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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Love Lies Bleeding\u003c/em> is a weird goddamn movie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It manages to be incredibly sexy one moment and turn-away-from-the-screen repulsive the next. Graphic violence and ironic humor rub up against one another. Everyone looks like a dirty trashbag, but in a way that is somehow pleasing to the eye. (Not dissimilar to 1996’s \u003cem>Trainspotting,\u003c/em> I suppose — if \u003cem>Trainspotting\u003c/em> had more perms and greasy mullets.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also a movie that spends two-thirds viscerally steeping itself in gritty realism, only to erupt into a surreal fantasy that flounders in the last act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13929913']Yes. Please take my word for it: \u003cem>Love Lies Bleeding\u003c/em> is a weird goddamn movie that doesn’t just defy a single genre, it actively flips all of them off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the outset, this is a story that’s unusual in the best possible way. The setting is small-town New Mexico in 1989. Grumpy, chain-smoking gym employee Lou (Kristen Stewart) meets bodybuilding out-of-towner Jackie (Katy O’Brian). The two immediately shack up and begin a steamy — albeit steroid-enhanced — relationship. Jackie works at a nearby gun range that’s run by Lou’s estranged father, Lou Sr (Ed Harris). Jackie gets her job via J.J. (Dave Franco) after the two share a brief sexual encounter on her first night in town. J.J. also happens to be married to Lou’s sister Beth (Jena Malone), whom he viciously beats on a regular basis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF_J3-DmiS0&t=43s\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bulk of \u003cem>Love Lies Bleeding\u003c/em> is a brilliantly acted, thoroughly engrossing, slow spiral into increasingly violent, desperate and complicated circumstances. J.J.’s actions set the characters on a crash course in which people are killed, bodies are concealed, traps are set, lines are blurred and allegiances are changed. At its core, the film is about love and monstrousness and how the two can intersect. But it’s also about broken families, lonely people and corrupt systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If \u003cem>Love Lies Bleeding\u003c/em> had successfully retained that tone and momentum throughout, it could have been a damn-near perfect movie. Where it throws itself drunkenly off a cliff is in trying too hard to labor its main raison d’être: the idea that love is capable of driving people to unthinkable actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once the main characters are all thoroughly tied up in each other’s bad decisions, the script can’t quite figure out a sensible way to resolve itself. And with that, writer-director Rose Glass throws out the low-key, synth-enhanced, grimy sexiness that originally set the tone in favor of cartoonish imagery, a sharp shift into surreality and, worse still, plot holes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13952668']Still, there is enough to marvel at here that I can’t, in good conscience, tell you to skip \u003cem>Love Lies Bleeding\u003c/em> altogether. The aesthetics and misfit fashions alone are worth the viewing time. Then there’s all the hot-but-realistically-low-key sex between Lou and Jackie. Kristen Stewart’s slowly unraveling performance is magnificent. Katy O’Brian and her rippling muscles are consistently mesmerizing. And Ed Harris is so sinister here, this performance makes his \u003cem>Westworld\u003c/em> character look like a romantic lead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, by all means, go and see \u003cem>Love Lies Bleeding\u003c/em> for all of the above. Just don’t expect to get lost in its dirty little orbit for too long. It never quite sticks the landing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Love Lies Bleeding’ officially hits Bay Area big screens on March 15, 2024. Special preview screenings begin in select San Francisco and Oakland theaters on March 12. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/BF_J3-DmiS0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/BF_J3-DmiS0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>The bulk of \u003cem>Love Lies Bleeding\u003c/em> is a brilliantly acted, thoroughly engrossing, slow spiral into increasingly violent, desperate and complicated circumstances. J.J.’s actions set the characters on a crash course in which people are killed, bodies are concealed, traps are set, lines are blurred and allegiances are changed. At its core, the film is about love and monstrousness and how the two can intersect. But it’s also about broken families, lonely people and corrupt systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If \u003cem>Love Lies Bleeding\u003c/em> had successfully retained that tone and momentum throughout, it could have been a damn-near perfect movie. Where it throws itself drunkenly off a cliff is in trying too hard to labor its main raison d’être: the idea that love is capable of driving people to unthinkable actions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once the main characters are all thoroughly tied up in each other’s bad decisions, the script can’t quite figure out a sensible way to resolve itself. And with that, writer-director Rose Glass throws out the low-key, synth-enhanced, grimy sexiness that originally set the tone in favor of cartoonish imagery, a sharp shift into surreality and, worse still, plot holes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Still, there is enough to marvel at here that I can’t, in good conscience, tell you to skip \u003cem>Love Lies Bleeding\u003c/em> altogether. The aesthetics and misfit fashions alone are worth the viewing time. Then there’s all the hot-but-realistically-low-key sex between Lou and Jackie. Kristen Stewart’s slowly unraveling performance is magnificent. Katy O’Brian and her rippling muscles are consistently mesmerizing. And Ed Harris is so sinister here, this performance makes his \u003cem>Westworld\u003c/em> character look like a romantic lead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, by all means, go and see \u003cem>Love Lies Bleeding\u003c/em> for all of the above. Just don’t expect to get lost in its dirty little orbit for too long. It never quite sticks the landing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Love Lies Bleeding’ officially hits Bay Area big screens on March 15, 2024. Special preview screenings begin in select San Francisco and Oakland theaters on March 12. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Kung Fu Panda 4\u003c/em> finds our trusty, rotund hero Po at a career crossroads and he’s nervous. “Change doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” he is told. \u003cem>Kung Fu Panda 4\u003c/em> also finds the franchise at an inflection point, but there’s no reason for us to be nervous. DreamWorks knows what it’s doing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The series’ first new installment in eight years is a reliably funny, sweet and wonderfully realized passing of the torch, with a paw in the past and another into the future — an elegant goodbye and a hello. Many other filmmakers — ahem, Marvel and DC — might learn a thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13952301']When we meet him, Po — voiced as always by a lively Jack Black — is being asked to give up his dream role as Dragon Warrior and pick a successor. He’s being kicked upstairs to be Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. (This is basically the Peter Principle illustrated in animation.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Except Po doesn’t want to go into management. He loves smashing skulls and still has that lovable imposter syndrome he’s had since the franchise began. He tries to short-circuit any succession plans, change being too frightening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new enemy threatening an existential crisis offers a reprieve — The Chameleon — a wicked, powerful sorceress voiced by Viola Davis — looks like the lizard from the GEICO commercials who spent too much time at Graceland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Po teams up with a new character — a Corsac fox named Zhen voiced by Awkwafina — who is an orphan-turned-thief and teaches the too-trusting panda to trust no one. The movie then becomes a buddy road movie as these two hunt The Chameleon and a chance to bundle their home and auto insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wait a minute, you might be asking: Where are The Furious Five — Tigress, Viper, Monkey, Crane and Mantis — who have been in each \u003cem>Kung Fu Panda\u003c/em> iteration so far? They’re not really in \u003cem>Kung Fu Panda 4\u003c/em>, but the film reaches back to the first installment to bring back the snow leopard, Tai Lung, voiced by the sonorous Ian McShane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bryan Cranston is also back to voice Po’s goofy biological father and James Hong returns as his spirited adoptive goose dad, while Dustin Hoffman reprises his role as eye-rolling master Shifu.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_inKs4eeHiI\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a good balance of new and old characters but a masterstroke is coming: The Chameleon finds a way of accessing the spirit realm and bringing back every villain Po has ever faced. That results in a greatest hits-like fight scene that may be hard to top if there’s a \u003cem>Kung Fu Panda 5\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The third installment’s writers, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, are also back this time, joined by Darren Lemke. The film is helmed by \u003cem>The Lego Movie 2\u003c/em> director Mike Mitchell and co-directed by Stephanie Ma Stine, who worked on \u003cem>Raya and the Last Dragon\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The last three movies have largely stuck to the rural Valley of Peace, so the filmmakers change it up this time and take Po and Zhen to an urban environment, Juniper City, packed with busy animals, rickshaws, and bulls as police officers (watch for a hilarious bull-in-a-jade-shop joke).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13952668']As always, it’s the animators who are the real heroes here. From the thick fur on the pandas, to clay tiles smashing on roofs to rain splashing on stones, barroom brawls and petals wafting from cherry trees, this is a visual delight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Creating The Chameleon — and her scary Komodo dragon guards — gives the animators a chance to show a tiny lizard metamorphosize into an elephant in a few seconds and they relish it. They also sometimes dip into different animation styles, giving a viewer a visual break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are some missteps, like a pelican character controlled by a fish in its mouth and three cute bunnies who appear adorable and yet are deeply psychotic. (“Violence makes my tummy tingle,” one says.) Plus, the teaming up again of Po’s dads, while welcome, is also sort of pointless here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, as Po would say, “Skadoosh!” The filmmakers have managed a very tricky assignment: Pave the way for a new franchise direction, find new ways to entertain us, remind us of lessons like “It’s never too late to do the right thing” and end the whole thing with the Black-led cover by Tenacious D of “…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears. Embrace the change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ is released nationwide on March 8, 2024. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Kung Fu Panda 4\u003c/em> finds our trusty, rotund hero Po at a career crossroads and he’s nervous. “Change doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” he is told. \u003cem>Kung Fu Panda 4\u003c/em> also finds the franchise at an inflection point, but there’s no reason for us to be nervous. DreamWorks knows what it’s doing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The series’ first new installment in eight years is a reliably funny, sweet and wonderfully realized passing of the torch, with a paw in the past and another into the future — an elegant goodbye and a hello. Many other filmmakers — ahem, Marvel and DC — might learn a thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>When we meet him, Po — voiced as always by a lively Jack Black — is being asked to give up his dream role as Dragon Warrior and pick a successor. He’s being kicked upstairs to be Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. (This is basically the Peter Principle illustrated in animation.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Except Po doesn’t want to go into management. He loves smashing skulls and still has that lovable imposter syndrome he’s had since the franchise began. He tries to short-circuit any succession plans, change being too frightening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new enemy threatening an existential crisis offers a reprieve — The Chameleon — a wicked, powerful sorceress voiced by Viola Davis — looks like the lizard from the GEICO commercials who spent too much time at Graceland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Po teams up with a new character — a Corsac fox named Zhen voiced by Awkwafina — who is an orphan-turned-thief and teaches the too-trusting panda to trust no one. The movie then becomes a buddy road movie as these two hunt The Chameleon and a chance to bundle their home and auto insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wait a minute, you might be asking: Where are The Furious Five — Tigress, Viper, Monkey, Crane and Mantis — who have been in each \u003cem>Kung Fu Panda\u003c/em> iteration so far? They’re not really in \u003cem>Kung Fu Panda 4\u003c/em>, but the film reaches back to the first installment to bring back the snow leopard, Tai Lung, voiced by the sonorous Ian McShane.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bryan Cranston is also back to voice Po’s goofy biological father and James Hong returns as his spirited adoptive goose dad, while Dustin Hoffman reprises his role as eye-rolling master Shifu.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/_inKs4eeHiI'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/_inKs4eeHiI'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s a good balance of new and old characters but a masterstroke is coming: The Chameleon finds a way of accessing the spirit realm and bringing back every villain Po has ever faced. That results in a greatest hits-like fight scene that may be hard to top if there’s a \u003cem>Kung Fu Panda 5\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The third installment’s writers, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, are also back this time, joined by Darren Lemke. The film is helmed by \u003cem>The Lego Movie 2\u003c/em> director Mike Mitchell and co-directed by Stephanie Ma Stine, who worked on \u003cem>Raya and the Last Dragon\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The last three movies have largely stuck to the rural Valley of Peace, so the filmmakers change it up this time and take Po and Zhen to an urban environment, Juniper City, packed with busy animals, rickshaws, and bulls as police officers (watch for a hilarious bull-in-a-jade-shop joke).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>As always, it’s the animators who are the real heroes here. From the thick fur on the pandas, to clay tiles smashing on roofs to rain splashing on stones, barroom brawls and petals wafting from cherry trees, this is a visual delight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Creating The Chameleon — and her scary Komodo dragon guards — gives the animators a chance to show a tiny lizard metamorphosize into an elephant in a few seconds and they relish it. They also sometimes dip into different animation styles, giving a viewer a visual break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are some missteps, like a pelican character controlled by a fish in its mouth and three cute bunnies who appear adorable and yet are deeply psychotic. (“Violence makes my tummy tingle,” one says.) Plus, the teaming up again of Po’s dads, while welcome, is also sort of pointless here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, as Po would say, “Skadoosh!” The filmmakers have managed a very tricky assignment: Pave the way for a new franchise direction, find new ways to entertain us, remind us of lessons like “It’s never too late to do the right thing” and end the whole thing with the Black-led cover by Tenacious D of “…Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears. Embrace the change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ is released nationwide on March 8, 2024. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "The 2024 Oscars’ Best Original Song Nominees, Cruelly Ranked",
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"content": "\u003cp>Given the commercial and awards dominance of \u003cem>Barbie\u003c/em>‘s soundtrack — which was, if you remember, the most-nominated album at this year’s Grammys — you’d be forgiven for thinking that this year’s race for the best original song Oscar boils down to Fun Barbie (Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken”) vs. Pensive Barbie (Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?”). But the field has even more going for it than that, from a lovely Jon Batiste ballad to a moving piece by the Osage Tribal Singers to … well, the umpteenth nomination for songwriter Diane Warren, and even \u003cem>that\u003c/em> song isn’t terrible!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the sixth year I’ve ranked the nominated songs for NPR — here’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/03/06/1155451988/the-2023-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2023\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/02/07/1083945317/the-2022-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2022\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/04/21/987253460/the-2021-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2021\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/02/07/803636380/the-2020-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2020\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/02/23/697103948/the-2019-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2019\u003c/a> — and this is one of the better fields all around. So let’s tee ’em up, in ascending order of quality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>5. “The Fire Inside,” \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Flamin’ Hot\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>, performed by Becky G (Diane Warren, songwriter)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s hard to devise new ways to say that a Diane Warren composition gets nominated in this category every single year, invariably at the expense of superior songs. She’s locked into an eternal paradox: enough institutional support for a seventh consecutive nomination (!!), never enough juice to win.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13953424']So here we are, yet again, pondering Doomed Nomination No. 15 and thanking our lucky stars that “The Fire Inside” is actually … decent, as recent-vintage Diane Warren songs go. Lyrically, it’s just another slice of quasi-inspirational, nominally defiant boilerplate, dragged down by couplets that would cause a generative AI program to resign in embarrassment (“They will think they can stop you / But there’s no stopping you”). Rise, stand, fight, you got this, they can’t hold you back, blah blah blah, seriously, \u003cem>have ChatGPT and Diane Warren ever been seen in the same room together?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Musically, “The Fire Inside” is an effervescent and thoroughly inoffensive trifle, brought home by a charismatic vocal from Becky G. As a whole, this is probably Warren’s best Oscar-nominated song since 2015’s “Til It Happens to You” (a Lady Gaga collaboration that should have beaten Sam Smith’s “Writing’s on the Wall”), which is at least saying something. Just, you know, not \u003cem>much\u003c/em>. Had \u003cem>Flamin’ Hot\u003c/em> never existed — and how sad it would have been for the world to be denied Eva Longoria’s sub-featherweight brand-fluffing biopic! — Warren would have just gotten nominated for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58BzTRqQt4Y\">Gonna Be You\u003c/a>” from \u003cem>80 for Brady\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COXSy3rp6Vc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>4. “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Killers of the Flower Moon\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>, performed by Osage Tribal Singers (Scott George, songwriter)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maybe I’m riding high on the thrill of not having to write about Diane Warren for another 12 months, but this is a strong field! Next up is “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” which closes Martin Scorsese’s epic \u003cem>Killers of the Flower Moon\u003c/em> — and pointedly gives the Osage Nation the last word. An unconventional entry in a field typically reserved for English-language songs by well-known artists, “Wahzhazhe” had an unusual number of hurdles to clear in order to get nominated, starting with the fact that it had \u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/oscar-2024-nominations-music-best-original-song-score-1235604053/\">never been written down\u003c/a> prior to submission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first Native American nominated for best original song, songwriter Scott George crafted a rousing work that transcends its place in a movie’s closing credits: It’s a work of celebration that suits its moment in the film while speaking to the Osage Nation’s resilience in the face of systemic discrimination and murder. And it’ll surely sound terrific when performed on Oscar night, which is just one more reason among many to cheer its inclusion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyWCr1ly4oc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>3. “It Never Went Away,” \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>American Symphony\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>, performed by Jon Batiste (Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson, songwriters)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>American Symphony\u003c/em> documents 2021 Oscar winner Jon Batiste’s efforts to write a symphony while his wife, bestselling author Suleika Jaouad, battled leukemia. As documentaries go, it’s moving without being terribly revealing — which can also be said for the Oscar-nominated ballad that plays over the film’s closing credits. But the gorgeous piano line that propels “It Never Went Away” sure does hit hard, as Batiste serenades his wife in a lullaby of devotion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike so many Oscar-nominated closing-credits songs before it, “It Never Went Away” feels richly connected to the themes of the movie preceding it. The words Batiste sings aren’t exactly novel — “Thought I was a wise lad / When you plan, God laughs” — but the song as a whole beautifully captures the experience of love as an accumulation of hard-won moments, forged in shared sacrifice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27jnCQYRXLc\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2. “I’m Just Ken,” \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Barbie\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>, performed by Ryan Gosling (Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s virtually impossible to choose which eligible \u003cem>Barbie\u003c/em> song most deserves this year’s Oscar: You could make a strong case for both nominated songs, as well as Dua Lipa’s effervescent “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiC1rgCPmUQ\">Dance the Night\u003c/a>,” which was shortlisted but missed the cut. (These days, Oscar rules stipulate that no more than two songs can be nominated from a single film.