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A new documentary examines the 'Star Wars Holiday Special' and asks: Why?

This November 1978 photo shows, from left, Kenny Baker as R2-D2, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill during the filming of CBS-TV's "Star Wars Holiday Special" in Los Angeles. George Brich/AP file photo hide caption

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George Brich/AP file photo

A new documentary examines the 'Star Wars Holiday Special' and asks: Why?

A new documentary called A Disturbance in the Force looks back on how the special happened and why it's been locked away ever since.

'Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé' is maximalist excellence

Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé is both concert film and documentary about the recent world tour. Parkwood Entertainment hide caption

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Parkwood Entertainment

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé' is maximalist excellence

Beyoncé's album Renaissance drew on generations' worth of Black and queer dance music — and the subsequent tour packed stadiums with an epic, lavish spectacle. Now, with the new concert film and documentary Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, she's shows the work that went into putting on the tour while also providing a sense of her journey as a highly driven artist.

'Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé' is maximalist excellence

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Napoleon's piano lends authenticity to Ridley Scott's biopic

The 1808 Érard piano that Napoleon gifted to his second wife, Marie-Louise, is on long-term loan from the Museum of Music History to the Cobbe Collection of historic instruments outside London. Museum of Music History hide caption

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Museum of Music History

Music News

Napoleon's piano lends authenticity to Ridley Scott's biopic

British composer Martin Phipps discusses how he used an 1808 French piano that once belonged to Napoleon in the score for Ridley Scott's biopic of the one-time emperor.

Napoleon's piano lends authenticity to Ridley Scott's biopic

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Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal and others celebrated at Kennedy Center Honors

The Kennedy Center Honorees, pictured L-R top row: Queen Latifah and Barry Gibb. L-R bottom row: Renée Fleming, Billy Crystal, and Dionne Warwick. The 46th Annual Kennedy Center Honors will air Dec. 27 on the CBS Television Network and stream on Paramount+. Mary Kouw/Mary Kouw/CBS hide caption

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Mary Kouw/Mary Kouw/CBS

Culture

Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal and others celebrated at Kennedy Center Honors

Billy Crystal, Dionne Warwick, Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, Renée Fleming and Queen Latifah were given the star treatment as they received their Kennedy Center Honors.

Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal and others celebrated at Kennedy Center Honors

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'May December' shines a glaring light on a dark tabloid story

Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in a scene from May December. Francois Duhamel/Netflix hide caption

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Francois Duhamel/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'May December' shines a glaring light on a dark tabloid story

In the campy film May December Julianne Moore stars as a tabloid fixture who was at the center of a scandal after she sexually abused a minor she later married. Charles Melton (Riverdale) plays her husband and Natalie Portman plays the famous actress who's preparing to play her in a movie decades later. It's directed by Todd Haynes (Carol) and is streaming on Netflix.

'May December' shines a glaring light on a dark tabloid story

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In 'The Boy and the Heron,' Miyazaki asks: How do we go on in the midst of grief?

Twelve-year-old Mahito journeys into an otherworldly realm in The Boy and the Heron. via Studio Ghibli hide caption

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via Studio Ghibli

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Movie Reviews

In 'The Boy and the Heron,' Miyazaki asks: How do we go on in the midst of grief?

Fresh Air

Hayao Miyazaki's beguiling new fantasy combines the excitement of a boy's grand adventure and the weight of an older man's reflection. The hypnotic story is a partial self-portrait by an anime master.

In 'The Boy and the Heron,' Miyazaki asks: How do we go on in the midst of grief?

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Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad share journey of 'two extremes' in American Symphony

Jon Batiste unveiled his first symphonic composition, American Symphony, at New York's Carnegie Hall on September 22, 2022. An eponymous documentary by Matthew Heineman follows his life with his wife. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad share journey of 'two extremes' in American Symphony

The same day musician Jon Batiste got 11 Grammy nominations, his partner, writer Suleika Jaouad, began chemotherapy. The new documentary American Symphony recounts their journey.

Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad share journey of 'two extremes' in American Symphony

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Yippy-ki-yay, it's 'Die Hard' season again

Bruce Willis in a scene from Die Hard. FlixPix/Alamy hide caption

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FlixPix/Alamy

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Yippy-ki-yay, it's 'Die Hard' season again

Since the holiday season is upon us, it's time to talk about an action classic that many consider to be a Christmas classic: Die Hard. The Bruce Willis movie turned 35 this year, so today we're bringing you this encore episode about the film that was recorded back in 2018.

Yippy-ki-yay, it's 'Die Hard' season again

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Sentimental but not soppy, 'Fallen Leaves' gives off the magic glow of a fable

Two lonely souls (Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen) come together in Fallen Leaves. Malla Hukkanen /Sputnik hide caption

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Malla Hukkanen /Sputnik

Review

Movie Reviews

Sentimental but not soppy, 'Fallen Leaves' gives off the magic glow of a fable

Fresh Air

Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki's melancholy romantic comedy about two lonely souls trapped in dead-end jobs builds to a gorgeous ending — with a great and revelatory final joke.

