‘Nickel Boys’ director RaMell Ross says the South ‘makes you question what time is’
Ross’ Oscar-nominated film centers on two young Black men attempting to survive a brutal Florida reformatory school in the 1960s. He says he’s sees the rural South as a “meaning-making space.”
Demi Moore’s ‘The Substance’ will get under your skin
The Substance is a bloody, campy, fiercely feminist body horror film. Demi Moore plays a TV aerobics instructor who learns of a mysterious drug that causes another younger, entirely separate version of herself (Margaret Qualley) to splurt out of her back and assume her consciousness. The movie has earned Moore her first Oscar nomination, and she’s the frontrunner in this year’s best actress race. So we thought it would be the perfect time to revisit our conversation about the movie.
In the run-up to the Oscars, Pop Culture Happy Hour is watching all 10 best picture nominees – and you’re invited to join us! Sign up for the NPR Movie Club newsletter series and tell us what you thought of the movies you watched this week.
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Questlove’s new film probes ‘The Burden of Black Genius’ – starting with Sly Stone
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson says that telling Sly Stone’s story with empathy was a way to open a conversation about Black artists and mental health.
Nickel Boys gives a new point of view to the Civil Rights era
How do you adapt an “unadaptable” book? Today, host Brittany Luse finds out with RaMell Ross, director of the Oscar nominated adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s The Nickel Boys.The story, set in the Jim Crow South, follows two Black boys doing everything…
‘The truth hurts’: Sebastian Stan reflects on playing Trump in ‘The Apprentice’
Stan’s up for an Oscar for his portrayal of the president early in his career, when Roy Cohn was his lawyer and mentor. Stan says Cohn schooled Trump in “denying reality and reshaping the truth.”
Mike Leigh on ‘Hard Truths,’ James Bond and more
We welcome director Mike Lee back to the show. He talks with us about his recent film Hard Truths and what it was like to reunite with actor Marianne Jean-Baptiste on the project. He also tells us about how he reacted to reading one of the first rave reviews he received as a filmmaker.
Questlove confronts the ‘burden of Black genius’ in a new Sly Stone documentary
In SLY LIVES!, Questlove documents the genius of a funk trailblazer — and the pressure Sly felt as a Black artist. “Sly will be … the first domino in a long list of people that will self-sabotage.”
Karla Sofía Gascón’s posts derailed an Oscars run. In Spain, that raised eyebrows
Before Oscar-nominated movie Emilia Pérez, star Karla Sofía Gascón was relatively unknown in her home country. Now, Spanish news shows are filled with commentary about the actress and the fallout over her tweets.
In the new film ‘Jazzy,’ two young girls navigate adolescence in South Dakota
The new movie “Jazzy” follows two young girls as they navigate the ups and downs of adolescence in South Dakota. NPR’s Michel Martin speaks with the film’s director and young star.
Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Rossellini is probably best known as an actor, having acclaimed parts in movies like Blue Velvet, Death Becomes Her, and Big Night. She’s also a model, a performance artist, an accomplished singer and even an academic. When Isabella Rossellini joined Bullseye in 2022 she spoke with correspondent Louis Virtel about her role in Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, collaborating with David Lynch and why she is attracted to working in experimental film.
‘Love Hurts’ has big fight-movie skills
In the new action movie Love Hurts, Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan stars as a real estate agent who has remade his life after leaving the employ of his terrifying gangster brother. But when a beautiful and mysterious former associate (Ariana DeBose) returns into his life, everything goes haywire. The movie has hand fighting and a touch of romance–just in time for Valentine’s Day.
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