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Olivia De Havilland, One Of Hollywood's Longest Living Legends, Dies At 104

Olivia de Havilland in 1949, the same year she starred as Catherine Sloper in The Heiress, a role for which she won an Oscar. AP hide caption

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Olivia De Havilland, One Of Hollywood's Longest Living Legends, Dies At 104

July 26, 2020 • The actress is best remembered for her role in Gone With the Wind, but the two-time Oscar winner also won a landmark decision that gave artists creative independence from studios.

Olivia De Havilland, One Of Hollywood's Longest Living Legends, Dies At 104

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Like Her 'Radioactive' Elements, Marie Curie Didn't 'Behave' As Expected

Rosamund Pike plays Marie Curie in the new Amazon Studios biopic Radioactive. Laurie Sparham/Amazon Studios hide caption

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Like Her 'Radioactive' Elements, Marie Curie Didn't 'Behave' As Expected

July 25, 2020 • Rosamund Pike plays the Nobel Prize-winning scientist in the biopic Radioactive. She took chemistry lessons ahead of time, and says it was refreshing to prepare for a role by getting "mentally fit."

Like Her 'Radioactive' Elements, Marie Curie Didn't 'Behave' As Expected

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Terrific New Thrillers 'Amulet' And 'Relic' Explore Terrors Lurking Within The Home

A mischievous nun (Imelda Staunton) welcomes a stranger into a decrepit house in the supernatural thriller Amulet. Rob Baker Ashton/Magnet Releasing hide caption

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Rob Baker Ashton/Magnet Releasing

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Terrific New Thrillers 'Amulet' And 'Relic' Explore Terrors Lurking Within The Home

Fresh Air

July 24, 2020 • Characters' living spaces are infected with dark spirits and become inescapable prisons in two new movies. Amulet is an intensely creepy revenge thriller, while Relic explores the horrors of dementia.

Terrific New Thrillers 'Amulet' And 'Relic' Explore Terrors Lurking Within The Home

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Orion Lee as "King-Lu" and John Magaro as "Cookie" star in director Kelly Reichardt's film First Cow. Allyson Riggs/A24 Films hide caption

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Allyson Riggs/A24 Films

Review

Udder Western Skies: 'First Cow'

July 24, 2020 • Sometimes, all it takes to change your life is a cow. In the new film First Cow, director Kelly Reichardt follows two men who meet by chance and come up with a plan to get rich. All they need is a couple of ingredients. First Cow is a western, a friendship story, a caper movie, and even a meditation on nature. (Pop Culture Happy Hour just turned 10 and we're celebrating... with a happy hour! Join us for a live, virtual event next Thursday, July 30 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. RSVP now and help shape one of our famous quizzes by heading over to NPR Presents. Hope to see ya there!)

Udder Western Skies: 'First Cow'

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Annie Ross, Mid-Century Jazz Icon, Dead At 89

Annie Ross, photographed on March 1, 1956 backstage at St. Martins Theatre in West London. Mirrorpix/Getty Images hide caption

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Annie Ross, Mid-Century Jazz Icon, Dead At 89

July 22, 2020 • Ross was recognized as a natural performer from an early age. She essentially never stopped.

Christopher Nolan's Sci-Fi Thriller 'Tenet' Delayed Indefinitely

(L-r) John David Washington and Robert Pattinson in Warner Bros. Pictures' action epic "TENET," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Melinda Sue Gordon/Warner Bros. Entertainment hide caption

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Melinda Sue Gordon/Warner Bros. Entertainment

Christopher Nolan's Sci-Fi Thriller 'Tenet' Delayed Indefinitely

July 20, 2020 • The new movie from the maker of Dunkirk and the Dark Knight Trilogy has been delayed yet again, with no new release date announced. This may end hopes of a Hollywood summer blockbuster season

Christopher Nolan's Sci-Fi Thriller 'Tenet' Delayed Indefinitely

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'Showbiz Kids' Gives Child Actors The Chance To Tell Their Own Stories

Evan Rachel Wood is one of the interview subjects in the new documentary Showbiz Kids. HBO hide caption

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HBO

Review

'Showbiz Kids' Gives Child Actors The Chance To Tell Their Own Stories

July 18, 2020 • In a new HBO documentary, current and former child actors from Wil Wheaton to Todd Bridges to Evan Rachel Wood talk about abuse, money, work and finding your way as an adult.