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13931753']So, seriously, think of Ryan Gosling’s wild, joke-dense “I’m Just Ken” as No. 1a more than No. 2 — though it does seem fitting that poor Ken would be relegated to second place yet again. Part inspirational battle anthem, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13953424/film-critics-oscars-alternative-awards-best-movie-dog-stunt-cameo-song\">part dream ballet\u003c/a>, part ’80s power-ballad pastiche, “I’m Just Ken” soundtracks one of \u003cem>Barbie\u003c/em>‘s many key scenes, advancing the plot even as it dispenses catchphrases (“Can you feel the Kenergy?”) and asks the questions so many of us have asked of ourselves (“Am I not hot when I’m in my feelings?”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though “What Was I Made For?” remains this year’s likely winner, it wouldn’t be a massive shock if “I’m Just Ken” were to rise up and snatch the Oscar from its more somber \u003cem>Barbie\u003c/em> counterpart. The song pulls off a genuinely awesome feat: a grand and clever piece of comedic spectacle that is, among other superlatives, great at doing stuff. And, if you’re not grateful for “I’m Just Ken” now, just wait until it shows up to enliven a three-and-a-half-hour Oscars telecast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwux9KiBMjE\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1. “What Was I Made For?,” \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Barbie\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>, performed by Billie Eilish (Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, songwriters)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m never going to fault anyone for choosing jokes over feelings, so you’re more than forgiven if you prefer “I’m Just Ken” to “What Was I Made For?” But, \u003cem>man\u003c/em>, this is a gorgeous song: melodically rich, a radiant vocal performance from Billie Eilish, a compelling way to magnify the pathos in \u003cem>Barbie\u003c/em>‘s story of self-awakening, and an actual chart hit to boot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13931981']It’s worth noting once again how often the Oscars’ best original song field gets dominated by songs that roll harmlessly over closing credits — and, more to the point, that fail to convey or reflect on what their films were trying to say. This season, only the Diane Warren song really falls short in that regard; though they play over their respective credits, “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” could only come from \u003cem>Killers of the Flower Moon\u003c/em> and “It Never Went Away” could only come from \u003cem>American Symphony\u003c/em>. That’s a big step up from most years, which says nothing of how integral “I’m Just Ken” and “What Was I Made For?” are to \u003cem>Barbie\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year’s Oscar field produced one of the best and most satisfying winners this category has ever produced in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsU0CGZoV8E\">Naatu Naatu\u003c/a>” from \u003cem>RRR\u003c/em>. As long as Barbie gets its due this time around, we’re in for another all-timer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML0zd8UAuq8\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=The+2024+Oscars%27+best+original+song+nominees%2C+cruelly+ranked&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Given the commercial and awards dominance of \u003cem>Barbie\u003c/em>‘s soundtrack — which was, if you remember, the most-nominated album at this year’s Grammys — you’d be forgiven for thinking that this year’s race for the best original song Oscar boils down to Fun Barbie (Ryan Gosling’s “I’m Just Ken”) vs. Pensive Barbie (Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?”). But the field has even more going for it than that, from a lovely Jon Batiste ballad to a moving piece by the Osage Tribal Singers to … well, the umpteenth nomination for songwriter Diane Warren, and even \u003cem>that\u003c/em> song isn’t terrible!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the sixth year I’ve ranked the nominated songs for NPR — here’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/03/06/1155451988/the-2023-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2023\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/02/07/1083945317/the-2022-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2022\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/04/21/987253460/the-2021-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2021\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/02/07/803636380/the-2020-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2020\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2019/02/23/697103948/the-2019-oscars-best-original-song-nominees-cruelly-ranked\">2019\u003c/a> — and this is one of the better fields all around. So let’s tee ’em up, in ascending order of quality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>5. “The Fire Inside,” \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Flamin’ Hot\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>, performed by Becky G (Diane Warren, songwriter)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s hard to devise new ways to say that a Diane Warren composition gets nominated in this category every single year, invariably at the expense of superior songs. She’s locked into an eternal paradox: enough institutional support for a seventh consecutive nomination (!!), never enough juice to win.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>So here we are, yet again, pondering Doomed Nomination No. 15 and thanking our lucky stars that “The Fire Inside” is actually … decent, as recent-vintage Diane Warren songs go. Lyrically, it’s just another slice of quasi-inspirational, nominally defiant boilerplate, dragged down by couplets that would cause a generative AI program to resign in embarrassment (“They will think they can stop you / But there’s no stopping you”). Rise, stand, fight, you got this, they can’t hold you back, blah blah blah, seriously, \u003cem>have ChatGPT and Diane Warren ever been seen in the same room together?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Musically, “The Fire Inside” is an effervescent and thoroughly inoffensive trifle, brought home by a charismatic vocal from Becky G. As a whole, this is probably Warren’s best Oscar-nominated song since 2015’s “Til It Happens to You” (a Lady Gaga collaboration that should have beaten Sam Smith’s “Writing’s on the Wall”), which is at least saying something. Just, you know, not \u003cem>much\u003c/em>. Had \u003cem>Flamin’ Hot\u003c/em> never existed — and how sad it would have been for the world to be denied Eva Longoria’s sub-featherweight brand-fluffing biopic! — Warren would have just gotten nominated for “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58BzTRqQt4Y\">Gonna Be You\u003c/a>” from \u003cem>80 for Brady\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/COXSy3rp6Vc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/COXSy3rp6Vc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>4. “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Killers of the Flower Moon\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>, performed by Osage Tribal Singers (Scott George, songwriter)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Maybe I’m riding high on the thrill of not having to write about Diane Warren for another 12 months, but this is a strong field! Next up is “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People),” which closes Martin Scorsese’s epic \u003cem>Killers of the Flower Moon\u003c/em> — and pointedly gives the Osage Nation the last word. An unconventional entry in a field typically reserved for English-language songs by well-known artists, “Wahzhazhe” had an unusual number of hurdles to clear in order to get nominated, starting with the fact that it had \u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/oscar-2024-nominations-music-best-original-song-score-1235604053/\">never been written down\u003c/a> prior to submission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first Native American nominated for best original song, songwriter Scott George crafted a rousing work that transcends its place in a movie’s closing credits: It’s a work of celebration that suits its moment in the film while speaking to the Osage Nation’s resilience in the face of systemic discrimination and murder. And it’ll surely sound terrific when performed on Oscar night, which is just one more reason among many to cheer its inclusion.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/nyWCr1ly4oc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/nyWCr1ly4oc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>3. “It Never Went Away,” \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>American Symphony\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>, performed by Jon Batiste (Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson, songwriters)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>American Symphony\u003c/em> documents 2021 Oscar winner Jon Batiste’s efforts to write a symphony while his wife, bestselling author Suleika Jaouad, battled leukemia. As documentaries go, it’s moving without being terribly revealing — which can also be said for the Oscar-nominated ballad that plays over the film’s closing credits. But the gorgeous piano line that propels “It Never Went Away” sure does hit hard, as Batiste serenades his wife in a lullaby of devotion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike so many Oscar-nominated closing-credits songs before it, “It Never Went Away” feels richly connected to the themes of the movie preceding it. The words Batiste sings aren’t exactly novel — “Thought I was a wise lad / When you plan, God laughs” — but the song as a whole beautifully captures the experience of love as an accumulation of hard-won moments, forged in shared sacrifice.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/27jnCQYRXLc'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/27jnCQYRXLc'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2. “I’m Just Ken,” \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Barbie\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>, performed by Ryan Gosling (Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s virtually impossible to choose which eligible \u003cem>Barbie\u003c/em> song most deserves this year’s Oscar: You could make a strong case for both nominated songs, as well as Dua Lipa’s effervescent “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiC1rgCPmUQ\">Dance the Night\u003c/a>,” which was shortlisted but missed the cut. (These days, Oscar rules stipulate that no more than two songs can be nominated from a single film.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>So, seriously, think of Ryan Gosling’s wild, joke-dense “I’m Just Ken” as No. 1a more than No. 2 — though it does seem fitting that poor Ken would be relegated to second place yet again. Part inspirational battle anthem, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13953424/film-critics-oscars-alternative-awards-best-movie-dog-stunt-cameo-song\">part dream ballet\u003c/a>, part ’80s power-ballad pastiche, “I’m Just Ken” soundtracks one of \u003cem>Barbie\u003c/em>‘s many key scenes, advancing the plot even as it dispenses catchphrases (“Can you feel the Kenergy?”) and asks the questions so many of us have asked of ourselves (“Am I not hot when I’m in my feelings?”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though “What Was I Made For?” remains this year’s likely winner, it wouldn’t be a massive shock if “I’m Just Ken” were to rise up and snatch the Oscar from its more somber \u003cem>Barbie\u003c/em> counterpart. The song pulls off a genuinely awesome feat: a grand and clever piece of comedic spectacle that is, among other superlatives, great at doing stuff. And, if you’re not grateful for “I’m Just Ken” now, just wait until it shows up to enliven a three-and-a-half-hour Oscars telecast.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/wwux9KiBMjE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/wwux9KiBMjE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1. “What Was I Made For?,” \u003c/strong>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>Barbie\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>, performed by Billie Eilish (Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, songwriters)\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m never going to fault anyone for choosing jokes over feelings, so you’re more than forgiven if you prefer “I’m Just Ken” to “What Was I Made For?” But, \u003cem>man\u003c/em>, this is a gorgeous song: melodically rich, a radiant vocal performance from Billie Eilish, a compelling way to magnify the pathos in \u003cem>Barbie\u003c/em>‘s story of self-awakening, and an actual chart hit to boot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>It’s worth noting once again how often the Oscars’ best original song field gets dominated by songs that roll harmlessly over closing credits — and, more to the point, that fail to convey or reflect on what their films were trying to say. This season, only the Diane Warren song really falls short in that regard; though they play over their respective credits, “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” could only come from \u003cem>Killers of the Flower Moon\u003c/em> and “It Never Went Away” could only come from \u003cem>American Symphony\u003c/em>. That’s a big step up from most years, which says nothing of how integral “I’m Just Ken” and “What Was I Made For?” are to \u003cem>Barbie\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year’s Oscar field produced one of the best and most satisfying winners this category has ever produced in “\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsU0CGZoV8E\">Naatu Naatu\u003c/a>” from \u003cem>RRR\u003c/em>. As long as Barbie gets its due this time around, we’re in for another all-timer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/ML0zd8UAuq8'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/ML0zd8UAuq8'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=The+2024+Oscars%27+best+original+song+nominees%2C+cruelly+ranked&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Best Dog? Best Hat? Ahead of the Oscars, Film Critics Hand Out Their Own Awards",
"headTitle": "Best Dog? Best Hat? Ahead of the Oscars, Film Critics Hand Out Their Own Awards | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>The Academy Awards honor many things in movies but not some of the most important. Ahead of Sunday’s Oscars, Associated Press film writers Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle make selections for their own awards — some more offbeat than others.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Best Actually Supporting Performance: Cory Michael Smith, ‘May December’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Sometimes the best truly supporting performances are the ones that will never, ever get the “awards push,” like the brilliant Cory Michael Smith as Georgie Atherton in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938143/may-december-movie-review-netflix-mary-kay-letourneau-julianne-moore\">\u003cem>May December\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. With his subtly manic energy, sad smile and that awful bleached hair, his is that kind of undeniable presence who steals both scenes he’s in and also completely upends everything we’ve come to understand so far. But this is how awards season works and something that only our awards strategist friends can justify. — L.B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953431\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1276px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953431\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.44.37-PM.png\" alt=\"A nervous looking woman sits on a bench, hands clasped in her lap, next to a younger man who is sitting casually with his legs crossed.\" width=\"1276\" height=\"892\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.44.37-PM.png 1276w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.44.37-PM-800x559.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.44.37-PM-1020x713.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.44.37-PM-160x112.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.44.37-PM-768x537.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1276px) 100vw, 1276px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Natalie Portman and Cory Michael Smith in a scene from ‘May December.’ \u003ccite>(François Duhamel/ Netflix via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Hairstyle: Gwen’s upside-down ponytail, ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There are, no doubt, more elegantly styled heads of hair among this year’s Oscar nominees. But no ‘do could match the gravity-assisted beauty of the ponytail that hangs suspended in the air when Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) and Miles (Shameik Moore) sit together, clung to the underside of cornice, gazing out at an upturned New York in \u003cem>Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse\u003c/em>. For a topsy-turvy, canon-breaking film series, Gwen’s upside-down ponytail points the way. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953432\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1168px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953432\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.46.49-PM.png\" alt=\"An illustration of two small figures sitting on a bench. In the distance, a city skyline can be seen upside down.\" width=\"1168\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.46.49-PM.png 1168w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.46.49-PM-800x482.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.46.49-PM-1020x615.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.46.49-PM-160x96.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.46.49-PM-768x463.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1168px) 100vw, 1168px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Miles Morales as Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen in a scene from Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation’s ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.’ \u003ccite>(Sony Pictures Animation via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Duo Act: Jeffrey Wright and John Ortiz, ‘American Fiction’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As great as the whole ensemble is in Cord Jefferson’s incisive drama, the movie is never better than when Wright and Ortiz are matched together. When Wright’s frustrated novelist Monk Ellison meets with his agent Arthur (Ortiz), \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938160/american-fiction-based-on-erasure-jeffrey-wright-cord-jefferson-ross\">\u003cem>American Fiction\u003c/em>\u003c/a> sparkles with the comic interplay of two character-actor greats. Give these guys a sitcom and I’d watch six seasons. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953433\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1206px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953433\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.48.52-PM.png\" alt=\"A Black man in a polo shirt and a Latino man in a shirt and tie both peer down at a desk looking concerned.\" width=\"1206\" height=\"786\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.48.52-PM.png 1206w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.48.52-PM-800x521.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.48.52-PM-1020x665.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.48.52-PM-160x104.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.48.52-PM-768x501.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1206px) 100vw, 1206px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeffrey Wright and John Ortiz in a scene from ‘American Fiction.’ \u003ccite>(MGM via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Cameo: Margot Robbie, ‘Asteroid City’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Wes Anderson’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13930502/asteroid-city-review-wes-anderson-scarlet-johansson-jason-schwartzman\">\u003cem>Asteroid City\u003c/em>\u003c/a> got a raw deal this year with zero nominations (maybe he’ll win his first Oscar for his Henry Sugar short). One performance in a sea of great ones that really made an impact was a true cameo that’s saved for the very end: Margot Robbie as the actor whose scene as Jason Schwartzman’s dead wife was cut for time. She gets only a few minutes, to remind her would’ve-been co-star of their would’ve-been lines, dressed in Elizabethan garb a balcony away. It is an emotional gut punch of the best kind, brief and perfect. — L.B.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Best Face: Willem Dafoe, ‘Poor Things’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Willem Dafoe’s face is already a work of art, but\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938158/poor-things-movie-review-emma-stone-bella-baxter-mark-ruffalo-willem-dafoe\">\u003cem> Poor Things\u003c/em>\u003c/a> turns it into a Munch-esque masterpiece. His scarred Dr. Godwin Baxter, whose deformities come from experiments performed on him, is like a fusion of mad scientist and wounded victim. He’s Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s monster, in one. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953434\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1270px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953434\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.50.45-PM.png\" alt=\"A disfigured man sits at a dining table next to a contraption made of glass bottles and tubes.\" width=\"1270\" height=\"780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.50.45-PM.png 1270w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.50.45-PM-800x491.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.50.45-PM-1020x626.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.50.45-PM-160x98.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.50.45-PM-768x472.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1270px) 100vw, 1270px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Willem Dafoe in a scene from ‘Poor Things.’ \u003ccite>(Atsushi Nishijima/ Searchlight Pictures via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Stunts: ‘Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning — Part One’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It remains wild that the film academy still doesn’t recognize stunts, but we can here. \u003cem>Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning\u003c/em> isn’t the underdog in this category but that doesn’t make what they did any less impressive. The obvious “best” is the cliff jump, which most of us know by now that Tom Cruise did himself. But I’m also partial to the Rome car chase in which Cruise and Hayley Atwell try to escape capture in a creaky, vintage Fiat 500 while handcuffed together. — L.B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953435\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1138px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953435\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.52.26-PM.png\" alt=\"A man flies through the air in a horizontal position, a motorbike if falling vertically underneath him.\" width=\"1138\" height=\"756\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.52.26-PM.png 1138w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.52.26-PM-800x531.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.52.26-PM-1020x678.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.52.26-PM-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.52.26-PM-768x510.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1138px) 100vw, 1138px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tom Cruise in a scene from ‘Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One.’ \u003ccite>(Paramount Pictures via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Use of Earth Wind and Fire’s ‘September’: ‘Robot Dreams’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“September” has probably been heard in a hundred movies and at a billion weddings, but the best animated feature nominee \u003cem>Robot Dreams\u003c/em> uses the disco classic to perfection. In a movie that is strikingly grown-up about a relationship between a dog and robot, all of the joy and nostalgia of “September” has never been more moving. It sends you out of the theater humming “The bell was ringin’, oh, oh / Our souls were singin’.” — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953436\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 956px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953436\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.54.27-PM.png\" alt=\"A robot and a dog stand in front of a hotdog cart at a park, holding hot dogs.\" width=\"956\" height=\"682\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.54.27-PM.png 956w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.54.27-PM-800x571.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.54.27-PM-160x114.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.54.27-PM-768x548.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 956px) 100vw, 956px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from ‘Robot Dreams.’ \u003ccite>(Neon via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Most Stylish: ‘Priscilla’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This is perhaps a silly superlative to give to a movie that was easily one of the strongest adaptations of the year, taking what was essentially a young woman’s diary entries and making something evocative and profound without the use of first-person narration. The thoughtful style of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13936970/priscilla-movie-review-sofia-coppola-jacob-elordi-cailee-spaeny\">Sofia Coppola’s film\u003c/a> helps make this point, transporting audiences into this intoxicating and dreamlike wonderland of the most beautiful clothes and glamorous settings with the biggest star of the time, and guiding us along with Pricilla to the realization that it is also a nightmare. — L.B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953437\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1262px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953437\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.55.55-PM.png\" alt=\"A 1960s bride and groom stand before a tiered wedding cake in front of an arch made of white roses. \" width=\"1262\" height=\"846\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.55.55-PM.png 1262w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.55.55-PM-800x536.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.55.55-PM-1020x684.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.55.55-PM-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.55.55-PM-768x515.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1262px) 100vw, 1262px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi in a scene from ‘Priscilla.’ \u003ccite>(Philippe Le Sourd/ A24 via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Scene: The Trinity Test, ‘Oppenheimer’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>I don’t love everything about Christopher Nolan’s epic but I think the Trinity Test scene is a sequence that will be taught to film students for generations. It’s not just the explosion itself, which was accomplished with old-school moviemaking techniques like forced perspective (doing something small but making it seem big). It’s the rumbling tremors of the moments that follow, when Oppenheimer, after hearing that the bomb has been dropped on Hiroshima, is greeted by a flag-waving gymnasium audience. Oppenheimer’s face is horrified, reckoning with what he’s wrought. The crowd turns grotesque and ashen. A girl (played by Nolan’s daughter) shrieks. Here is the real thunder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932204/oppenheimer-japanese-erasure\">\u003cem>Oppenheimer\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953438\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1278px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953438\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.57.52-PM.png\" alt=\"A white man sits, wearing goggles in front of a small window. His face is lit up in bright light.\" width=\"1278\" height=\"890\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.57.52-PM.png 1278w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.57.52-PM-800x557.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.57.52-PM-1020x710.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.57.52-PM-160x111.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.57.52-PM-768x535.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1278px) 100vw, 1278px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cillian Murphy in a scene from ‘Oppenheimer.’ \u003ccite>(Universal Pictures via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Dream Ballet: ‘Barbie’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Last year had so much great dancing, from the sweaty club scenes in \u003cem>Passages\u003c/em>, to the wedding line dance in \u003cem>The Iron Claw\u003c/em>, Jeff’s silly moves in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13933589/behind-bottoms-a-wild-queer-and-bloody-high-school-sex-comedy\">\u003cem>Bottoms\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, Bella Baxter’s broken doll euphoria in \u003cem>Poor Things\u003c/em>, \u003cem>M3GAN\u003c/em>’s boogie and, of course, the end of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938358/saltburn-review-emerald-fennell-shocking-scenes-jacob-elordi\">\u003cem>Saltburn\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. But the trophy goes to Greta Gerwig’s euphoric “I’m Just Ken” dream ballet, a sequence she fought to keep in that is also the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13931753/allan-doll-michael-cera-greta-gerwig-barbie-movie-review\">best in the film\u003c/a>. — L.B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDCnJHyMuyU\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Best Fight: Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies, ‘You Hurt My Feelings’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Sure, you could pick more violent encounters. But is there possibly anything more ferociously rock ’em-sock ’em than an author overhearing her husband say he doesn’t like her latest book? In Nicole Holofcener’s \u003cem>You Hurt My Feelings\u003c/em>, it’s the opening salvo in a painfully, hysterically acute examination of honesty in relationships. Not, I repeat not, a date movie. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953440\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1198px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953440\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.01.56-PM.png\" alt=\"A white man and a white woman stand in a living room, facing forward and looking stunned.\" width=\"1198\" height=\"748\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.01.56-PM.png 1198w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.01.56-PM-800x499.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.01.56-PM-1020x637.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.01.56-PM-160x100.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.01.56-PM-768x480.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1198px) 100vw, 1198px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tobias Menzies and Julia Louis-Dreyfus in a scene from ‘You Hurt My Feelings.’ \u003ccite>(Jeong Park/ A24 via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Use of a Preexisting Song: ‘Silver Joy’ by Damien Jurado, ‘The Holdovers’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>I think the original song category needs an overhaul. For years, movies have helped introduce me to songs that exist that I might have missed, that become immediate favorites because of the emotional association with a movie. Selecting the right existing song is such an art and one last year stood out over all the rest: Damien Jurado’s “Silver Joy” in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13937046/alexander-payne-keeps-real-emotion-at-bay-in-the-coyly-comic-holdovers\">\u003cem>The Holdovers\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. — L.B.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Best Hat: Michael Fassbender’s bucket hat, ‘The Killer’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Meticulous movie hitmen have long worn stylish hats. Think of the fedora of the protagonist of \u003cem>Le Samouraï.\u003c/em> The assassin of David Fincher’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13937708/the-killer-movie-review-david-fincher-trent-reznor-michael-fassbender\">\u003cem>The Killer\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, though, wears a bucket hat. It’s just as much a silhouette, but he looks more like a dopey tourist than a stone-cold killer. That’s much the point for a movie about murder in increasingly anonymous times. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937722\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1584px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937722\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.06.08-AM.png\" alt=\"A white man wearing leisure wear including white pants and a beige sun hat sits on a bench, looking relaxed.\" width=\"1584\" height=\"1136\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.06.08-AM.png 1584w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.06.08-AM-800x574.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.06.08-AM-1020x732.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.06.08-AM-160x115.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.06.08-AM-768x551.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.06.08-AM-1536x1102.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1584px) 100vw, 1584px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Fassbender stars in ‘The Killer.’ \u003ccite>(Netflix via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best One-Scene Performance: Audra McDonald, ‘Origin’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In Ava DuVernay’s too-overlooked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13950482/ava-duvernay-origin-caste-our-discontents-isabel-wilkerson\">\u003cem>Origin\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, much of the film’s sense of humanity comes from the rich presences of the actors who float in and out of the movie. Not just the stellar lead, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, but a number of performers — including Jon Bernthal, Emily Yancy and Nick Offerman — add to the nuance of \u003cem>Origin\u003c/em>. That’s especially true of Audra McDonald, who turns up for just one scene that may be the most potent of the film. McDonald plays a woman named Miss Hale, and her story of how she got that name is a delicate powerhouse. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Most Romantic: ‘The Taste of Things’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There are not many truly romantic films made for big audiences these days. Sure there’s the odd rom-com here and there, but sweeping, luscious, capital R romances are few and far between and rarely celebrated at awards season (yes, I’m still thinking about Joe Wright’s \u003cem>Cyrano\u003c/em>). This season, that title went to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13951896/the-taste-of-things-juliette-binoche-food-movie-review\">\u003cem>The Taste of Things\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which doesn’t have an ounce of cynicism, just pure love. — L.B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953441\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1274px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953441\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.08.33-PM.png\" alt=\"A woman and man stand close together next to a stove pouring one pan into another.\" width=\"1274\" height=\"846\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.08.33-PM.png 1274w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.08.33-PM-800x531.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.08.33-PM-1020x677.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.08.33-PM-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.08.33-PM-768x510.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1274px) 100vw, 1274px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel in a scene from ‘The Taste of Things.’ \u003ccite>(Stéphanie Branchu/ IFC Films via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best NFL Player Performance: Marshawn Lynch, ‘Bottoms’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>With exactly zero apologies to \u003cem>80 for Brady\u003c/em> (Jets fan here), no former footballer made more of a big-screen impression than Marshawn Lynch, the former elite running back known as “Beast Mode.” In Emma Seligman’s raunchy lesbian teen comedy \u003cem>Bottoms\u003c/em>, Lynch turns up as a high school teacher and is quite funny acting opposite Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri. The role also has poignance. Lynch has said he did it to help make up for how he handled his sister, Marreesha Sapp-Lynch, coming out in high school. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Best Dog Not Named Snoop: Chaplin, ‘Fallen Leaves’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Snoop, the all-seeing dog in the best picture nominee \u003cem>Anatomy of a Fall\u003c/em>, has really hogged the pooch spotlight. Messi, the dog who plays Snoop, has been all over the place, including the film academy luncheon. But it’s time his reign of terror came to end. In Aki Kaurismäki’s \u003cem>Fallen Leaves\u003c/em>, my favorite film of 2023, a pair of loners find nourishing points of connection in a cruel and grim world: the movies, karaoke and a dog named Chaplin. The dog, named Alma in real life, is Kaurismäki’s own mutt, and deserves a few bones thrown her way, too. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953442\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1266px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953442\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.10.18-PM.png\" alt=\"A woman sits in a waiting room with one arm around a small dog.\" width=\"1266\" height=\"862\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.10.18-PM.png 1266w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.10.18-PM-800x545.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.10.18-PM-1020x695.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.10.18-PM-160x109.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.10.18-PM-768x523.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1266px) 100vw, 1266px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alma Pöysti and Alma the dog in a scene from ‘Fallen Leaves.’ \u003ccite>(MUBI via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The 96th Academy Awards will take place on March 10, starting at 4 p.m. and will air live on ABC.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Associated Press writers Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle pick the best movie cameo, face, stunts and more.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Academy Awards honor many things in movies but not some of the most important. Ahead of Sunday’s Oscars, Associated Press film writers Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle make selections for their own awards — some more offbeat than others.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Best Actually Supporting Performance: Cory Michael Smith, ‘May December’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Sometimes the best truly supporting performances are the ones that will never, ever get the “awards push,” like the brilliant Cory Michael Smith as Georgie Atherton in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938143/may-december-movie-review-netflix-mary-kay-letourneau-julianne-moore\">\u003cem>May December\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. With his subtly manic energy, sad smile and that awful bleached hair, his is that kind of undeniable presence who steals both scenes he’s in and also completely upends everything we’ve come to understand so far. But this is how awards season works and something that only our awards strategist friends can justify. — L.B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953431\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1276px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953431\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.44.37-PM.png\" alt=\"A nervous looking woman sits on a bench, hands clasped in her lap, next to a younger man who is sitting casually with his legs crossed.\" width=\"1276\" height=\"892\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.44.37-PM.png 1276w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.44.37-PM-800x559.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.44.37-PM-1020x713.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.44.37-PM-160x112.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.44.37-PM-768x537.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1276px) 100vw, 1276px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Natalie Portman and Cory Michael Smith in a scene from ‘May December.’ \u003ccite>(François Duhamel/ Netflix via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Hairstyle: Gwen’s upside-down ponytail, ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There are, no doubt, more elegantly styled heads of hair among this year’s Oscar nominees. But no ‘do could match the gravity-assisted beauty of the ponytail that hangs suspended in the air when Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld) and Miles (Shameik Moore) sit together, clung to the underside of cornice, gazing out at an upturned New York in \u003cem>Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse\u003c/em>. For a topsy-turvy, canon-breaking film series, Gwen’s upside-down ponytail points the way. