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Friday

TV, Movies And Coronavirus

Movie theaters remain closed as stay-at-home orders continue in many parts of the U.S. due to the coronavirus pandemic. Chris Pizzello/AP hide caption

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Chris Pizzello/AP

It's Been a Minute

TV, Movies And Coronavirus

The coronavirus pandemic is affecting all parts of the entertainment industry. Sam talks to writer and comedian Jenny Yang and camera operator Jessica Hershatter, whose jobs are on hold due to shutdowns. Also, Sam and LA Times entertainment reporter Meredith Blake discuss television and streaming. And joining Sam for a special edition of Who Said That is Shea Serrano, staff writer for The Ringer and author of the book Movies (and Other Things).

TV, Movies And Coronavirus

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Thursday

While Waiting Out The Pandemic, It's Worth A Watch Of These Classic Films

In the 1971 movie "Harold and Maude," Bud Cort play Harold and Ruth Gordon, Maude. CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

The Coronavirus Crisis

While Waiting Out The Pandemic, It's Worth A Watch Of These Classic Films

In this time of fear and quarantining, critic Bob Mondello offers three classic movies worth revisiting — or watching for the first time.

While Waiting Out The Pandemic, It's Worth A Watch Of These Classic Films

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Tuesday

As Coronavirus Shuts Down Theaters, Universal Shifts Some Films To On-Demand

Trolls World Tour starring Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake will be the first film by Comcast NBCUniversal to be released to theaters and on-demand at the same time amid the coronavirus pandemic. DreamWorks Animation/AP hide caption

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DreamWorks Animation/AP

The Coronavirus Crisis

As Coronavirus Shuts Down Theaters, Universal Shifts Some Films To On-Demand

Trolls World Tour in April will be Comcast NBCUniversal's first film available at home on the same day as its global release. The company said some films in theaters will begin streaming Friday.

Sunday

Meet The Filmmaker Reinventing How African Women Are Portrayed In Movies

Rosine Mbakam, left, says she chose to shoot all images and sound herself to maintain an equal relationship with the subjects of her films. Icarus Films hide caption

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Icarus Films

Review

Goats and Soda

Meet The Filmmaker Reinventing How African Women Are Portrayed In Movies

Two deeply personal films from Cameroonian Rosine Mbakam won critical acclaim in the U.S. by grappling with how families maintain traditions in a time of global migration and generational change.

Tuesday

Tuesday

'The Invisibles' Reveals How Some Jews Survived Nazi Germany By Hiding In Plain Sight

Alice Dwyer plays the young Hanni Lévy in The Invisibles, which focuses on the lives of four German Jews who stayed in Germany during World War II and survived. Greenwich Entertainment hide caption

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Greenwich Entertainment

World

'The Invisibles' Reveals How Some Jews Survived Nazi Germany By Hiding In Plain Sight

"You just had to ignore the fear in your gut and push it away, become someone else," recalls one Jewish survivor, now 94. "I had to act like a regular Berliner. And this is what saved me in the end."

'The Invisibles' Reveals How Some Jews Survived Nazi Germany By Hiding In Plain Sight

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Wednesday

Jonas Mekas, Underground Filmmaker Who Cast A Long Shadow, Dies At 96

Jonas Mekas, seen in 2015 in Venice, Italy, where the filmmaker's digital works were exhibited at the same time as the Venice Biennale. Mekas died Wednesday at the age of 96. Awakening/Getty Images for Zuecca Project Space hide caption

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Awakening/Getty Images for Zuecca Project Space

Obituaries

Jonas Mekas, Underground Filmmaker Who Cast A Long Shadow, Dies At 96

The Lithuanian-born director, poet, archivist and critic, who died Wednesday, not only made dozens of experimental films — he helped carve a place for countless other filmmakers to do the same.

Friday

Friday

With An Eye On Oscars, Netflix Sent 'Roma' To Theaters First

Roma, written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, is being shown in cinemas across the U.S. — but for just a few weeks — before heading for Netflix streaming. Carlos Somonte/Netflix hide caption

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Carlos Somonte/Netflix

Business

With An Eye On Oscars, Netflix Sent 'Roma' To Theaters First

Alfonso Cuarón's acclaimed movie has been part of an ongoing battle over who gets to premiere movies: streaming services like Netflix, or theaters?

With An Eye On Oscars, Netflix Sent 'Roma' To Theaters First

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Monday

Spoiler Alert!
Angela Hsieh/NPR

Hidden Brain

Spoiler Alert!

Why do we always fall for surprise endings? It turns out that our capacity to be easily fooled in books and movies is made possible by a handful of predictable mental shortcuts. We talk this week with Vera Tobin, one of the world's first cognitive scientists to study plot twists. She says storytellers have been exploiting narrative twists and turns for millennia — and that studying these sleights of hand can give us a better understanding of the contours of the mind.

Spoiler Alert!

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Friday

Monday

MoviePass Limiting Subscribers To 3 Movies Per Month

Cassie Langdon holds her MoviePass card outside AMC Indianapolis 17 theatre in Indianapolis on Jan. 30. MoviePass, the discount service for movie tickets, announced it will not be raising prices but will be capping theater visits at three per month. Darron Cummings/AP hide caption

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Darron Cummings/AP

Business

MoviePass Limiting Subscribers To 3 Movies Per Month

The beleaguered movie theater subscription company will not be raising prices, as it had announced last week. Instead, it will institute a cap on theater visits.

Tuesday

Saturday

As Saudi Arabia's Cinema Ban Ends, Filmmakers Eye New Opportunities

The AMC cinema in Riyadh hosted the first film screening in more than three decades on April 18. Movie theaters open to the wider public next month after Saudi Arabia lifted a 35-year ban on cinemas as part of a far-reaching liberalization drive. Bandar Al-Jaloud/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Bandar Al-Jaloud/AFP/Getty Images

Parallels

As Saudi Arabia's Cinema Ban Ends, Filmmakers Eye New Opportunities

Allowing cinemas is part of a modernization drive by the Saudi government, which hopes to create more business opportunities and become a regional film hub. But it's a tough place to be a filmmaker.

As Saudi Arabia's Cinema Ban Ends, Filmmakers Eye New Opportunities

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Wednesday