'We Are Freestyle Love Supreme' Is An Accidental 'Hamilton' Cast Origin Story

Lin-Manuel Miranda and members of the hip-hop group Freestyle Love Supreme perform at the Greenwich House Theater. Bryant Fisher/Hulu hide caption

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Bryant Fisher/Hulu

'We Are Freestyle Love Supreme' Is An Accidental 'Hamilton' Cast Origin Story

July 18, 2020 • A new documentary catalogs the rise of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christopher Jackson and other members of the hip-hop group Freestyle Love Supreme in the mid-2000s before they became famous on Broadway.

'We Are Freestyle Love Supreme' Is An Accidental 'Hamilton' Cast Origin Story

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Remembering The 'Divine Diahann Carroll'

Actress, model and singer Diahann Carroll. Bee Harris hide caption

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Bee Harris

Remembering The 'Divine Diahann Carroll'

July 17, 2020 • On what would have been Diahann Carroll's 85th birthday, we're celebrating the legacy of the actress, model and singer. Reporter Sonari Glinton went to her estate sale and took a tour of some of the objects that represent important moments in Ms. Carroll's life. And because Diahann Carroll achieved so many firsts, the exhibit was more like a civil rights exhibit than an auction.

Remembering The 'Divine Diahann Carroll'

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Marwan Kenzari, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlize Theron, Luca Marinelli, and KiKi Layne star in Netflix's The Old Guard. Aimee Spinks/Netflix hide caption

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Aimee Spinks/Netflix

Review

War Is Forever In 'The Old Guard'

July 17, 2020 • The big summer action movie is one of the things we've been missing this year, and now, we've got one. And it's a good one, too. The Old Guard stars Charlize Theron and KiKi Layne as members of a squad of fighters who have been in the battle game for much, much too long. The Netflix film is based on a series of comics by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández, and Rucka wrote the screenplay. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood is much loved for films including Love and Basketball.

War Is Forever In 'The Old Guard'

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Kelly Preston, Actress And Wife Of John Travolta, Dead At 57

Actress Kelly Preston with her husband, John Travolta, at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018. The actress died after a two-year fight with breast cancer. Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images

Obituaries

Kelly Preston, Actress And Wife Of John Travolta, Dead At 57

July 13, 2020 • Preston died after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She acted in various TV shows but rose to fame after her role in the 1988 Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito comedy, Twins.

Trans People 'Have Always Been There,' Says 'Disclosure' Producer Laverne Cox

Laverne Cox is the executive producer and a prominent voice in the new documentary Disclosure. Ava Benjamin Shorr/Netflix hide caption

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Ava Benjamin Shorr/Netflix

Music Interviews

Trans People 'Have Always Been There,' Says 'Disclosure' Producer Laverne Cox

July 13, 2020 • The Emmy-winning actress is the executive producer of Disclosure, a new documentary on trans representation in Hollywood. Trans people were on film as early as 1914, but often misrepresented.

Trans People 'Have Always Been There,' Says 'Disclosure' Producer Laverne Cox

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Tracee Ellis Ross On 'Black-ish' And 'The High Note'

Tracee Ellis Ross stars as Grace Davis in The High Note. Glen WIlson/Focus Features hide caption

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Tracee Ellis Ross On 'Black-ish' And 'The High Note'

July 13, 2020 • On this bonus episode of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, we bring you a conversation from our pal Sam Sanders. Sam recently had a wide-ranging conversation with the one and only Tracee Ellis Ross on his podcast It's Been A Minute. They talk about her work on Girlfriends, Black-ish, and the recent film The High Note--plus, what it's like to be a black creative right now.

Tracee Ellis Ross On 'Black-ish' And 'The High Note'

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Kick Back With 'Palm Springs,' A Witty Romcom About Fighting Despair

Cristin Milioti and Andy Samberg star in Palm Springs, an offbeat romcom with a surprising amount of charm. Hulu hide caption

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Hulu

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Kick Back With 'Palm Springs,' A Witty Romcom About Fighting Despair

July 11, 2020 • The romantic comedy starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti finds two people connecting at a wedding and getting a lot more than they bargained for.