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953432\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1168px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953432\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.46.49-PM.png\" alt=\"An illustration of two small figures sitting on a bench. In the distance, a city skyline can be seen upside down.\" width=\"1168\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.46.49-PM.png 1168w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.46.49-PM-800x482.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.46.49-PM-1020x615.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.46.49-PM-160x96.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.46.49-PM-768x463.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1168px) 100vw, 1168px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Miles Morales as Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen in a scene from Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation’s ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.’ \u003ccite>(Sony Pictures Animation via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Duo Act: Jeffrey Wright and John Ortiz, ‘American Fiction’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As great as the whole ensemble is in Cord Jefferson’s incisive drama, the movie is never better than when Wright and Ortiz are matched together. When Wright’s frustrated novelist Monk Ellison meets with his agent Arthur (Ortiz), \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938160/american-fiction-based-on-erasure-jeffrey-wright-cord-jefferson-ross\">\u003cem>American Fiction\u003c/em>\u003c/a> sparkles with the comic interplay of two character-actor greats. Give these guys a sitcom and I’d watch six seasons. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953433\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1206px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953433\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.48.52-PM.png\" alt=\"A Black man in a polo shirt and a Latino man in a shirt and tie both peer down at a desk looking concerned.\" width=\"1206\" height=\"786\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.48.52-PM.png 1206w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.48.52-PM-800x521.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.48.52-PM-1020x665.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.48.52-PM-160x104.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.48.52-PM-768x501.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1206px) 100vw, 1206px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeffrey Wright and John Ortiz in a scene from ‘American Fiction.’ \u003ccite>(MGM via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Cameo: Margot Robbie, ‘Asteroid City’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Wes Anderson’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13930502/asteroid-city-review-wes-anderson-scarlet-johansson-jason-schwartzman\">\u003cem>Asteroid City\u003c/em>\u003c/a> got a raw deal this year with zero nominations (maybe he’ll win his first Oscar for his Henry Sugar short). One performance in a sea of great ones that really made an impact was a true cameo that’s saved for the very end: Margot Robbie as the actor whose scene as Jason Schwartzman’s dead wife was cut for time. She gets only a few minutes, to remind her would’ve-been co-star of their would’ve-been lines, dressed in Elizabethan garb a balcony away. It is an emotional gut punch of the best kind, brief and perfect. — L.B.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Best Face: Willem Dafoe, ‘Poor Things’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Willem Dafoe’s face is already a work of art, but\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938158/poor-things-movie-review-emma-stone-bella-baxter-mark-ruffalo-willem-dafoe\">\u003cem> Poor Things\u003c/em>\u003c/a> turns it into a Munch-esque masterpiece. His scarred Dr. Godwin Baxter, whose deformities come from experiments performed on him, is like a fusion of mad scientist and wounded victim. He’s Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s monster, in one. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953434\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1270px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953434\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.50.45-PM.png\" alt=\"A disfigured man sits at a dining table next to a contraption made of glass bottles and tubes.\" width=\"1270\" height=\"780\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.50.45-PM.png 1270w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.50.45-PM-800x491.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.50.45-PM-1020x626.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.50.45-PM-160x98.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.50.45-PM-768x472.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1270px) 100vw, 1270px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Willem Dafoe in a scene from ‘Poor Things.’ \u003ccite>(Atsushi Nishijima/ Searchlight Pictures via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Stunts: ‘Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning — Part One’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>It remains wild that the film academy still doesn’t recognize stunts, but we can here. \u003cem>Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning\u003c/em> isn’t the underdog in this category but that doesn’t make what they did any less impressive. The obvious “best” is the cliff jump, which most of us know by now that Tom Cruise did himself. But I’m also partial to the Rome car chase in which Cruise and Hayley Atwell try to escape capture in a creaky, vintage Fiat 500 while handcuffed together. — L.B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953435\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1138px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953435\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.52.26-PM.png\" alt=\"A man flies through the air in a horizontal position, a motorbike if falling vertically underneath him.\" width=\"1138\" height=\"756\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.52.26-PM.png 1138w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.52.26-PM-800x531.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.52.26-PM-1020x678.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.52.26-PM-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.52.26-PM-768x510.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1138px) 100vw, 1138px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tom Cruise in a scene from ‘Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning, Part One.’ \u003ccite>(Paramount Pictures via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Use of Earth Wind and Fire’s ‘September’: ‘Robot Dreams’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>“September” has probably been heard in a hundred movies and at a billion weddings, but the best animated feature nominee \u003cem>Robot Dreams\u003c/em> uses the disco classic to perfection. In a movie that is strikingly grown-up about a relationship between a dog and robot, all of the joy and nostalgia of “September” has never been more moving. It sends you out of the theater humming “The bell was ringin’, oh, oh / Our souls were singin’.” — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953436\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 956px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953436\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.54.27-PM.png\" alt=\"A robot and a dog stand in front of a hotdog cart at a park, holding hot dogs.\" width=\"956\" height=\"682\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.54.27-PM.png 956w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.54.27-PM-800x571.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.54.27-PM-160x114.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.54.27-PM-768x548.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 956px) 100vw, 956px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from ‘Robot Dreams.’ \u003ccite>(Neon via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Most Stylish: ‘Priscilla’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This is perhaps a silly superlative to give to a movie that was easily one of the strongest adaptations of the year, taking what was essentially a young woman’s diary entries and making something evocative and profound without the use of first-person narration. The thoughtful style of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13936970/priscilla-movie-review-sofia-coppola-jacob-elordi-cailee-spaeny\">Sofia Coppola’s film\u003c/a> helps make this point, transporting audiences into this intoxicating and dreamlike wonderland of the most beautiful clothes and glamorous settings with the biggest star of the time, and guiding us along with Pricilla to the realization that it is also a nightmare. — L.B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953437\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1262px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953437\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.55.55-PM.png\" alt=\"A 1960s bride and groom stand before a tiered wedding cake in front of an arch made of white roses. \" width=\"1262\" height=\"846\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.55.55-PM.png 1262w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.55.55-PM-800x536.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.55.55-PM-1020x684.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.55.55-PM-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.55.55-PM-768x515.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1262px) 100vw, 1262px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi in a scene from ‘Priscilla.’ \u003ccite>(Philippe Le Sourd/ A24 via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Scene: The Trinity Test, ‘Oppenheimer’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>I don’t love everything about Christopher Nolan’s epic but I think the Trinity Test scene is a sequence that will be taught to film students for generations. It’s not just the explosion itself, which was accomplished with old-school moviemaking techniques like forced perspective (doing something small but making it seem big). It’s the rumbling tremors of the moments that follow, when Oppenheimer, after hearing that the bomb has been dropped on Hiroshima, is greeted by a flag-waving gymnasium audience. Oppenheimer’s face is horrified, reckoning with what he’s wrought. The crowd turns grotesque and ashen. A girl (played by Nolan’s daughter) shrieks. Here is the real thunder of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932204/oppenheimer-japanese-erasure\">\u003cem>Oppenheimer\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953438\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1278px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953438\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.57.52-PM.png\" alt=\"A white man sits, wearing goggles in front of a small window. His face is lit up in bright light.\" width=\"1278\" height=\"890\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.57.52-PM.png 1278w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.57.52-PM-800x557.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.57.52-PM-1020x710.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.57.52-PM-160x111.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-3.57.52-PM-768x535.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1278px) 100vw, 1278px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cillian Murphy in a scene from ‘Oppenheimer.’ \u003ccite>(Universal Pictures via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Dream Ballet: ‘Barbie’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Last year had so much great dancing, from the sweaty club scenes in \u003cem>Passages\u003c/em>, to the wedding line dance in \u003cem>The Iron Claw\u003c/em>, Jeff’s silly moves in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13933589/behind-bottoms-a-wild-queer-and-bloody-high-school-sex-comedy\">\u003cem>Bottoms\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, Bella Baxter’s broken doll euphoria in \u003cem>Poor Things\u003c/em>, \u003cem>M3GAN\u003c/em>’s boogie and, of course, the end of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13938358/saltburn-review-emerald-fennell-shocking-scenes-jacob-elordi\">\u003cem>Saltburn\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. But the trophy goes to Greta Gerwig’s euphoric “I’m Just Ken” dream ballet, a sequence she fought to keep in that is also the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13931753/allan-doll-michael-cera-greta-gerwig-barbie-movie-review\">best in the film\u003c/a>. — L.B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/VDCnJHyMuyU'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/VDCnJHyMuyU'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ch2>Best Fight: Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tobias Menzies, ‘You Hurt My Feelings’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Sure, you could pick more violent encounters. But is there possibly anything more ferociously rock ’em-sock ’em than an author overhearing her husband say he doesn’t like her latest book? In Nicole Holofcener’s \u003cem>You Hurt My Feelings\u003c/em>, it’s the opening salvo in a painfully, hysterically acute examination of honesty in relationships. Not, I repeat not, a date movie. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953440\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1198px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953440\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.01.56-PM.png\" alt=\"A white man and a white woman stand in a living room, facing forward and looking stunned.\" width=\"1198\" height=\"748\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.01.56-PM.png 1198w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.01.56-PM-800x499.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.01.56-PM-1020x637.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.01.56-PM-160x100.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.01.56-PM-768x480.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1198px) 100vw, 1198px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tobias Menzies and Julia Louis-Dreyfus in a scene from ‘You Hurt My Feelings.’ \u003ccite>(Jeong Park/ A24 via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best Use of a Preexisting Song: ‘Silver Joy’ by Damien Jurado, ‘The Holdovers’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>I think the original song category needs an overhaul. For years, movies have helped introduce me to songs that exist that I might have missed, that become immediate favorites because of the emotional association with a movie. Selecting the right existing song is such an art and one last year stood out over all the rest: Damien Jurado’s “Silver Joy” in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13937046/alexander-payne-keeps-real-emotion-at-bay-in-the-coyly-comic-holdovers\">\u003cem>The Holdovers\u003c/em>\u003c/a>. — L.B.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Best Hat: Michael Fassbender’s bucket hat, ‘The Killer’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Meticulous movie hitmen have long worn stylish hats. Think of the fedora of the protagonist of \u003cem>Le Samouraï.\u003c/em> The assassin of David Fincher’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13937708/the-killer-movie-review-david-fincher-trent-reznor-michael-fassbender\">\u003cem>The Killer\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, though, wears a bucket hat. It’s just as much a silhouette, but he looks more like a dopey tourist than a stone-cold killer. That’s much the point for a movie about murder in increasingly anonymous times. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13937722\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1584px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13937722\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.06.08-AM.png\" alt=\"A white man wearing leisure wear including white pants and a beige sun hat sits on a bench, looking relaxed.\" width=\"1584\" height=\"1136\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.06.08-AM.png 1584w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.06.08-AM-800x574.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.06.08-AM-1020x732.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.06.08-AM-160x115.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.06.08-AM-768x551.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Screen-Shot-2023-11-07-at-11.06.08-AM-1536x1102.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1584px) 100vw, 1584px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael Fassbender stars in ‘The Killer.’ \u003ccite>(Netflix via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best One-Scene Performance: Audra McDonald, ‘Origin’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In Ava DuVernay’s too-overlooked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13950482/ava-duvernay-origin-caste-our-discontents-isabel-wilkerson\">\u003cem>Origin\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, much of the film’s sense of humanity comes from the rich presences of the actors who float in and out of the movie. Not just the stellar lead, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, but a number of performers — including Jon Bernthal, Emily Yancy and Nick Offerman — add to the nuance of \u003cem>Origin\u003c/em>. That’s especially true of Audra McDonald, who turns up for just one scene that may be the most potent of the film. McDonald plays a woman named Miss Hale, and her story of how she got that name is a delicate powerhouse. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Most Romantic: ‘The Taste of Things’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There are not many truly romantic films made for big audiences these days. Sure there’s the odd rom-com here and there, but sweeping, luscious, capital R romances are few and far between and rarely celebrated at awards season (yes, I’m still thinking about Joe Wright’s \u003cem>Cyrano\u003c/em>). This season, that title went to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13951896/the-taste-of-things-juliette-binoche-food-movie-review\">\u003cem>The Taste of Things\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, which doesn’t have an ounce of cynicism, just pure love. — L.B.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953441\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1274px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953441\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.08.33-PM.png\" alt=\"A woman and man stand close together next to a stove pouring one pan into another.\" width=\"1274\" height=\"846\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.08.33-PM.png 1274w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.08.33-PM-800x531.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.08.33-PM-1020x677.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.08.33-PM-160x106.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.08.33-PM-768x510.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1274px) 100vw, 1274px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel in a scene from ‘The Taste of Things.’ \u003ccite>(Stéphanie Branchu/ IFC Films via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>Best NFL Player Performance: Marshawn Lynch, ‘Bottoms’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>With exactly zero apologies to \u003cem>80 for Brady\u003c/em> (Jets fan here), no former footballer made more of a big-screen impression than Marshawn Lynch, the former elite running back known as “Beast Mode.” In Emma Seligman’s raunchy lesbian teen comedy \u003cem>Bottoms\u003c/em>, Lynch turns up as a high school teacher and is quite funny acting opposite Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri. The role also has poignance. Lynch has said he did it to help make up for how he handled his sister, Marreesha Sapp-Lynch, coming out in high school. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Best Dog Not Named Snoop: Chaplin, ‘Fallen Leaves’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Snoop, the all-seeing dog in the best picture nominee \u003cem>Anatomy of a Fall\u003c/em>, has really hogged the pooch spotlight. Messi, the dog who plays Snoop, has been all over the place, including the film academy luncheon. But it’s time his reign of terror came to end. In Aki Kaurismäki’s \u003cem>Fallen Leaves\u003c/em>, my favorite film of 2023, a pair of loners find nourishing points of connection in a cruel and grim world: the movies, karaoke and a dog named Chaplin. The dog, named Alma in real life, is Kaurismäki’s own mutt, and deserves a few bones thrown her way, too. — J.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953442\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1266px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953442\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.10.18-PM.png\" alt=\"A woman sits in a waiting room with one arm around a small dog.\" width=\"1266\" height=\"862\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.10.18-PM.png 1266w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.10.18-PM-800x545.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.10.18-PM-1020x695.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.10.18-PM-160x109.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-05-at-4.10.18-PM-768x523.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1266px) 100vw, 1266px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alma Pöysti and Alma the dog in a scene from ‘Fallen Leaves.’ \u003ccite>(MUBI via AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The 96th Academy Awards will take place on March 10, starting at 4 p.m. and will air live on ABC.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "im-so-glad-we-had-this-time-together-memoir-graphic-novel-review-maurice",