Sentimental but not soppy, 'Fallen Leaves' gives off the magic glow of a fable

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Disney's 'Wish' conjures up familiar dreams

Ariana DeBose as Asha in Wish. Disney hide caption

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Disney

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Disney's 'Wish' conjures up familiar dreams

It's been said that a dream is a wish your heart makes. But what happens when you entrust your dream to a charismatic but shady leader? That's the premise of Disney's latest animated movie Wish. It's a musical fantasy that stars Ariana DeBose as an idealist who goes head-to-head with Chris Pine's selfish King. There are catchy songs, cute talking animals, and a few heartfelt moments — in other words, the Disney blueprint.

Disney's 'Wish' conjures up familiar dreams

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A musical parody of 'Saw' teases out the queer love story from a cult horror hit

Andrew Caira (left) and Adam Parbhoo (right) star in a performance of Saw the Musical: The Unauthorized Parody of Saw at Manhattan's AMT theater. Natalie Keyssar for NPR hide caption

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Natalie Keyssar for NPR

Culture

A musical parody of 'Saw' teases out the queer love story from a cult horror hit

A love story is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the Saw franchise, but that's exactly what a new musical is – and then some.

A musical parody of 'Saw' teases out the queer love story from a cult horror hit

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Bradley Cooper's 'Maestro' fully captures Bernstein's charisma and complexity

Bradley Cooper plays composer Leonard Bernstein in Maestro. Jason McDonald/Netflix hide caption

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Jason McDonald/Netflix

Review

Movie Reviews

Bradley Cooper's 'Maestro' fully captures Bernstein's charisma and complexity

Fresh Air

Cooper plays the legendary composer and Carey Mulligan is his wife, Felicia Montealegre, in a new drama that exquisitely renders Bernstein's musical brilliance and human flaws.

Bradley Cooper's 'Maestro' fully captures Bernstein's charisma and complexity

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It's Been a Minute: Pressing pause on 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Pop Culture Happy Hour

It's Been a Minute: Pressing pause on 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon is everything an Oscar contender might be: long, epic, morally complicated and expensive. While many movie-goers left theaters moved, others called the film a problematic disaster. Today, we're bringing you an episode of NPR's It's Been A Minute, where host Brittany Luse and guests talk about what Killers of the Flower Moon got wrong and how it fits into a broader history of Native Americans on screen.

It's Been a Minute: Pressing pause on 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

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Kel Mitchell tells NPR what to expect from the 'Good Burger' sequel

They're back and more burgery than ever. Vanessa Clifton/Nickelodeon/Paramount+ hide caption

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Vanessa Clifton/Nickelodeon/Paramount+

Interview highlights

Kel Mitchell tells NPR what to expect from the 'Good Burger' sequel

It's been more than 25 years since the '90s cult classic came out. Now, the burger-slinging duo is back.

Kel Mitchell tells NPR what to expect from the 'Good Burger' sequel

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'Maestro' chronicles the brilliant Bernstein — and his disorderly conduct

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein and and Carey Mulligan as Felicia Montealegre in Maestro. Jason McDonald/Netflix hide caption

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Jason McDonald/Netflix

Review

Culture

'Maestro' chronicles the brilliant Bernstein — and his disorderly conduct

Actors Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan give warm, deeply sympathetic performances as wide-ranging musician Leonard Bernstein and his wife, Felicia Montealegre Cohn, in a biopic directed by Cooper.

'Maestro' chronicles the brilliant Bernstein — and his disorderly conduct

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'Leo' is an animated lizard with an SNL sensibility — and the voice of Adam Sandler

In Leo Adam Sandler voices a 74-year-old lizard who learns he has a gift for helping kids sort through their problems. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Movie Interviews

'Leo' is an animated lizard with an SNL sensibility — and the voice of Adam Sandler

If the pets in a 5th grade classroom could talk, what would they say? That's the premise of Leo, the new coming-of-age movie musical from Netflix.

'Leo' is an animated lizard with an SNL sensibility — and the voice of Adam Sandler

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'Napoleon' has big battles and a complicated marriage

Vanessa Kirby and Joaquin Phoenix in Napoleon. Aidan Monaghan/Apple hide caption

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Aidan Monaghan/Apple

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Napoleon' has big battles and a complicated marriage

In the new film Napoleon, director Ridley Scott tells the story of French leader Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix). It's a lavish war epic that tracks Bonaparte's rise to power through epic military battles, and explores his tumultuous marriage to the love of his life Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby).

'Napoleon' has big battles and a complicated marriage

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