecker Street hide caption

itoggle caption Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/Courtesy of Bleecker Street

Movie Reviews

In 'Trumbo,' Bryan Cranston Brings A Long-Uncredited Writer To Life

November 5, 2015 • A new film explores the life of Dalton Trumbo, who wrote films like Spartacus and Roman Holiday despite being blacklisted as a former communist.

Remembrances

Melissa Mathison, Screenwriter Who Wrote 'E.T.,' Dies

November 5, 2015 • Oscar-nominated screenwriter Melissa Mathison has died at the age of 65. NPR's Mandalit del Barco offers a remembrance of the woman who wrote E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, among other films.

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Melissa Mathison and her then-husband Harrison Ford arriving for a White House dinner in 1998. Neshan H. Naltchayan/AP hide caption

itoggle caption Neshan H. Naltchayan/AP

The Two-Way

'E.T.' Screenwriter Melissa Mathison Dies In Los Angeles

November 5, 2015 • Mathison's last project was another collaboration with Steven Spielberg, an adaptation of Roald Dahl's The BFG, scheduled for release in 2016.

Media

Robinson's 'Boston Globe' Reporting Figures Into 2 Movies

November 4, 2015 • Two major movies present dueling visions about the promise and perils of investigative reporting. Walter Robinson's reporting for the "Boston Globe" stands center stage in the film Spotlight.

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Movie Interviews

Saoirse Ronan Stars In Movie Version Of Literary Bestseller 'Brooklyn'

November 4, 2015 • Renee Montagne talks to Saoirse Ronan about the film, Brooklyn. It's the story of a young woman who, in 1950s Ireland, must leave her family for what she hopes will be a better life in America.

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Stephen Park in Steppenwolf Theatre's production of East of Eden. Courtesy of Michael Brosilow hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Michael Brosilow

Code Switch

Stephen Park On Playing A Code-Switching Character In Steinbeck's 'East Of Eden'

November 3, 2015 • Park plays Lee, a Chinese servant with an interesting approach to getting by in America, in a new theatrical adaptation of John Steinbeck's classic.

Movie Interviews

In 'The Diplomat,' Filmmaker David Holbrooke Recalls Late Father's Career

November 2, 2015 • NPR's Kelly McEvers speaks with filmmaker David Holbrooke about his new documentary, The Diplomat, exploring the life of his late father, the renowned diplomat Richard Holbrooke.

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In Disappointing Month For Studios, October Chock Full Of Box Office Flops

November 2, 2015 • October was grim for movie studios. NPR reports on four weeks of flops.

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Author Interviews

Actress Illeana Douglas Recounts A Life 'Lived In And Out Of The Movies'

Fresh Air

November 2, 2015 • The actress, who appeared in Six Feet Under and Cape Fear, discusses growing up on a commune, working with (and dating) Scorsese and her various acting gigs. Douglas' memoir is I Blame Dennis Hopper.

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A still image from Guillermo del Toro's new movie, Crimson Peak. Twenty-two percent of audiences on any given weekend are Latino. But when it comes to horror films, that proportion jumps to as much as half the box office. Universal Pictures hide caption

itoggle caption Universal Pictures

Code Switch

Why Latinos Heart Horror Films

October 31, 2015 • Latino audiences can make or break horror films in the box office, but right now their presence behind the camera might be even more significant.

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Sandra Bullock stars as Jane in the satirical film Our Brand Is Crisis. Courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures

Movie Interviews

An Election's High Stakes: Sandra Bullock On 'Our Brand Is Crisis'

October 31, 2015 • The Oscar-winner's new movie is set during an intense presidential race ... in Bolivia. She tells NPR's Scott Simon about her role as a legendary political strategist in Our Brand Is Crisis.

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Movie Reviews

'Our Brand Is Crisis' Stalls And Stumbles

October 30, 2015 • The political comedy Our Brand Is Crisis stars Sandra Bullock as an American campaign strategist hired to work for a Bolivian presidential candidate. Critic Kenneth Turan has this review.

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Monica Bellucci as Milly Catena in a scene from Alice Rohrwacher's The Wonders. Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories

Movie Reviews

'The Wonders' Of Family And Change

October 29, 2015 • Director Alice Rohrwacher focuses an observant eye on a rural family with a daughter nearly ready to take flight.

Bradley Cooper as Chef Adam Jones in a scene from Burnt. Courtesy of The Weinstein Company hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of The Weinstein Company

Movie Reviews

'Burnt' Tastes A Lot Like Last Year's Redemption Story

October 29, 2015 • Bradley Cooper plays a chef who suffers no real consequences for acting like a jerk — an awfully common story in the world of movies about geniuses.

A scene from Gaspar Noé's Love. Courtesy of Wild Bunch hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of Wild Bunch

Movie Reviews

Graphic Doesn't Mean Interesting, Particularly In 'Love'

October 29, 2015 • Director Gaspar Noe manages to make his blandest feature to date despite — or as a result of — filling almost half its running time with raw, unsimulated sex.

Billy Bob Thornton as Pat Candy and Sandra Bullock as Jane in a scene from Our Brand is Crisis. Patti Perret/Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment and RatPac-Dune hide caption

itoggle caption Patti Perret/Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment and RatPac-Dune