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Friday, March 22, 2013

Music Interviews

Timberlake On 'N Sync, Acting And Bringing Sexy Back

Justin Timberlake performs at Myspace Secret Show at SXSW on March 16 in Austin, Texas.

March 22, 2013 Justin Timberlake rocketed to stardom as a teen heartthrob in the band 'N Sync. He has gone on to be a successful solo artist — and expanded his career into both comedic and dramatic roles on-screen. He discusses his long career in showbiz, his SNL digital shorts and his transition to film.

Transcript

On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

Movie Reviews

With Vengeance And Violence, 'Olympus Has Fallen' Flat

Aaron Eckhart and Ashley Judd as the president and first lady in Olympus Has Fallen.

March 22, 2013 This macho action film starring Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman is a vigilante fantasy about terrorists and turncoats invading the United States. It's a popular genre, but critic David Edelstein says he's tired of the American addiction to these tropes.

Transcript

On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

Not Doing So 'Boffo,' 'Daily Variety' Drops Print Edition

Print versions of Daily Variety, like this one from 2003, will no longer be available on L.A. newsstands. Variety will continue online and in a print weekly, but the daily print edition is being dropped.

March 22, 2013 Showbiz info is everywhere now, making it harder to sustain Hollywood's slang-filled must-read as a daily print publication. The magazine printed its last daily this week but will continue online and in a weekly edition. Cultural historian Neil Gabler explains why this shift is significant.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

Movie Interviews

Tina Fey, Movie Star? Not Quite Yet, She Says

Tina Fey stars as Princeton University admissions counselor Portia Nathan in the new comedy Admission. Fey says the movie's frankly manic depiction of the college application melee appealed to her.

March 22, 2013 The writer, actor and producer has a starring role in the new movie Admission. She speaks with Linda Wertheimer about comedy, being in control and — now that her long-running sitcom, 30 Rock, has ended — why she really means it when she says she's taking a pause to spend more time with her family.

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Movie Reviews

'Olympus Has Fallen' (Into Cold-War Traps)

Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) and U.S. President Ben Asher (Aaron Eckhart) flee a destroyed White House in the military-political thriller Olympus Has Fallen.

March 21, 2013 There was a time when foreign invasion was a huge American concern. Now is not that time — but you could have fooled the makers of the crass, jingoistic Olympus Has Fallen, a sharp retreat to an era of military-fueled paranoia.

Summary

Movie Reviews

A 'Hunky Dory' High School Musical

Free-spirited drama teacher Viv (Minnie Driver) hopes to use a summer musical production of The Tempest to give her students a chance to express themselves in Hunky Dory.

March 21, 2013 As chipper and breezy as the summer term its students long to escape, the indie musical Hunky Dory cheerfully ignores the consequences of its plot holes. A spirited performance from Minnie Driver holds interest, though, as does a David Bowie-focused Shakespearean musical.

Summary

Movie Reviews

A 'Devil' In The Details Of A Brotherly Rivalry

Brothers Rash and Mo (James Floyd and Fady Elsayed) live in the rough working-class London neighborhood of Hackney — but which sibling is the titular designee in My Brother the Devil gets harder and harder to determine as the film goes on.

March 21, 2013 The authentic grit of modern London is a plus in Sally El Hosaini's debut feature, My Brother the Devil. What's less successful is her attempt to break storytelling conventions; a intriguing concept and a smart setup subside into familiar sibling-rival storytelling by the film's end.

Summary

Movie Reviews

'No Place On Earth': Underground, A Story Of Survival

Sam and Saul Stermer, members of a family who hid in an underground Ukrainian cave in the early days of World War II, return to the hideout in No Place on Earth.

March 21, 2013 Director Janet Tobias frames an indelible story of two families living in Eastern European caves early in World War II; spelunker Christopher Nicola discovered the hideout more than two decades ago.

Summary

Movie Reviews

An 'Admission' That Moms Might Not Know Best

High-strung Princeton University admissions counselor Portia (Tina Fey) finds old love — and a surrendered child — when she visits the Vermont prep school where old schoolmate John (Paul Rudd) is a teacher.

March 21, 2013 A new comedy starring Tina Fey and Lily Tomlin levies barbs at overactive parents in the college application process. It's a lively satire until it careens into typical rom-com territory: Can't modern women have a successful work-life balance without going insane?

Summary

Movie Reviews

'Gimme The Loot': The Tagger's Life, Lightly

Sofia (Tashiana Washington) and Malcolm (Ty Hickson) are two hardworking graffiti artists with a romantic chemistry that only they don't notice in Gimme the Loot.

March 21, 2013 The Bronx and its graffiti artists get a cheery, charming portrait in writer-director Adam Leon's debut feature, Gimme the Loot. Echoing the films of Richard Linklater in its vibrant authenticity, the film captivates in an agreeable 81 minutes. (Recommended)

Summary

Movie Reviews

'Spring Breakers': A Square Trip To The Seamy Side

The girls of Spring Breakers (from left, Ashley Benson, Vanessa Hudgens, Rachel Korine and Selena Gomez) live in the kind of fluorescent world where skimpy bathing suits fit within court appearance dress codes.

March 21, 2013 Harmony Korine's splashy crime comedy Spring Breakers has made headlines for its surprising, sexualized use of Disney-certified starlets. It packs a few surprises, but the violent, bloody film ultimately tries a little too hard to be truly avant-garde.

Summary

Movie Interviews

Director Fuqua Melds Timely Plot, 'Dream' Cast In 'Olympus'

Angela Bassett portrays Secret Service Director Lynn Jacobs and Morgan Freeman is acting President/Speaker of the House Allan Trumbull in Olympus Has Fallen.

March 21, 2013 In Antoine Fuqua's thriller Olympus Has Fallen, the White House is invaded by North Korean terrorists. Angela Bassett, who plays the Secret Service director, and Fuqua talk about the film's casting — and about how it opens at a politically sensitive time.

Transcript

On Tell Me MorePlaylist

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Business

Visual-Effects Firms Having Trouble Seeing Green

Guillaume Rocheron, Bill Westenhofer, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in February. Rhythm & Hues Studios, the company that produced the effects for winning film Life of Pi, recently declared bankruptcy.

March 19, 2013 Life of Pi won four Oscars, including one for visual effects. But the company that did much of its work, Rhythm & Hues, is bankrupt and up for auction. At a time when movies are increasingly depending on computer effects, why are the economics not holding up?

Transcript

On Morning EditionPlaylist

Sunday, March 17, 2013

It's All Politics

Playing This Year: Conservative Documentaries

Phelim McAleer directed the film FrackNation, one of more than 20 documentaries screened at this year's CPAC.

March 17, 2013 As independent financing and filmmaking becomes more accessible, conservatives are turning to movies to get their message out to a larger, younger audience. It's an attempt to get the conservative story out to a broader demographic.

Transcript

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