Film

It's "a very sensual instrument," the parody artists insists. A new over-the-top "biopic" tells the story of Yankovic's life — sort of. Originally broadcast Nov. 16, 2022.

Imperioli plays a sex-addicted Hollywood producer on vacation in Sicily in the HBO show. In '21, he published Woke Up This Morning, an oral history of The Sopranos. Originally broadcast Nov. 15, 2022.

Spielberg's latest project, The Fabelmans, is semi-autobiographical — focused on his childhood and teen years and his parents' divorce. Originally broadcast Nov. 9, 2022.

Avatar: The Way of Water isn't one of the year's best movies, but it's undoubtedly one of the best movie-going experiences Justin Chang has had in a while.

Author Glenn Frankel says the 1952 film High Noon was inspired by the toxic political climate of the time. Originally broadcast Feb. 21, 2017.

In his 2019 film Knives Out, director Rian Johnson crafted an Agatha Christie-style whodunit that also spoke volumes about class inequality and privilege in America. Now he's back, and this time he's taking aim at the tech billionaires.

Two new movies are based on well-known children's stories. One is "Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical," adapted from the popular stage show. The other is "Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio," a stop-motion animation version of the classic fairy tale. Our film critic Justin Chang recommends them both.

Clooney was among the recipients of the 45th Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday. He appeared on Fresh Air in 2005, after he directed, co-wrote and co-starred in Good Night, and Good Luck.

The scenes in the new documentary Harvest Time show footage taken when Young was making the album Harvest. We listen back to two Fresh Air interviews with Young, from 1992 and 2004.

Kumail Nanjiani is starring in the series Welcome to Chippendales, as the founder of the first club to feature male strippers dancing for audiences of women. Nanjiani co-starred in the comedy series Silicon Valley, co-wrote and starred in the film The Big Sick, and was the first South Asian to play a Marvel superhero.

James Gray's new film was inspired by his childhood in Queens in the 1980s. Though his grandparents had fled antisemitism in Ukraine, his family didn't recognize their own biases against Black people.

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck have recently been revived in the podcast, "Bugs and Daffy's Thanksgiving Adventure." We mark the occasion by listening to our 1989 interview with Jones, who died in 2022.

Brooks wrote countless edgy jokes over the years, but he doesn't regret any of them. He calls comedy his "delicious refuge" from the world. His memoir is All About Me! Originally broadcast in 2021.

It's been five years since New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey first wrote about Harvey Weinstein's history of sexual assault allegations and helped ignite the #MeToo movement. Now there's a new movie called "She Said," based on their Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation and their subsequent book about their investigation. The movie stars Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan and opens this week in theaters.

The music "biopic" parody Weird stars Daniel Radcliffe in an over-the-top version of Al Yankovic's life. In the film, making up words to songs that already exist is considered the work of a visionary, playing the accordion is akin to being a guitar hero and Yankovic is asked to be the next James Bond.

Steven Spielberg's new film "The Fabelmans" is a semi-autobiographical film based on his childhood and teenage years, and tells the story, in a fictionalized way, of how he fell in love with movies, and became a filmmaker.

Our film critic Justin Chang has this review of "The Fabelmans," which begins its theatrical run on Friday.

Chinonye Chukwu's new film, Till, works to afford Mamie her "rightful place in history" by telling the story through his mother's point of view. Though Emmett's murder is central to the narrative, Chukwu purposefully chose not to portray it on-screen.

In addition to Steven King and Jordan Peele, we talk with Oscar-winning actor Anthony Hopkins about how he humanized Hannibal Lecter, the oh-so-sophisticated cannibal of The Silence of the Lambs. And Carrie star Sissy Spacek remembers sneaking into the theaters in New York City to watch audiences jump at the sight of her hand stretching up from the grave at the end of that film. Plus, we hear from actor Mercedes McCambridge, who voiced the devil in The Exorcist; George Romero, who directed Night of the Living Dead; and Kathy Bates, who starred in the 1990 film Misery.

Armageddon Time, which opens in theaters this week, is based on events from James Gray's 1980s childhood in Flushing, Queens, and features performances by Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong and Anthony Hopkins.