"title": "A Man Fights Expectations in ‘I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together’",
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"headTitle": "A Man Fights Expectations in ‘I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together’ | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953378\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 852px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953378\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.17.17-PM.png\" alt=\"A book cover illustration shows a woman in a bikini and a small boy dancing next to her.\" width=\"852\" height=\"1212\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.17.17-PM.png 852w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.17.17-PM-800x1138.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.17.17-PM-160x228.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.17.17-PM-768x1093.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 852px) 100vw, 852px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together’ by Maurice Vellekoop. \u003ccite>(Pantheon)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At one point far into Maurice Vellekoop’s operatic, nearly 500-page graphic memoir \u003cem>I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together\u003c/em>, he depicts himself at an art event in Toronto. He has donated his work to the silent auction and is now scoping out the scene, chatting up yet another handsome stranger in search of that elusive spark. “I thought you said you were an artist,” the man bitterly remarks, having just matched the artist to his art — presumably a comics illustration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This moment is somewhat peripheral to the main storyline, included as a demonstration of the then 30-something-year-old’s long-delayed willingness to put himself out there on the dating scene. But in a way, it captures a concern even more essential to the book. This long, gorgeous, often rambunctious memoir is the story of a man’s search for a way out of the expectations that have kept him constrained for most of his life. Vellekoop will not remain unscathed by other people’s judgment and censure. In the end, though, this impressive book is the proclamation of an artist, in this case a cartoonist, finally staking out his claim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953376\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1292px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953376\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.11.23-PM.png\" alt=\"An illustration of a woman reading a book on a train, with a small boy curled up next to her.\" width=\"1292\" height=\"1288\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.11.23-PM.png 1292w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.11.23-PM-800x798.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.11.23-PM-1020x1017.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.11.23-PM-160x160.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.11.23-PM-768x766.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1292px) 100vw, 1292px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A panel from Maurice Vellekoop’s ‘I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together.’ \u003ccite>(Maurice Vellekoop/ Pantheon)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Divided into four sections tracking various throughlines from his life so far, Vellekoop opens his lavishly colored book of comics with scenes from early childhood. Born in 1964, young Maurice was the fourth and final sibling raised in the suburbs of Toronto by Dutch immigrant parents who were also avid members of the Christian Reformed Church. From his loving but complicated Mum and Dad, he developed an immediate, and passionate, connection with music and art. This working-class immigrant family displayed a Rembrandt in their living room. His mother made clothes for the entire family, also running a hair salon out of their basement. His father, an art and music lover, took him to see \u003cem>Fantasia \u003c/em>when he was a little boy. It was initially through the two of them, and his adored older sister, Ingrid, that many of his great loves — and, eventually, prodigious talents — were launched.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13935619']But family life was also full of contradictions. Vellekoop’s father was subject to sudden, inexplicable rages. His mother could never reconcile the aesthetic tastes she shared with her youngest with her sense, particularly as he grew older, that his desires were not quite aligned with her adopted religious beliefs and cultural standards. “My Mum and I should have bonded over beauty,” the narrator mournfully reports, tracking one missed opportunity after another. First subtly — say, by substituting a marionette as a gift in lieu of a much-desired Barbie — later much more overtly, by handing her son religious pamphlets condemning homosexuality, Vellekoop’s mother, whom he adored, time and again makes her disapprovals known. As the boy ages into puberty, he battles his budding sexual desires alongside a longing to please his parents as well as a growing anxiety around peers who tease and also verbally abuse him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953377\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1280px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953377\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.14.23-PM.png\" alt=\"An illustration of a small boy crouched between book cases reading Cinderella.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1276\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.14.23-PM.png 1280w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.14.23-PM-800x798.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.14.23-PM-1020x1017.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.14.23-PM-160x160.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.14.23-PM-768x766.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A panel from Maurice Vellekoop’s ‘I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together.’ \u003ccite>(Maurice Vellekoop/ Pantheon)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Armed from a young age with an ability to find beauty and connection in all manner of storytelling forms, from the so-called lowbrow to the most classical of works, Vellekoop packs his passages — from public high school and arts college into the post-collegiate Toronto scene and, later, travels to New York City — with all manner of references, from which he draws inspiration. As a child he falls in love, first with Disney films, then television. The shows he loves to watch include \u003cem>The Addams Family\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Tarzan\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Carol Burnett Show — \u003c/em>the memoir’s title is drawn from the popular variety show’s closing song.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He derives pleasure, too, from other forms, like popular and avant garde cinema and theater, punk rock, comics, opera, painting, science fiction, literature, and more. These cultural and aesthetic touchstones become the foundations not only for the expertly rendered images and prose on display but also the important friendships that dominate his life, and sustain him. His successful art and illustration career, which takes off quickly after his graduation from the Ontario College of Art and Design, sees him globetrotting, publishing works in places like \u003cem>The New Yorker\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Vogue\u003c/em> and\u003cem> Rolling Stone.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13926136']Throughout, Vellekoop candidly depicts several violent and unprovoked attacks from strangers, his internalized shame, his struggles with depression, coming to terms with his sexual proclivities and finding a mate. He finds consolation and support, not only in the art he continually seeks out, and all that he creates, but also in the Toronto arts community, his straight female friendships and, eventually, a professional therapist. Alongside other evocative gay and queer cartoonists, from Howard Cruse and Alison Bechdel to Robert Kirby and Maia Kobabe, Vellekoop is invested in presenting the highs and lows of a life lived willfully resisting other people’s inconsistent, harmful attitudes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is, too, for Vellekoop, an eventual reconciliation of sorts with his mother. Though it is far from seamless, at long last she echoes a designation he has already gifted himself, many times over. On the phone, nearing the end of her life, in response to his own declarations of affection she tells him: “I love you too. My Maurice, my artist son.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Tahneer Oksman is a writer, teacher, and scholar specializing in memoir as well as graphic novels and comics. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=A+man+fights+expectations+in+%27I%27m+So+Glad+We+Had+This+Time+Together%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953378\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 852px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953378\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.17.17-PM.png\" alt=\"A book cover illustration shows a woman in a bikini and a small boy dancing next to her.\" width=\"852\" height=\"1212\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.17.17-PM.png 852w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.17.17-PM-800x1138.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.17.17-PM-160x228.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.17.17-PM-768x1093.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 852px) 100vw, 852px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">‘I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together’ by Maurice Vellekoop. \u003ccite>(Pantheon)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At one point far into Maurice Vellekoop’s operatic, nearly 500-page graphic memoir \u003cem>I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together\u003c/em>, he depicts himself at an art event in Toronto. He has donated his work to the silent auction and is now scoping out the scene, chatting up yet another handsome stranger in search of that elusive spark. “I thought you said you were an artist,” the man bitterly remarks, having just matched the artist to his art — presumably a comics illustration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This moment is somewhat peripheral to the main storyline, included as a demonstration of the then 30-something-year-old’s long-delayed willingness to put himself out there on the dating scene. But in a way, it captures a concern even more essential to the book. This long, gorgeous, often rambunctious memoir is the story of a man’s search for a way out of the expectations that have kept him constrained for most of his life. Vellekoop will not remain unscathed by other people’s judgment and censure. In the end, though, this impressive book is the proclamation of an artist, in this case a cartoonist, finally staking out his claim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953376\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1292px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953376\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.11.23-PM.png\" alt=\"An illustration of a woman reading a book on a train, with a small boy curled up next to her.\" width=\"1292\" height=\"1288\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.11.23-PM.png 1292w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.11.23-PM-800x798.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.11.23-PM-1020x1017.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.11.23-PM-160x160.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.11.23-PM-768x766.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1292px) 100vw, 1292px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A panel from Maurice Vellekoop’s ‘I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together.’ \u003ccite>(Maurice Vellekoop/ Pantheon)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Divided into four sections tracking various throughlines from his life so far, Vellekoop opens his lavishly colored book of comics with scenes from early childhood. Born in 1964, young Maurice was the fourth and final sibling raised in the suburbs of Toronto by Dutch immigrant parents who were also avid members of the Christian Reformed Church. From his loving but complicated Mum and Dad, he developed an immediate, and passionate, connection with music and art. This working-class immigrant family displayed a Rembrandt in their living room. His mother made clothes for the entire family, also running a hair salon out of their basement. His father, an art and music lover, took him to see \u003cem>Fantasia \u003c/em>when he was a little boy. It was initially through the two of them, and his adored older sister, Ingrid, that many of his great loves — and, eventually, prodigious talents — were launched.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But family life was also full of contradictions. Vellekoop’s father was subject to sudden, inexplicable rages. His mother could never reconcile the aesthetic tastes she shared with her youngest with her sense, particularly as he grew older, that his desires were not quite aligned with her adopted religious beliefs and cultural standards. “My Mum and I should have bonded over beauty,” the narrator mournfully reports, tracking one missed opportunity after another. First subtly — say, by substituting a marionette as a gift in lieu of a much-desired Barbie — later much more overtly, by handing her son religious pamphlets condemning homosexuality, Vellekoop’s mother, whom he adored, time and again makes her disapprovals known. As the boy ages into puberty, he battles his budding sexual desires alongside a longing to please his parents as well as a growing anxiety around peers who tease and also verbally abuse him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953377\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1280px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953377\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.14.23-PM.png\" alt=\"An illustration of a small boy crouched between book cases reading Cinderella.\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1276\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.14.23-PM.png 1280w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.14.23-PM-800x798.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.14.23-PM-1020x1017.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.14.23-PM-160x160.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Screen-Shot-2024-03-04-at-4.14.23-PM-768x766.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A panel from Maurice Vellekoop’s ‘I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together.’ \u003ccite>(Maurice Vellekoop/ Pantheon)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Armed from a young age with an ability to find beauty and connection in all manner of storytelling forms, from the so-called lowbrow to the most classical of works, Vellekoop packs his passages — from public high school and arts college into the post-collegiate Toronto scene and, later, travels to New York City — with all manner of references, from which he draws inspiration. As a child he falls in love, first with Disney films, then television. The shows he loves to watch include \u003cem>The Addams Family\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Tarzan\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Carol Burnett Show — \u003c/em>the memoir’s title is drawn from the popular variety show’s closing song.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He derives pleasure, too, from other forms, like popular and avant garde cinema and theater, punk rock, comics, opera, painting, science fiction, literature, and more. These cultural and aesthetic touchstones become the foundations not only for the expertly rendered images and prose on display but also the important friendships that dominate his life, and sustain him. His successful art and illustration career, which takes off quickly after his graduation from the Ontario College of Art and Design, sees him globetrotting, publishing works in places like \u003cem>The New Yorker\u003c/em>, \u003cem>Vogue\u003c/em> and\u003cem> Rolling Stone.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Throughout, Vellekoop candidly depicts several violent and unprovoked attacks from strangers, his internalized shame, his struggles with depression, coming to terms with his sexual proclivities and finding a mate. He finds consolation and support, not only in the art he continually seeks out, and all that he creates, but also in the Toronto arts community, his straight female friendships and, eventually, a professional therapist. Alongside other evocative gay and queer cartoonists, from Howard Cruse and Alison Bechdel to Robert Kirby and Maia Kobabe, Vellekoop is invested in presenting the highs and lows of a life lived willfully resisting other people’s inconsistent, harmful attitudes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is, too, for Vellekoop, an eventual reconciliation of sorts with his mother. Though it is far from seamless, at long last she echoes a designation he has already gifted himself, many times over. On the phone, nearing the end of her life, in response to his own declarations of affection she tells him: “I love you too. My Maurice, my artist son.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Tahneer Oksman is a writer, teacher, and scholar specializing in memoir as well as graphic novels and comics. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=A+man+fights+expectations+in+%27I%27m+So+Glad+We+Had+This+Time+Together%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Live Review: Nicki Minaj Reclaims Her Crown at Pink Friday 2 Tour Kickoff in Oakland",
"headTitle": "Live Review: Nicki Minaj Reclaims Her Crown at Pink Friday 2 Tour Kickoff in Oakland | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953285\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a woman in a silvery bodysuit smiles on stage with a microphone in a big arena with pink and purple lighting behind her\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1797\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953285\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-800x562.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-1020x716.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-768x539.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-1536x1078.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-2048x1438.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-1920x1348.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicki Minaj performs during the opening night of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour at the Oakland Arena on March 1, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>You’d be right to have worried that the first show of Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 tour in Oakland on Friday might be, well, a mess.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Known more for controversies and \u003ca href=\"https://variety.com/2024/music/news/nicki-minaj-megan-thee-stallion-feud-timeline-1235890487/\">feuds\u003c/a> in recent years than the immense talent that once made her the world’s most feared rapper, Nicki Minaj victoriously spent two hours at her tour kickoff reminding a sold-out Oakland Arena that she still sings, raps, dances and brings the heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953290\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053278167.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953290\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053278167.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053278167-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053278167-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053278167-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053278167-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053278167-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicki Minaj performs ‘Feelin’ Myself’ during the opening night of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour at the Oakland Arena on March 1, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This was clear right from the start of the show, when Nicki rose from below the stage rapping with noticeable vigor on the throwback opener “I’m the Best” (key line: “Which world tour should I go on today?”). In one moment, all the \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/1751290347957911700\">Ben Shapiro tweets\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/09/14/nicki-minaj-covid-19-vaccine-conspiracy/\">COVID conspiracies\u003c/a>, irredeemable \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/rateyourmusic/comments/1aeyxcl/nicki_minajs_bigfoot_is_now_the_second_lowest/\">diss tracks\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C3jycgCO7ih/\">scattered whisper-rambles on Instagram Live\u003c/a> became distant memories. She was not here to play. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We are talking about a \u003ca href=\"https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/nicki-minaj/2024/oakland-arena-oakland-ca-53ad7bb5.html\">36-song setlist\u003c/a>, with smash hits and deep cuts alike. Six costume changes, robot dancers, a subway train, phone booths for her different alter egos. Lots of simulated copulation — group, duo and solo. Nicki, at age 41, coming for vengeance on workouts like “Roman’s Revenge,” and showing off her vocals on “Save Me.” And, just three months after being released, Nicki’s new songs from \u003cem>Pink Friday 2\u003c/em> — a smoldering “Big Difference,” set closer “Everybody” — coming off like classics. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953294\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279794.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953294\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279794.