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Culture

Saturday

Ansel Adams Or Not? The Answer's Worth Millions

One of the negatives discovered by Rick Norsigian. Courtesy Rick Norsigian hide caption

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Courtesy Rick Norsigian

Photography

Ansel Adams Or Not? The Answer's Worth Millions

It's an irresistible story. A building painter in Fresno, Calif., announces negatives he bought for $45 at a yard sale were taken by Ansel Adams. But the renowned photographer's family thinks the story is too good to be true, and the heat's on to prove the negatives' authenticity.

Ansel Adams Or Not? The Answer's Worth Millions

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Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

Comedian Maz Jobrani Plays Not My Job

Born in Iran and raised in the U.S., Maz Jobrani is one of the founding members of the Axis of Evil group -- a stand-up tour featuring Middle-Eastern comics. He answers three questions about baseball players who have injured themselves in stupid ways.

Comedian Maz Jobrani Plays Not My Job

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Friday

Food

'Ripe': One Man's Quest For The Perfect Tomato

Once upon a time, tomatoes were considered poisonous, even dangerous. But gradually, the plump produce made its way into our homes and onto our plates. Arthur Allen tells the story of the tomato's redemption, popularization and eventual modification in his book, Ripe: The Search For The Perfect Tomato.

'Ripe': One Man's Quest For The Perfect Tomato

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Holly Golightly: Breaking Rules In A Little Black Dress

The iconic black dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's was specially designed by Hubert de Givenchy. Howell Conant/Paramount/ The Kobal Collection hide caption

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Howell Conant/Paramount/ The Kobal Collection

Author Interviews

Holly Golightly: Breaking Rules In A Little Black Dress

In 1961, the character Audrey Hepburn brought to life in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's captured the imagination of an America on the cusp of a sexual revolution. Writer Sam Wasson shows how Hollywood made a hit out of a story about a call girl.

Holly Golightly: Breaking Rules In A Little Black Dress

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Author Interviews

Across Montana On Horseback, Poet Hands Out Poetry

Instead of talking to schoolchildren or promoting poetry through local libraries, Montana's poet laureate Henry Real Bird decided to carry out his duty the true Montana way. The cowboy and member of the Crow nation is on a 500-mile horseback trip, halfway across the state, handing out books to get people to "move along in thought."

Across Montana On Horseback, Poet Hands Out Poetry

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Thursday

A 'Dinner' Invitation You Can Safely Decline

Spot The Schmuck: Paul Rudd (right) stars as Tim, an ambitious executive tasked with finding a weirdo to bring to his boss's dinner -- for the high-flying hedge-fund types to mock. Steve Carell plays the oddball in question, a bizarre IRS agent who moonlights as a taxidermist. Merie Weismiller Wallace/Paramount hide caption

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Merie Weismiller Wallace/Paramount

Review

Movies

A 'Dinner' Invitation You Can Safely Decline

On paper, Dinner for Schmucks seems to have it all: a star-studded cast that includes reliable funnymen like Steve Carell and Paul Rudd, a veteran comedy director (Jay Roach) at the helm, and a premise lifted from a great French farce. But in reality, Schmucks is much less than the sum of its parts.

A 'Dinner' Invitation You Can Safely Decline

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'Dry Land': Where PTSD Prevails (And Formula Fails)

War Buddy: James reconnects with Raymond (Wilmer Valderrama), an old Army pal, after coming back from Iraq. Maya Entertainment hide caption

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Maya Entertainment

Review

Movies

'Dry Land': Where PTSD Prevails (And Formula Fails)

Ryan Piers Williams directs a drama about an Iraq veteran (Ryan O'Nan) who struggles to reconnect after returning to his Texas hometown. America Ferrera, Melissa Leo and Wilmer Valderrama also star -- but critic Scott Tobias says the screenplay lets them down.

'Get Low': Greeting Death With A Deadpan Smirk

Going Under: Bill Murray continues his streak of tragicomic roles in Get Low, playing an undertaker who gets involved in the life -- and approaching death -- of a mysterious hermit played by Robert Duvall. Sam Emerson/Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Sam Emerson/Sony Pictures Classics

Review

Movies

'Get Low': Greeting Death With A Deadpan Smirk

Bill Murray and Robert Duvall go head to head in this high-concept comedy about an aging man who throws a funeral party -- for himself. Critic Ella Taylor says that the veteran leads are perfectly cast as a pair of terse and cranky Southerners and commends the film for its sepia-tinged cinematography. (Recommended)

Seafaring 'Charlie St. Cloud' Keeps To The Shallows

Come Sail Away: Regatta champion Charlie St. Cloud (Zac Efron, right) loves boating and his little brother, Sam (Charlie Tahan) more than anything. But when tragedy strikes, Charlie's world is turned topsy-turvy. Diyah Pera/Universal Pictures hide caption

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Diyah Pera/Universal Pictures

Review

Movies

Seafaring 'Charlie St. Cloud' Keeps To The Shallows

Charlie St. Cloud purports to grapple with matters of life and death. But this ode to "moving on" from grief packs so little genuine emotion that it will touch only the most susceptible of viewers -- that is, the teenage girls who will flock to see heartthrob Zac Efron cry while not wearing a shirt.

Art & Design

Thomas Day: A Master Craftsman, With Complications

Thomas Day was a successful North Carolina furniture builder and woodworker in the decades before the Civil War. He was also of mixed-race heritage — and he appears to have owned slaves. A new book and exhibition tell his story.

Thomas Day: A Master Craftsman, With Complications

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Hugh Hefner: A Radical, And Not Just In The Bedroom

Revolutionary In A Robe: According to Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel, the publisher is as much social reformer as he is porn mogul, having championed everything from civil rights to gay rights over the course of a long career. Metaphor Films hide caption

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Metaphor Films

Review

Movies

Hugh Hefner: A Radical, And Not Just In The Bedroom

Most of us hear "Hef" and think of an overdressed, oversexed octogenarian with oodles of cash and even more Viagra. A new documentary sets out to change all that.

Author Interviews

What's The Story? Writers Reveal Why They Write

Whether they craft fiction or nonfiction, poetry or plays, writers use words to transport readers, and from the simplest blog post to the great American novel, it's a process -- and it's hard work. If you're a writer, tell us: What motivates you to put pen to paper, fingers to keys?

What's The Story? Writers Reveal Why They Write

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Jay Roach, Steve Carell Pair Up For 'Schmucks'

If You Give A Mouse A Diorama: Steve Carell (right) stars as Barry, an amateur taxidermist who's invited to a strange dinner party by Tim (Paul Rudd), a hedge fund manager on the make. Merie Weismiller Wallace/Paramount hide caption

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Merie Weismiller Wallace/Paramount

Movie Interviews

Jay Roach, Steve Carell Pair Up For 'Schmucks'

Fresh Air

Actor Steve Carell stars as an amateur taxidermist who enjoys creating elaborate dioramas with his stuffed rodents in the new Jay Roach film, Dinner for Schmucks. The two comedy vets talk improv, pathos and more.

Jay Roach, Steve Carell Pair Up For 'Schmucks'

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