Movies Movies

Stories About

Movies

Tuesday February 26, 2013

Amid Oscars Fanfare, Visual Effects Industry Faces Difficult Times

Life of Pi won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects, but the studio that helped bring to life the tiger Richard Parker is now facing bankruptcy in a increasingly volatile industry. AP via Twentieth Century Fox hide caption

toggle caption

AP via Twentieth Century Fox

All Tech Considered

Amid Oscars Fanfare, Visual Effects Industry Faces Difficult Times

February 26, 2013 • In a business where effects-laden movies bring in hundreds of millions of dollars, many of the studios that create those effects are barely staying afloat.

Thursday January 10, 2013

'Lincoln' Leads With 12 Oscar Nominations

Daniel Day-Lewis, in the lead role of Lincoln. David James/DreamWorks hide caption

toggle caption

David James/DreamWorks

The Two-Way

'Lincoln' Leads With 12 Oscar Nominations

January 10, 2013 • Lincoln is among nine movies competing for "best picture." The others: Amour, Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Silver Linings Playbook, and Zero Dark Thirty.

Tuesday June 26, 2012

NYT Excerpt: Mysteries Of The Movie Business

David Livingston/Getty Images

Planet Money

NYT Excerpt: Mysteries Of The Movie Business

June 26, 2012 • The vast majority of movies fail to break even, and no one really knows why the remainder succeed.

Friday May 25, 2012

What A Show! China's Movie Theaters Have Improved Dramatically

Moviegoers at a 3D IMAX theater in Beijing. Ng Han Guan/AP hide caption

toggle caption

Ng Han Guan/AP

The Two-Way

What A Show! China's Movie Theaters Have Improved Dramatically

May 25, 2012 • NPR's Frank Langfitt can't get over how much things have changed for movie fans such as him. In only a decade or so, China's theaters have gone high-tech. And they've gotten expensive.

Friday July 15, 2011

Shots - Health News

Smoking Down In Movies Kids See

July 15, 2011 • A long-running campaign to discourage the depiction of smoking in movies is paying off. There were far fewer incidents in 2010 than five years earlier. Filmmakers with public policies to reduce smoking in films showed the steepest declines.

Thursday June 30, 2011

Love It Or Hate It: Few Are In Between About 'Tree Of Life'

Part creation epic and part family drama, The Tree of Life stars Jessica Chastain and Brad Pitt as the parents of three boys in the '50s. Merie Wallace/Fox Searchlight Pictures hide caption

toggle caption

Merie Wallace/Fox Searchlight Pictures

The Two-Way

Love It Or Hate It: Few Are In Between About 'Tree Of Life'

June 30, 2011 • Theater owners say there's a trend: A small percentage of moviegoers always seem to leave before the highly acclaimed film is over. Some even want their money back. Have you ever done that?

Love It Or Hate It: Few Are In Between About 'Tree Of Life'

Listen · 4:35 4:35

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/137533978/137533684" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Thursday December 30, 2010

Blog Of The Nation

Beautiful Blizzards And Oscar Buzz

December 30, 2010 • Technology meets art meets critic: Jamie Stuart's beautiful movie gets Oscar buzz from world class movie critic Robert Ebert. Watch it here, and then maybe you'll get up the nerve to send your script to Scorsese...

Tuesday December 28, 2010

'Airplane!' And 'Saturday Night Fever' Among Those Added To Film Registry

John Travolta, as Tony Manero, in the classic film Saturday Night Fever, which was just added to the National Film Registry. Central Press/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Central Press/Getty Images

The Two-Way

'Airplane!' And 'Saturday Night Fever' Among Those Added To Film Registry

December 28, 2010 • There are now 500 films in the registry, which preserves those judged to be "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant.

Friday December 17, 2010

Garrett Hedlund in Tron: Legacy. Disney hide caption

toggle caption

Disney

Opinion

All Tech Considered

What The Critics Don't Get About Tron

December 17, 2010 • Critics have slammed the film Tron: Legacy, some asking if it should've even been made. NPR's Andy Carvin disagrees. "Tron isn’t just a movie. It’s a meme that a whole generation of geeks like me have been cherishing for nearly 30 years."

Tuesday November 16, 2010

All Tech Considered

Just For Laughs: 'If Other Directors Made The Social Network'

November 16, 2010 • How would different directors tell the Hollywood version of the Facebook story?

Wednesday November 3, 2010

The Two-Way

'Hobbit' At Risk? MGM Files For Bankruptcy

November 3, 2010 • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection, as part of a complex deal with its lenders that will see the company merge with Spyglass Entertainment. The papers include a provision to fund the prequel to "The Lord of the Rings."

Wednesday October 20, 2010

Promotional material for Hereafter. Warner Bros. hide caption

toggle caption

Warner Bros.

Blog Of The Nation

Hereafter, Maybe Try A Little Harder

October 20, 2010 • Something about the promotional image for Matt Damon's new movie, Hereafter, looked weirdly familiar to me. It looks like something I've seen before, something from the past... Yes. The fake movie within America's Sweethearts!

Tuesday August 17, 2010

Blog Of The Nation

No Commercials In 'No Country For Old Men'

August 17, 2010 • Some movies, like No Country For Old Men, just don't belong on television, marred by commercials. It's just too brutal to switch gears from intense, horrific drama to Chester the Cheetah ... And back again.

Tuesday August 3, 2010

Is 2010 Really The Worst Year For Movies Ever?

Critic Joe Queenan writes in the Wall Street Journal that Hollywood should "stop making movies like Grown Ups", starring Chris Rock, Kevin James, David Spade, Adam Sandler, and Rob Schneider (not pictured). "Humanity will thank you for it," he adds. Tracy Bennett/Sony Pictures hide caption

toggle caption

Tracy Bennett/Sony Pictures

Blog Of The Nation

Is 2010 Really The Worst Year For Movies Ever?

August 3, 2010 • One critic can't stand this year's movies about "misunderstood mercenaries, rogue cops, congenial thugs from South Boston, boys who do not want to grow up, ever, ever, ever, and cats" -- but is 2010 really the worst year for movies ever?

Blog Of The Nation

Ask Yourself: Must This Film Really Be 3-D?

August 3, 2010 • Piggybacking on a Wired post, we ask the question: What's gained with the extra dimension? A bunch of hype, sure. But in some cases, much may also be lost, including my hard-earned movie-going dollars.