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279794-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279794-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279794-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279794-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279794-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicki Minaj performs during the opening night of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour at the Oakland Arena on March 1, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What’s evident is Nicki is \u003cem>hungry\u003c/em> again. Maybe the competition got to her, and she upped her game. Maybe it was always in hiding. While she performed, I found myself wondering if her whole meandering, is-she-on-drugs-or-isn’t-she thing of late has been an elaborate psy-op to hide intense training and rehearsal. Whatever happened, it’s resulted in her giving 100% again. The show (“this magical historic night,” Nicki declared) recalled the first time I saw her headline the Bay Area, \u003ca href=\"https://bohemian.com/live-review-nicki-minaj-at-the-paramount-theater-oakland/\">in 2012 at the Paramount Theatre\u003c/a> — how unstoppable she seemed then, how she gave her all to the crowd. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There have been rough patches in the interim, to be sure. Bay Area fans may remember a fraught Concord Pavilion show in 2015 that suffered from beleaguered choreography and a strange detachment that seemed concerning, especially after \u003cem>The Pinkprint\u003c/em>’s multiple references to Percocet. The show ended with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/nicki-minaj-concert-brawl-video-369856/\">giant brawl in the crowd\u003c/a>; as I left I saw one guy \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/gmeline/status/632463878668943360\">face-down, knocked out\u003c/a>. The vibes, as they say, were off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953293\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279787.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953293\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279787.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279787-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279787-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279787-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279787-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279787-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicki Minaj performs during the opening night of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour at the Oakland Arena on March 1, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Friday night, fans got the old Nicki. And not just with older deep cuts like “Favorite” and “Win Again,” which roused diehards but caused the overall energy to dip. One of the show’s early peaks was “FTCU,” and the modern phenomenon of an arena screaming the \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/ftcu?lang=en\">30 seconds of a song that are famous on TikTok\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The inspirational Nicki showed up too, during “The Night Is Still Young.” “I wanna tell you guys something right now,” she said. “No matter what is happening right now outside of Gag City, inside here, we are radiating positivity, success, prosperity, intelligence and wisdom” — later telling her audience, many clad in in sequined skirts, pink wigs, fuzzy hats and platform heels, “You still have time to do what you have to do! Don’t waste a minute of your life! Promise me that!” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953295\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284188.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953295\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284188.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284188-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284188-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284188-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284188-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284188-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicki Minaj performs ‘Cowgirl’ during the opening night of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour at the Oakland Arena on March 1, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Fans also got the sex-positive Nicki. After a costume change into a basketball jersey-inspired yellow dress and boxing hoodie, Nicki did her best impression of Prince’s “Darling Nikki” upon the stage floor, complete with 90-degree leg lifts and a strategically positioned microphone. Cue the Beyoncé duet “Feelin’ Myself,” followed by undulating with three leather-clad beefcakes on steel beds (“Cowgirl”) and a straight-up face sit (“RNB”). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Provocative? Sure. But she knows what she’s doing. Nicki is hyper-aware of the meta narratives around her every move — and I’m not sure that’s always a good thing. As a longtime fan, part of my hesitation about this tour is that she’s seemed less interested in being the world’s greatest rapper, and more interested in \u003cem>hearing people say\u003c/em> she’s the world’s greatest rapper. It’s been giving self-doubt, and made me hear her music as telegraphing “greatness” instead of embodying it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953291\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284690.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953291\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284690.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284690-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284690-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284690-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284690-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284690-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicki Minaj performs ‘Red Ruby da Sleeze’ during the opening night of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour at the Oakland Arena on March 1, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But if anyone’s earned the right to rest on her laurels, it’s Nicki. You can hear her carefree flamboyance in Doja Cat, her winking humor in Cardi B, her boss-bitch confidence in — yes — Megan Thee Stallion. But primarily, 24 years into her career, Nicki’s influence is in the fact we are talking about any of these talented women at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is really, really hard to convey to younger fans the unfair reality in which we lived, for years, that allowed for one and only one female rapper at a time. Nicki blew that notion apart. With her many alter egos and endless flows, she paved a multitude of ways for women to make their mark in the industry. On Friday, she also let \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/BARIJUKU/status/1763827847473635820\">national treasure Monica\u003c/a> perform a simmering set of a half-dozen songs during her headlining set, rather than making her open to a half-full arena.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953292\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053288493.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953292\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053288493.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053288493-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053288493-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053288493-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053288493-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053288493-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicki Minaj performs ‘FTCU’ during the opening night of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour at the Oakland Arena on March 1, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>During the show, I thought of the prom scene in \u003cem>Mean Girls\u003c/em>, where Cady Heron hands out pieces of her crown to the other girls at school. That’s what Nicki did. I don’t think she really wants the crown back. She just wants people to know where it came from. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During her joyous finale in Oakland — with favorites “Moment for Life,” “Starships” and the eternal “Super Bass” — she made a convincing closing argument for that fact. This jury’s verdict is in: Nicki’s resurrected herself. \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953285\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"a woman in a silvery bodysuit smiles on stage with a microphone in a big arena with pink and purple lighting behind her\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1797\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953285\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-800x562.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-1020x716.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-160x112.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-768x539.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-1536x1078.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-2048x1438.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053270171-1920x1348.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicki Minaj performs during the opening night of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour at the Oakland Arena on March 1, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>You’d be right to have worried that the first show of Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 tour in Oakland on Friday might be, well, a mess.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Known more for controversies and \u003ca href=\"https://variety.com/2024/music/news/nicki-minaj-megan-thee-stallion-feud-timeline-1235890487/\">feuds\u003c/a> in recent years than the immense talent that once made her the world’s most feared rapper, Nicki Minaj victoriously spent two hours at her tour kickoff reminding a sold-out Oakland Arena that she still sings, raps, dances and brings the heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953290\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053278167.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953290\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053278167.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053278167-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053278167-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053278167-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053278167-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053278167-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicki Minaj performs ‘Feelin’ Myself’ during the opening night of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour at the Oakland Arena on March 1, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This was clear right from the start of the show, when Nicki rose from below the stage rapping with noticeable vigor on the throwback opener “I’m the Best” (key line: “Which world tour should I go on today?”). In one moment, all the \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/1751290347957911700\">Ben Shapiro tweets\u003c/a>, \u003ca href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/09/14/nicki-minaj-covid-19-vaccine-conspiracy/\">COVID conspiracies\u003c/a>, irredeemable \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/rateyourmusic/comments/1aeyxcl/nicki_minajs_bigfoot_is_now_the_second_lowest/\">diss tracks\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C3jycgCO7ih/\">scattered whisper-rambles on Instagram Live\u003c/a> became distant memories. She was not here to play. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We are talking about a \u003ca href=\"https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/nicki-minaj/2024/oakland-arena-oakland-ca-53ad7bb5.html\">36-song setlist\u003c/a>, with smash hits and deep cuts alike. Six costume changes, robot dancers, a subway train, phone booths for her different alter egos. Lots of simulated copulation — group, duo and solo. Nicki, at age 41, coming for vengeance on workouts like “Roman’s Revenge,” and showing off her vocals on “Save Me.” And, just three months after being released, Nicki’s new songs from \u003cem>Pink Friday 2\u003c/em> — a smoldering “Big Difference,” set closer “Everybody” — coming off like classics. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953294\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279794.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953294\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279794.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279794-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279794-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279794-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279794-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279794-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicki Minaj performs during the opening night of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour at the Oakland Arena on March 1, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>What’s evident is Nicki is \u003cem>hungry\u003c/em> again. Maybe the competition got to her, and she upped her game. Maybe it was always in hiding. While she performed, I found myself wondering if her whole meandering, is-she-on-drugs-or-isn’t-she thing of late has been an elaborate psy-op to hide intense training and rehearsal. Whatever happened, it’s resulted in her giving 100% again. The show (“this magical historic night,” Nicki declared) recalled the first time I saw her headline the Bay Area, \u003ca href=\"https://bohemian.com/live-review-nicki-minaj-at-the-paramount-theater-oakland/\">in 2012 at the Paramount Theatre\u003c/a> — how unstoppable she seemed then, how she gave her all to the crowd. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There have been rough patches in the interim, to be sure. Bay Area fans may remember a fraught Concord Pavilion show in 2015 that suffered from beleaguered choreography and a strange detachment that seemed concerning, especially after \u003cem>The Pinkprint\u003c/em>’s multiple references to Percocet. The show ended with a \u003ca href=\"https://www.vibe.com/music/music-news/nicki-minaj-concert-brawl-video-369856/\">giant brawl in the crowd\u003c/a>; as I left I saw one guy \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/gmeline/status/632463878668943360\">face-down, knocked out\u003c/a>. The vibes, as they say, were off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953293\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279787.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953293\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279787.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279787-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279787-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279787-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279787-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053279787-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicki Minaj performs during the opening night of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour at the Oakland Arena on March 1, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Friday night, fans got the old Nicki. And not just with older deep cuts like “Favorite” and “Win Again,” which roused diehards but caused the overall energy to dip. One of the show’s early peaks was “FTCU,” and the modern phenomenon of an arena screaming the \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/ftcu?lang=en\">30 seconds of a song that are famous on TikTok\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The inspirational Nicki showed up too, during “The Night Is Still Young.” “I wanna tell you guys something right now,” she said. “No matter what is happening right now outside of Gag City, inside here, we are radiating positivity, success, prosperity, intelligence and wisdom” — later telling her audience, many clad in in sequined skirts, pink wigs, fuzzy hats and platform heels, “You still have time to do what you have to do! Don’t waste a minute of your life! Promise me that!” \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953295\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284188.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953295\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284188.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284188-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284188-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284188-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284188-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284188-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicki Minaj performs ‘Cowgirl’ during the opening night of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour at the Oakland Arena on March 1, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Fans also got the sex-positive Nicki. After a costume change into a basketball jersey-inspired yellow dress and boxing hoodie, Nicki did her best impression of Prince’s “Darling Nikki” upon the stage floor, complete with 90-degree leg lifts and a strategically positioned microphone. Cue the Beyoncé duet “Feelin’ Myself,” followed by undulating with three leather-clad beefcakes on steel beds (“Cowgirl”) and a straight-up face sit (“RNB”). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Provocative? Sure. But she knows what she’s doing. Nicki is hyper-aware of the meta narratives around her every move — and I’m not sure that’s always a good thing. As a longtime fan, part of my hesitation about this tour is that she’s seemed less interested in being the world’s greatest rapper, and more interested in \u003cem>hearing people say\u003c/em> she’s the world’s greatest rapper. It’s been giving self-doubt, and made me hear her music as telegraphing “greatness” instead of embodying it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953291\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284690.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953291\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284690.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284690-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284690-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284690-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284690-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053284690-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicki Minaj performs ‘Red Ruby da Sleeze’ during the opening night of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour at the Oakland Arena on March 1, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But if anyone’s earned the right to rest on her laurels, it’s Nicki. You can hear her carefree flamboyance in Doja Cat, her winking humor in Cardi B, her boss-bitch confidence in — yes — Megan Thee Stallion. But primarily, 24 years into her career, Nicki’s influence is in the fact we are talking about any of these talented women at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is really, really hard to convey to younger fans the unfair reality in which we lived, for years, that allowed for one and only one female rapper at a time. Nicki blew that notion apart. With her many alter egos and endless flows, she paved a multitude of ways for women to make their mark in the industry. On Friday, she also let \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/BARIJUKU/status/1763827847473635820\">national treasure Monica\u003c/a> perform a simmering set of a half-dozen songs during her headlining set, rather than making her open to a half-full arena.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953292\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053288493.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953292\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053288493.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053288493-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053288493-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053288493-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053288493-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/GettyImages-2053288493-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicki Minaj performs ‘FTCU’ during the opening night of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour at the Oakland Arena on March 1, 2024. \u003ccite>(Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>During the show, I thought of the prom scene in \u003cem>Mean Girls\u003c/em>, where Cady Heron hands out pieces of her crown to the other girls at school. That’s what Nicki did. I don’t think she really wants the crown back. She just wants people to know where it came from. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During her joyous finale in Oakland — with favorites “Moment for Life,” “Starships” and the eternal “Super Bass” — she made a convincing closing argument for that fact. This jury’s verdict is in: Nicki’s resurrected herself. \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "50 Years Ago, ‘Blazing Saddles’ Broke Wind — and Box Office Expectations",
