Search results for

Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, one of the giants of the genre, takes an optimistic perspective on NASA's current Mars mission and President Bush's vision for future space exploration. The author of classics such as The Martian Chronicles speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Journalist Richard Pollak's latest book, The Colombo Bay, tells the story of his five-week journey from Hong Kong to New York aboard a container ship. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Pollak.

The U.S. film industry reports a solid year at the box office, but most of the big money is tied to a few major successes, led by the Disney animated film Finding Nemo. Overall ticket sales are down a bit from 2002. NPR's Bob Edwards talks with Los Angeles Times movie critic Kenneth Turan.

British actor Alan Bates has died of cancer at the age of 69. Bates starred in such films as Zorba the Greek, The Fixer and Georgy Girl. He was also a renowned Shakespearean actor who went on to win a Tony Award in 2002 for his role in Fortune's Fool on Broadway. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.

The Sundance Film Festival kicks off in Park City, Utah. In the past few years, Sundance has become associated with Hollywood sightings, glamorous parties and celebrity skiing. This year, festival organizers are trying to take the event back to its independent roots by featuring more films from unknown directors. David D'Arcy reports.

Hiroshima Maiden is the name of a theater work based on the experiences of a group of women disfigured by the atomic bomb. To help raise money for reconstructive surgery in New York, two of the women and their sponsor appeared on an episode of the old TV show This Is Your Life. One of the guests was the co-pilot of the Enola Gay.

Josh Roseman is a young trombonist who appreciates music with a groove. His band, the Josh Roseman Unit, has a new CD called Treats for the Nightwalker that blends styles of jazz, from funk to progressive. Music critic Jim Fusilli has a review.

In 1928, violinist Louis Kaufman became the first person to buy a painting by Milton Avery. A year later, The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., became the first museum to acquire a work by Avery. NPR's Susan Stamberg reports on a new exhibit at the Phillips that celebrates the long friendship between the two artists. See paintings and photos from the show.

The Return, a new Russian-language film, tells the story of two brothers whose prodigal father returns unexpectedly after more than a decade. The intense family drama marks the feature-directing debut of 40-year-old former actor Andrei Zvyagintsev. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan has a review.

Sid Couchey was a "factory artist" in the 1950s. Like many others, he worked in relative obscurity, churning out drawings for comic books. He didn't create the characters, but Couchey's pencil work for Harvey Comics included scads of drawings that made Richie Rich and Little Lotta famous. Hear Brian Mann of North Country Public Radio.