Rachel Murray/Getty Images for MAKERS

Planet Money

Hollywood's Black List

July 10, 2020 • In 2005, an anonymous list of the best unmade scripts in Hollywood shook up the movie biz. This episode: how a math-loving, movie nerd solved Hollywood's script problem. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

Hollywood's Black List

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World War II Naval Drama 'Greyhound' Charts A Trim, Efficient Course

Captain Krause (Tom Hanks) looks astern in Greyhound. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

World War II Naval Drama 'Greyhound' Charts A Trim, Efficient Course

July 10, 2020 • Tom Hanks stars in, and wrote the screenplay for, this familiar but effective tale of a Navy captain leading a convoy of merchants ships through U-boat-infested seas.

'The Old Guard' Is A Smart Blend Of Action And Emotion

KiKi Layne, Luca Marinelli, Charlie Theron, and Marwan Kenzari are part of The Old Guard in Netflix's film of the same name. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The Old Guard' Is A Smart Blend Of Action And Emotion

July 10, 2020 • Director Gina Prince-Bythewood knocks it out of the park with a film about soldiers who fight (and fight and fight), based on a series of comics and starring Charlize Theron as the boss.

'Old Guard' Superhero Warriors Battle Their Greatest Foe Yet — Ennui

Director Gina Prince Bythewood on the set of The Old Guard. Mohammed Kamal/Netflix hide caption

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Mohammed Kamal/Netflix

Movie Interviews

'Old Guard' Superhero Warriors Battle Their Greatest Foe Yet — Ennui

July 10, 2020 • The Old Guard director Gina Prince-Bythewood is the first black woman to direct a big budget superhero movie. "I hate the fact that I'm the first — in 2020 that we're still having firsts," she says.

'Old Guard' Superhero Warriors Battle Their Greatest Foe Yet — Ennui

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'Welcome To Chechnya' Chronicles Abuses Against Its LGBTQ Citizens

Welcome to Chechnya chronicles the persecution of LGBTQ youth in this ultra-conservative society. HBO Max hide caption

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HBO Max

Review

Movie Reviews

'Welcome To Chechnya' Chronicles Abuses Against Its LGBTQ Citizens

Fresh Air

July 8, 2020 • Homosexuality and gender nonconformity have long been frowned upon in Chechen society. Welcome to Chechnya is a grimly ironic title for a documentary that plays like a chilling undercover thriller.

'Welcome To Chechnya' Chronicles Abuses Against Its LGBTQ Citizens

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Walter Mercado, Remembered, With 'Mucho Mucho Amor'

Walter Mercado, celebrity astrologer and great dresser, is featured in a new documentary called Mucho Mucho Amor. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Walter Mercado, Remembered, With 'Mucho Mucho Amor'

July 8, 2020 • Walter Mercado found his way into many tens of millions of homes as a television astrologer. A new Netflix documentary looks at his life and what he meant to the people who watched him.

Keanu Reeves stars as John Wick in John Wick: Chapter 3--Parabellum. Lionsgate hide caption

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Lionsgate

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

John Wick 3: A Popcorn Movie Memory

July 8, 2020 • Once upon a time, a man named John Wick retired from his successful career as an assassin. But then he returned to it. And across what's now a three-film series, he's been having a heck of a week ever since. In the third film, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Wick, played by Keanu Reeves, is on the run from foes and former friends alike. This episode originally aired on May 17, 2019.

John Wick 3: A Popcorn Movie Memory

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Arthur Jafa's Glorious Vision And Kanye West's Gilded Faith

Arthur Jafa, photographed in Milan, Italy on Jan. 14, 2020. Daniele Venturelli/Daniele Venturelli / Getty Image hide caption

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Daniele Venturelli/Daniele Venturelli / Getty Image

Review

Music Reviews

Arthur Jafa's Glorious Vision And Kanye West's Gilded Faith

July 7, 2020 • Arthur Jafa, the celebrated artist, translates a new song from West into his own film-visual language, both elevating and transcending it.

A Theater Student Gets Supersized Attention After Superhero Video Goes Viral

Julian Bass went viral for his superhero video with special effects. Julian Bass/Screenshot by NPR hide caption

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Julian Bass/Screenshot by NPR

Pop Culture

A Theater Student Gets Supersized Attention After Superhero Video Goes Viral

July 5, 2020 • College theater student Julian Bass got big affirmation for his video where he morphs into superheroes. He talks with NPR's Scott Detrow about his sudden fame — and his love for Spider-Man.

A Theater Student Gets Supersized Attention After Superhero Video Goes Viral

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