"headTitle": "50 Years Ago, ‘Blazing Saddles’ Broke Wind — and Box Office Expectations | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Fifty years ago, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/12/07/1061836388/mel-brooks-all-about-me\">Mel Brooks\u003c/a> released \u003cem>Blazing Saddles\u003c/em> to gales of laughter and a mighty roar of flatulence jokes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also to mixed reviews from harrumphing critics. \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/08/archives/screen-blazing-saddles-a-western-in-burlesque.html\">Typical \u003c/a>was Vincent Canby, whose New York Times review lamented the film’s “desperate, bone crushing efforts to be funny.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The critics eventually came around, though it took a while. By the film’s 30th anniversary, NBC’s \u003cem>Today Show \u003c/em>was \u003ca href=\"https://www.today.com/popculture/blazing-saddles-still-has-big-laughs-wbna5263487\">acknowledging \u003c/a>that its laughs were in the service of a plot that “skewers just about every aspect of racial prejudice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13939927']And in 2006, when NPR’s Linda Wertheimer reported that \u003cem>Blazing Saddles\u003c/em> was being added to the National Film Registry, she was clearly \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2006/12/30/6700144/blazing-saddles-makes-national-film-registry\">feigning incredulity\u003c/a>. “Who could have imagined a film featuring a bunch of cowboys sitting around the campfire, eating beans and breaking wind, to be enshrined in the Library of Congress?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By then, of course, \u003cem>everyone\u003c/em> could imagine. Brooks had subsequently made a slew of genre-spoof classics (\u003cem>Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights\u003c/em>) and even riffed on history itself (\u003cem>History of the World: Part I\u003c/em>), not to mention the 2000 Year Old Man routines he created with \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/06/30/510434234/carl-reiner-actor-director-writer-producer-and-mensch-dies-at-98\">Carl Reiner\u003c/a>. The man was a legend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in 1974, he was significantly less well-known, having made a couple of mildly successful comedies (\u003cem>The Twelve Chairs\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Producers\u003c/em>) and worked in\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2013/07/10/200755247/sid-caesar-who-got-laughs-without-politics-or-putdowns-dies-at-91\"> Sid Caesar\u003c/a>‘s joke-writer stable for TV. So what he was doing in this western parody got, in the words of another of that era’s funnymen, “no respect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKayG1TrfuE\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Upending Hollywood’s version of the Old West\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Blazing Saddles\u003c/em> starts out like many a Western before it: Big Sky country, a wide open prairie in the 1870s being tamed by a railroad. The foreman is white, his workers mostly African American, and he expects them to be singing as they sweat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you were slaves you sang like birds,” he smirks. “How about a good ol’ n***** work song.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brooks worried about using the racial epithet I’ve just elided. But his co-screenwriter \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2014/12/11/369641000/richard-pryor-a-comedy-pioneer-who-was-always-whittling-on-dynamite\">Richard Pryor\u003c/a> insisted he use it — and use it often — consciously putting it the mouths of evil or unthinking characters, so that star Cleavon Little could comically mock or demolish them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which he does. Repeatedly. And hilariously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13907576']So, \u003cem>Blazing Saddles\u003c/em> is not really “like many a Western before it.” Brooks was upending Hollywood’s version of the Old West, much as \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2006/11/21/6520822/film-world-mourns-director-robert-altman\">Robert Altman\u003c/a>‘s dark, land-grab drama \u003cem>McCabe & Mrs. Miller\u003c/em> had, three years earlier. He just took a different tack. To set his comedy in motion, he had \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2008/05/30/90981454/comedic-actor-harvey-korman-dies-at-81\">Harvey Korman\u003c/a>‘s scheming politician come up with the idea of hiring a Black sheriff to scare the townsfolk of Rock Ridge away from their town, so he can buy it on the cheap before any of them learns the rail line will soon be coming through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His ploy works. When Cleavon Little’s Sheriff Bart rides into view, they are indeed less than welcoming. But they are also less than bright — foiled in their plan to shoot their new sheriff, for instance, when he points his gun at his own head and takes \u003cem>himself\u003c/em> hostage.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>‘He’s like wet sauerkraut in my hands’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Bart then teams up with \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2016/08/30/491944275/in-this-2005-interview-gene-wilder-explains-how-he-learned-to-get-laughs\">Gene Wilder\u003c/a>‘s Waco Kid, a hung-over gunslinger, at which point the film adopts the rhythms of a black/white buddy comedy. Until, that is, it turns into a spoof of \u003cem>The Blue Angel\u003c/em>, as Madeline Kahn’s seductress-for-hire Lili Von Shtupp croons a gloriously off-pitch “I’m Tired” and sets about seducing Sheriff Bart. “He’s like wet sauerkraut in my hands,” she purrs in an accent that suggests she got vocal coaching from both Marlene Dietrich and Elmer Fudd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To satirize 1970s racial prejudice using 1870s characters, Brooks opted to become an equal-opportunity shredder of genres and conventions. A horse gets punched, as does an old lady. Even Busby Berkeley musicals come in for a brief ribbing when a brawl literally breaks the fourth wall and the cast crashes into a dance number on a nearby soundstage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And of course, there’s that campfire scene: cowboys consuming pots of coffee and platefuls of baked beans, with predictable — though unusual for film — results.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>‘Bury it.’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>When studio executives first saw \u003cem>Blazing Saddles\u003c/em>, they were \u003cem>not\u003c/em> amused. One distributor \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv7L6Hrlj58&t=99s\">suggested \u003c/a>they “bury it.” Others wanted rewrites. But Brooks’ \u003ca href=\"https://ew.com/article/2014/05/01/blazing-saddles-mel-brooks/\">contract gave him final cut\u003c/a>, and he flat-out refused to make changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So on Feb. 7, 1974, the studio opened the film as a test in three cities — NYC, LA, Chicago — considered the most likely to get Brooks’ Borscht Belt sense of humor. Critics were dismissive, but even the most negative reviews conceded that audiences were howling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='pop_107664']And word got around. By the time the weather had warmed, \u003cem>Blazing Saddles \u003c/em>was playing to long lines in suburban cinemas across the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It ended up the biggest box-office hit of 1974, seen by some 63 million moviegoers in North America (more than would, decades later, see \u003cem>any\u003c/em> of the \u003cem>Lord of the Rings\u003c/em> movies in U.S. theaters).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Blazing Saddles\u003c/em> became, in short, a pop culture touchstone. And 50 years later, that’s what it remains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=50+years+ago%2C+%27Blazing+Saddles%27+broke+wind+%E2%80%94+and+box+office+expectations&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Fifty years ago, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/12/07/1061836388/mel-brooks-all-about-me\">Mel Brooks\u003c/a> released \u003cem>Blazing Saddles\u003c/em> to gales of laughter and a mighty roar of flatulence jokes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also to mixed reviews from harrumphing critics. \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/08/archives/screen-blazing-saddles-a-western-in-burlesque.html\">Typical \u003c/a>was Vincent Canby, whose New York Times review lamented the film’s “desperate, bone crushing efforts to be funny.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The critics eventually came around, though it took a while. By the film’s 30th anniversary, NBC’s \u003cem>Today Show \u003c/em>was \u003ca href=\"https://www.today.com/popculture/blazing-saddles-still-has-big-laughs-wbna5263487\">acknowledging \u003c/a>that its laughs were in the service of a plot that “skewers just about every aspect of racial prejudice.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>And in 2006, when NPR’s Linda Wertheimer reported that \u003cem>Blazing Saddles\u003c/em> was being added to the National Film Registry, she was clearly \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2006/12/30/6700144/blazing-saddles-makes-national-film-registry\">feigning incredulity\u003c/a>. “Who could have imagined a film featuring a bunch of cowboys sitting around the campfire, eating beans and breaking wind, to be enshrined in the Library of Congress?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By then, of course, \u003cem>everyone\u003c/em> could imagine. Brooks had subsequently made a slew of genre-spoof classics (\u003cem>Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie, High Anxiety, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights\u003c/em>) and even riffed on history itself (\u003cem>History of the World: Part I\u003c/em>), not to mention the 2000 Year Old Man routines he created with \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2020/06/30/510434234/carl-reiner-actor-director-writer-producer-and-mensch-dies-at-98\">Carl Reiner\u003c/a>. The man was a legend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in 1974, he was significantly less well-known, having made a couple of mildly successful comedies (\u003cem>The Twelve Chairs\u003c/em> and \u003cem>The Producers\u003c/em>) and worked in\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2013/07/10/200755247/sid-caesar-who-got-laughs-without-politics-or-putdowns-dies-at-91\"> Sid Caesar\u003c/a>‘s joke-writer stable for TV. So what he was doing in this western parody got, in the words of another of that era’s funnymen, “no respect.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/VKayG1TrfuE'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/VKayG1TrfuE'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ch3>Upending Hollywood’s version of the Old West\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Blazing Saddles\u003c/em> starts out like many a Western before it: Big Sky country, a wide open prairie in the 1870s being tamed by a railroad. The foreman is white, his workers mostly African American, and he expects them to be singing as they sweat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you were slaves you sang like birds,” he smirks. “How about a good ol’ n***** work song.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brooks worried about using the racial epithet I’ve just elided. But his co-screenwriter \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2014/12/11/369641000/richard-pryor-a-comedy-pioneer-who-was-always-whittling-on-dynamite\">Richard Pryor\u003c/a> insisted he use it — and use it often — consciously putting it the mouths of evil or unthinking characters, so that star Cleavon Little could comically mock or demolish them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which he does. Repeatedly. And hilariously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>So, \u003cem>Blazing Saddles\u003c/em> is not really “like many a Western before it.” Brooks was upending Hollywood’s version of the Old West, much as \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2006/11/21/6520822/film-world-mourns-director-robert-altman\">Robert Altman\u003c/a>‘s dark, land-grab drama \u003cem>McCabe & Mrs. Miller\u003c/em> had, three years earlier. He just took a different tack. To set his comedy in motion, he had \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2008/05/30/90981454/comedic-actor-harvey-korman-dies-at-81\">Harvey Korman\u003c/a>‘s scheming politician come up with the idea of hiring a Black sheriff to scare the townsfolk of Rock Ridge away from their town, so he can buy it on the cheap before any of them learns the rail line will soon be coming through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His ploy works. When Cleavon Little’s Sheriff Bart rides into view, they are indeed less than welcoming. But they are also less than bright — foiled in their plan to shoot their new sheriff, for instance, when he points his gun at his own head and takes \u003cem>himself\u003c/em> hostage.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>‘He’s like wet sauerkraut in my hands’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Bart then teams up with \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2016/08/30/491944275/in-this-2005-interview-gene-wilder-explains-how-he-learned-to-get-laughs\">Gene Wilder\u003c/a>‘s Waco Kid, a hung-over gunslinger, at which point the film adopts the rhythms of a black/white buddy comedy. Until, that is, it turns into a spoof of \u003cem>The Blue Angel\u003c/em>, as Madeline Kahn’s seductress-for-hire Lili Von Shtupp croons a gloriously off-pitch “I’m Tired” and sets about seducing Sheriff Bart. “He’s like wet sauerkraut in my hands,” she purrs in an accent that suggests she got vocal coaching from both Marlene Dietrich and Elmer Fudd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To satirize 1970s racial prejudice using 1870s characters, Brooks opted to become an equal-opportunity shredder of genres and conventions. A horse gets punched, as does an old lady. Even Busby Berkeley musicals come in for a brief ribbing when a brawl literally breaks the fourth wall and the cast crashes into a dance number on a nearby soundstage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And of course, there’s that campfire scene: cowboys consuming pots of coffee and platefuls of baked beans, with predictable — though unusual for film — results.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>‘Bury it.’\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>When studio executives first saw \u003cem>Blazing Saddles\u003c/em>, they were \u003cem>not\u003c/em> amused. One distributor \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv7L6Hrlj58&t=99s\">suggested \u003c/a>they “bury it.” Others wanted rewrites. But Brooks’ \u003ca href=\"https://ew.com/article/2014/05/01/blazing-saddles-mel-brooks/\">contract gave him final cut\u003c/a>, and he flat-out refused to make changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So on Feb. 7, 1974, the studio opened the film as a test in three cities — NYC, LA, Chicago — considered the most likely to get Brooks’ Borscht Belt sense of humor. Critics were dismissive, but even the most negative reviews conceded that audiences were howling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>And word got around. By the time the weather had warmed, \u003cem>Blazing Saddles \u003c/em>was playing to long lines in suburban cinemas across the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It ended up the biggest box-office hit of 1974, seen by some 63 million moviegoers in North America (more than would, decades later, see \u003cem>any\u003c/em> of the \u003cem>Lord of the Rings\u003c/em> movies in U.S. theaters).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Blazing Saddles\u003c/em> became, in short, a pop culture touchstone. And 50 years later, that’s what it remains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=50+years+ago%2C+%27Blazing+Saddles%27+broke+wind+%E2%80%94+and+box+office+expectations&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "‘Problemista’ Is a Surreal and Surprising Tribute to Dream-Chasing",
"headTitle": "‘Problemista’ Is a Surreal and Surprising Tribute to Dream-Chasing | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>There is a scene in \u003cem>Problemista\u003c/em> where Craigslist becomes an actual physical entity. The listings website is personified by a large flamboyant man floating in space. Wrapped in junk and tech garbage, he whispers intensely about sex work in one breath and Ikea Billy bookcases the next. Strange though this may sound, this entity is acutely (and hilariously) familiar to any human that has ever casually browsed that website.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This kind of surrealist vision is not unusual in \u003cem>Problemista\u003c/em> even though the movie is grounded, at its core, in harsh realities. In the film, Alejandro (Julio Torres, who also wrote and directed it) is an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador who takes an unpaid job with Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton) after losing his U.S. visa. Alejandro is childlike, moves through the world in tiny hops like a cartoon, and is full of dark whimsy. (He wants all of the toys he designs to have “tension and intrigue.” Like Cabbage Patch Dolls contending with bitchy text messages, and snakes that leap out of cans with signs attached to them that read: “I’m sorry, I was trapped in this can and scaring you was the only way out.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13952779']In contrast to Alejandro, Elizabeth is harsh, entitled and tightly wound in a way that’s unbearable for almost everyone in her vicinity. Still, the two strike a deal: If Alejandro helps Elizabeth put together an art show of her deceased husband’s work, she will sponsor his immigration application. All of which might make for a bleak story were it not for Torres’ penchant for embracing weirdness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point, the quagmire of immigration law becomes a series of floating diagonal boxes that must be navigated via trapdoors and vents — a little bit like an un-winnable game of shoots and ladders. These small moments of surreality don’t just serve as an engaging way to tell \u003cem>Problemista’\u003c/em>s story, they make the circumstances of the main character more viscerally relatable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbsk4okRUds\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the mind-bending scenery,\u003cem> Problemista\u003c/em> is elevated by an exceptionally funny script. Many of the best lines are served up by Swinton leaning full force into her character’s casual indifference to other people’s hardships. (Her utterance of the line “There is an underbelly of closeted fishermen” is, in particular, a masterpiece of dry comedic acting, but her tone stays on point throughout.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once upon a time many years ago, I — like Alejandro — worked as a personal assistant in New York City. Like Elizabeth, my boss was an eccentric, blunt, supremely demanding woman who owned a variety of homes in expensive places. At the time, I was a broke freelancer with a variety of immigration issues, hustling to make ends meet and living, like Alejandro, in Bushwick. To say I related to this movie would be a gross understatement. By this story’s unpredictable — and surprisingly heartwarming — end, however, I realized that the themes of \u003cem>Problemista \u003c/em>are actually very universal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13953095']\u003cem>Problemista\u003c/em> is a story about the hardships that come with chasing your dreams — any dreams at all. It’s about the inhumanity of gratuitous bureaucracy and needlessly complicated technology. (FileMaker Pro is a running joke throughout). It’s about how, so often, wanting to work in an artistic profession makes one’s life more difficult, but also infinitely more joyful. Ultimately, \u003cem>Problemista \u003c/em>is about finding lessons and friendship in unusual places, slaying personal dragons and the importance of standing up for yourself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If it’s not already obvious, this movie contains multitudes. (I haven’t even covered Isabella Rossellini’s delightful narration or the side storyline about cryogenesis…) And presented through Torres’ eyes, Alejandro’s difficult but dreamlike little world becomes a joy to visit — even when it’s being partially operated by Craigslist demons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Problemista’ screens at select San Francisco theaters on March 8, and nationwide on March 22, 2024.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>There is a scene in \u003cem>Problemista\u003c/em> where Craigslist becomes an actual physical entity. The listings website is personified by a large flamboyant man floating in space. Wrapped in junk and tech garbage, he whispers intensely about sex work in one breath and Ikea Billy bookcases the next. Strange though this may sound, this entity is acutely (and hilariously) familiar to any human that has ever casually browsed that website.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This kind of surrealist vision is not unusual in \u003cem>Problemista\u003c/em> even though the movie is grounded, at its core, in harsh realities. In the film, Alejandro (Julio Torres, who also wrote and directed it) is an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador who takes an unpaid job with Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton) after losing his U.S. visa. Alejandro is childlike, moves through the world in tiny hops like a cartoon, and is full of dark whimsy. (He wants all of the toys he designs to have “tension and intrigue.” Like Cabbage Patch Dolls contending with bitchy text messages, and snakes that leap out of cans with signs attached to them that read: “I’m sorry, I was trapped in this can and scaring you was the only way out.”)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In contrast to Alejandro, Elizabeth is harsh, entitled and tightly wound in a way that’s unbearable for almost everyone in her vicinity. Still, the two strike a deal: If Alejandro helps Elizabeth put together an art show of her deceased husband’s work, she will sponsor his immigration application. All of which might make for a bleak story were it not for Torres’ penchant for embracing weirdness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At one point, the quagmire of immigration law becomes a series of floating diagonal boxes that must be navigated via trapdoors and vents — a little bit like an un-winnable game of shoots and ladders. These small moments of surreality don’t just serve as an engaging way to tell \u003cem>Problemista’\u003c/em>s story, they make the circumstances of the main character more viscerally relatable.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/zbsk4okRUds'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/zbsk4okRUds'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the mind-bending scenery,\u003cem> Problemista\u003c/em> is elevated by an exceptionally funny script. Many of the best lines are served up by Swinton leaning full force into her character’s casual indifference to other people’s hardships. (Her utterance of the line “There is an underbelly of closeted fishermen” is, in particular, a masterpiece of dry comedic acting, but her tone stays on point throughout.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Once upon a time many years ago, I — like Alejandro — worked as a personal assistant in New York City. Like Elizabeth, my boss was an eccentric, blunt, supremely demanding woman who owned a variety of homes in expensive places. At the time, I was a broke freelancer with a variety of immigration issues, hustling to make ends meet and living, like Alejandro, in Bushwick. To say I related to this movie would be a gross understatement. By this story’s unpredictable — and surprisingly heartwarming — end, however, I realized that the themes of \u003cem>Problemista \u003c/em>are actually very universal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cem>Problemista\u003c/em> is a story about the hardships that come with chasing your dreams — any dreams at all. It’s about the inhumanity of gratuitous bureaucracy and needlessly complicated technology. (FileMaker Pro is a running joke throughout). It’s about how, so often, wanting to work in an artistic profession makes one’s life more difficult, but also infinitely more joyful. Ultimately, \u003cem>Problemista \u003c/em>is about finding lessons and friendship in unusual places, slaying personal dragons and the importance of standing up for yourself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If it’s not already obvious, this movie contains multitudes. (I haven’t even covered Isabella Rossellini’s delightful narration or the side storyline about cryogenesis…) And presented through Torres’ eyes, Alejandro’s difficult but dreamlike little world becomes a joy to visit — even when it’s being partially operated by Craigslist demons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-800x78.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>‘Problemista’ screens at select San Francisco theaters on March 8, and nationwide on March 22, 2024.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Carrie Preston won an Emmy Award in 2013, as outstanding guest actress, for her portrayal of a seemingly scatter-brained lawyer on the CBS series \u003cem>The Good Wife\u003c/em>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>Her character, Elsbeth Tascioni, really \u003cem>was \u003c/em>a character. Her conversations tended to derail into unexpected directions. Her questions never seemed to follow any logical path, but they always had a purpose — and she was keenly, almost uncomfortably, observant.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michelle and Robert King, the writing team that created \u003cem>The Good Wife\u003c/em> to showcase the talent of Julianna Margulies, quickly recognized Preston’s Elsbeth as a valuable supporting player. She appeared in six of the seven seasons of\u003cem> The Good Wife, \u003c/em>and won her Emmy there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13953000']Then she returned as the same character in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2017/02/19/516137854/the-good-fight-offers-edgier-version-of-the-good-wife-in-series-debut\">\u003cem>The Good Fight\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, \u003c/em>which the Kings wrote as a sequel series starring Christine Baranski. And now, there’s a third series, this time bringing Preston front and center. It’s called \u003cem>Elsbeth\u003c/em>, and all 10 episodes have been written by co-creators Michelle and Robert King, with him directing the premiere episode.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what are they up to this time? They’ve transplanted Elsbeth from Chicago to New York City, where she’s been hired to officially observe, and secretly investigate, some of the police there. In her new job, she’s given so much latitude, she even can serve as an ad-hoc murder investigator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Elsbeth\u003c/em>, the series, is structured like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924192/no-lie-natasha-lyonne-is-unforgettable-in-poker-face\">\u003cem>Poker Face\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, or, even more obviously, \u003cem>Columbo\u003c/em>. I’ve previewed three episodes, and each begins with viewers seeing the murderer commit the crime … and then, and only then, does Elsbeth enter the crime scene and start putting the puzzle pieces together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J-fCrWcF14\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As with \u003cem>Columbo\u003c/em>, each episode features a prominent guest star as the killer of the week. For the premiere episode of \u003cem>Elsbeth \u003c/em>— no spoiler alerts here, because the murder is shown in the opening moments — Stephen Moyer from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/96643/summer_is_coming_true_blood_season_5\">\u003cem>True Blood\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is the special guest star. He plays an acting teacher and director who has found a way to dispose of his much younger former student and lover, by making it look like suicide. When Elsbeth arrives at the victim’s apartment, she ignores the dead body and heads straight for the bathroom — where she pokes around until a detective notices her and objects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The police aren’t sure what to make of her, of course. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/ablogsupreme/2011/07/04/137607222/wendell-pierce-everyones-favorite-fake-trombone-player\">Wendell Pierce\u003c/a>, that wonderful actor from \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/08/05/1115935761/20-years-later-the-wire-still-enthralls\">\u003cem>The Wire\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, plays Capt. Wagner, who is exasperated one moment, impressed the next — which is how everyone reacted to Elsbeth way back on \u003cem>The Good Wife.\u003c/em> Carra Patterson plays Kaya Blanke, an officer who soon becomes a friend as well as a colleague.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13952420']But as with \u003cem>Columbo\u003c/em>, the most important dynamic is between the investigator and the killer. Elsbeth, like Columbo, is persistent and underestimated. But where Columbo kept his theories close to his vest, or his raincoat, Elsbeth almost delights in revealing her hole cards, to unsettle her prime suspect. Preston and Moyer worked together on HBO’s \u003cem>True Blood, \u003c/em>and it’s fun to see them together again here — this time as adversaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other episodes shown to critics feature, as the murderers of the week, Jane Krakowski from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/96840/now-is-definitely-the-time-to-re-watch-30-rock\">\u003cem>30 Rock\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and Jesse Tyler Ferguson from \u003cem>Modern Family\u003c/em>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>Both of them bring a playful energy, sparring with Preston’s Elsbeth — and she really sparkles, with and without them, and carries the series with ease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, the show’s New York locations add even more to the flavor, and the enjoyment. All together, they make \u003cem>Elsbeth \u003c/em>an undeniable throwback to an earlier TV era. But so is P\u003cem>oker Face, \u003c/em>which I love for many of the same reasons: Great leading role; delightful guest stars; decent, clever mysteries that are solved by the end of each episode. And in an era where so much TV is so dark and depressing, \u003cem>Elsbeth \u003c/em>stands out as a sweet, happy little treat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2024 Fresh Air. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/\">Fresh Air\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=In+the+mood+for+a+sweet%2C+off-beat+murder+mystery%3F+%27Elsbeth%27+is+on+the+case&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Then she returned as the same character in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2017/02/19/516137854/the-good-fight-offers-edgier-version-of-the-good-wife-in-series-debut\">\u003cem>The Good Fight\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, \u003c/em>which the Kings wrote as a sequel series starring Christine Baranski. And now, there’s a third series, this time bringing Preston front and center. It’s called \u003cem>Elsbeth\u003c/em>, and all 10 episodes have been written by co-creators Michelle and Robert King, with him directing the premiere episode.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what are they up to this time? They’ve transplanted Elsbeth from Chicago to New York City, where she’s been hired to officially observe, and secretly investigate, some of the police there. In her new job, she’s given so much latitude, she even can serve as an ad-hoc murder investigator.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Elsbeth\u003c/em>, the series, is structured like \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13924192/no-lie-natasha-lyonne-is-unforgettable-in-poker-face\">\u003cem>Poker Face\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, or, even more obviously, \u003cem>Columbo\u003c/em>. I’ve previewed three episodes, and each begins with viewers seeing the murderer commit the crime … and then, and only then, does Elsbeth enter the crime scene and start putting the puzzle pieces together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/1J-fCrWcF14'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/1J-fCrWcF14'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>As with \u003cem>Columbo\u003c/em>, each episode features a prominent guest star as the killer of the week. For the premiere episode of \u003cem>Elsbeth \u003c/em>— no spoiler alerts here, because the murder is shown in the opening moments — Stephen Moyer from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/96643/summer_is_coming_true_blood_season_5\">\u003cem>True Blood\u003c/em>\u003c/a> is the special guest star. He plays an acting teacher and director who has found a way to dispose of his much younger former student and lover, by making it look like suicide. When Elsbeth arrives at the victim’s apartment, she ignores the dead body and heads straight for the bathroom — where she pokes around until a detective notices her and objects.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The police aren’t sure what to make of her, of course. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/ablogsupreme/2011/07/04/137607222/wendell-pierce-everyones-favorite-fake-trombone-player\">Wendell Pierce\u003c/a>, that wonderful actor from \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2022/08/05/1115935761/20-years-later-the-wire-still-enthralls\">\u003cem>The Wire\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, plays Capt. Wagner, who is exasperated one moment, impressed the next — which is how everyone reacted to Elsbeth way back on \u003cem>The Good Wife.\u003c/em> Carra Patterson plays Kaya Blanke, an officer who soon becomes a friend as well as a colleague.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>But as with \u003cem>Columbo\u003c/em>, the most important dynamic is between the investigator and the killer. Elsbeth, like Columbo, is persistent and underestimated. But where Columbo kept his theories close to his vest, or his raincoat, Elsbeth almost delights in revealing her hole cards, to unsettle her prime suspect. Preston and Moyer worked together on HBO’s \u003cem>True Blood, \u003c/em>and it’s fun to see them together again here — this time as adversaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other episodes shown to critics feature, as the murderers of the week, Jane Krakowski from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/96840/now-is-definitely-the-time-to-re-watch-30-rock\">\u003cem>30 Rock\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and Jesse Tyler Ferguson from \u003cem>Modern Family\u003c/em>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>Both of them bring a playful energy, sparring with Preston’s Elsbeth — and she really sparkles, with and without them, and carries the series with ease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Also, the show’s New York locations add even more to the flavor, and the enjoyment. All together, they make \u003cem>Elsbeth \u003c/em>an undeniable throwback to an earlier TV era. But so is P\u003cem>oker Face, \u003c/em>which I love for many of the same reasons: Great leading role; delightful guest stars; decent, clever mysteries that are solved by the end of each episode. And in an era where so much TV is so dark and depressing, \u003cem>Elsbeth \u003c/em>stands out as a sweet, happy little treat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2024 Fresh Air. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/\">Fresh Air\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=In+the+mood+for+a+sweet%2C+off-beat+murder+mystery%3F+%27Elsbeth%27+is+on+the+case&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The original \u003cem>Shōgun\u003c/em>, on NBC, aired in 1980, when miniseries were the hottest things on television. ABC’s \u003cem>Roots \u003c/em>had broken all ratings records just three years before — and three years later, the star of \u003cem>Shōgun\u003c/em>, Richard Chamberlain, would score another massive miniseries hit with ABC’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2014/03/06/286876905/for-a-sheltered-teen-thorn-birds-was-a-much-needed-eye-opener\">\u003cem>The Thorn Birds\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even then, adapting James Clavell’s sprawling story of an English sea pilot’s adventures in Japan in the year 1600, was quite a gamble. The original version avoided subtitles, for the most part, to reflect the confusion the newly arrived pilot, John Blackthorne, felt when encountering Japanese culture and its people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13953000']Except for occasional narration by Orson Welles, who sometimes threw in some radio-style acting by interpreting what a warlord was saying, most viewers in 1980 were as clueless as the sailor in the story. Eventually, things became a bit clearer when one of the Japanese rulers, Lord Toranaga, appointed a trusted translator: Lady Mariko, to whom the pilot became increasingly, and dangerously, attracted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of the great appeal of that miniseries was the powerful performance by Toshiro Mifune as Toranaga. Foreign film fans at the time knew him as the star of the original \u003cem>Seven Samurai. \u003c/em>But the chemistry between Chamberlain as Blackthorne, and the Japanese actor Yoko Shimada as his translator Mariko, was a big part of it, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This new, 10-part interpretation of \u003cem>Shōgun\u003c/em>, adapted for TV by the married writing team of Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, uses subtitles throughout — a choice that makes the narrative more immediately understandable. It also focuses just as strongly, and just as effectively, on the same three central figures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lord Toranaga is played by Hiroyuki Sanada, who’s so imposing that even his silences are powerful. The translator, Lady Mariko, is played by Anna Sawai, who brings to her character even more strength, mystery and charisma than in the 1980 version. And instead of the matinee-idol-handsome Chamberlain as pilot Blackthorne, we have Cosmo Jarvis — an actor who looks more ruggedly handsome, and sounds a lot like Richard Burton. It takes a while for the three characters, and actors, to share the screen — but when they finally do, it’s entrancing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAN5uspO_hk\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This new \u003cem>Shōgun \u003c/em>has other strong performances as well, but they’re not the only things that make this 2024 version so successful. Special and visual effects have improved exponentially in the almost 45 years since the original \u003cem>Shōgun \u003c/em>was televised, and it shows here: Every storm at sea, every battle scene and, especially, every earthquake is rendered with excitement and credibility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And finally, there’s the overarching story, which has Toranaga employing Blackthorne as his secret weapon in a deadly civil war. The power grabs among the five rulers are like the hostilities in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/series/1041961732/game-of-thrones-recaps\">\u003cem>The Game of Thrones\u003c/em>\u003c/a> — except instead of a Red Wedding, there’s a Crimson Sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13952691']I went back and rewatched the original \u003cem>Shōgun\u003c/em> to see if it holds up. It does. But the several directors who worked on \u003cem>Shōgun \u003c/em>for FX deliver a new version that looks much more stunning. It’s sexier, more violent, and even more thought-provoking and illuminating than the original … all of which, in this context, are meant as compliments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first two episodes of \u003cem>Shōgun \u003c/em>are televised on FX opening night, and streamed the next day on Hulu, with the remaining episodes presented weekly. Don’t miss it: With this \u003cem>Shōgun\u003c/em>, as with the original, the TV miniseries is alive and well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2024 Fresh Air. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/\">Fresh Air\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Sex%2C+violence%2C+%27Game+of+Thrones%27-style+power+grabs+%E2%80%94+the+new+%27Sh%C5%8Dgun%27+has+it+all+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The original \u003cem>Shōgun\u003c/em>, on NBC, aired in 1980, when miniseries were the hottest things on television. ABC’s \u003cem>Roots \u003c/em>had broken all ratings records just three years before — and three years later, the star of \u003cem>Shōgun\u003c/em>, Richard Chamberlain, would score another massive miniseries hit with ABC’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2014/03/06/286876905/for-a-sheltered-teen-thorn-birds-was-a-much-needed-eye-opener\">\u003cem>The Thorn Birds\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even then, adapting James Clavell’s sprawling story of an English sea pilot’s adventures in Japan in the year 1600, was quite a gamble. The original version avoided subtitles, for the most part, to reflect the confusion the newly arrived pilot, John Blackthorne, felt when encountering Japanese culture and its people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Except for occasional narration by Orson Welles, who sometimes threw in some radio-style acting by interpreting what a warlord was saying, most viewers in 1980 were as clueless as the sailor in the story. Eventually, things became a bit clearer when one of the Japanese rulers, Lord Toranaga, appointed a trusted translator: Lady Mariko, to whom the pilot became increasingly, and dangerously, attracted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Part of the great appeal of that miniseries was the powerful performance by Toshiro Mifune as Toranaga. Foreign film fans at the time knew him as the star of the original \u003cem>Seven Samurai. \u003c/em>But the chemistry between Chamberlain as Blackthorne, and the Japanese actor Yoko Shimada as his translator Mariko, was a big part of it, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This new, 10-part interpretation of \u003cem>Shōgun\u003c/em>, adapted for TV by the married writing team of Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks, uses subtitles throughout — a choice that makes the narrative more immediately understandable. It also focuses just as strongly, and just as effectively, on the same three central figures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lord Toranaga is played by Hiroyuki Sanada, who’s so imposing that even his silences are powerful. The translator, Lady Mariko, is played by Anna Sawai, who brings to her character even more strength, mystery and charisma than in the 1980 version. And instead of the matinee-idol-handsome Chamberlain as pilot Blackthorne, we have Cosmo Jarvis — an actor who looks more ruggedly handsome, and sounds a lot like Richard Burton. It takes a while for the three characters, and actors, to share the screen — but when they finally do, it’s entrancing.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/yAN5uspO_hk'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/yAN5uspO_hk'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>This new \u003cem>Shōgun \u003c/em>has other strong performances as well, but they’re not the only things that make this 2024 version so successful. Special and visual effects have improved exponentially in the almost 45 years since the original \u003cem>Shōgun \u003c/em>was televised, and it shows here: Every storm at sea, every battle scene and, especially, every earthquake is rendered with excitement and credibility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And finally, there’s the overarching story, which has Toranaga employing Blackthorne as his secret weapon in a deadly civil war. The power grabs among the five rulers are like the hostilities in \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/series/1041961732/game-of-thrones-recaps\">\u003cem>The Game of Thrones\u003c/em>\u003c/a> — except instead of a Red Wedding, there’s a Crimson Sky.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>I went back and rewatched the original \u003cem>Shōgun\u003c/em> to see if it holds up. It does. But the several directors who worked on \u003cem>Shōgun \u003c/em>for FX deliver a new version that looks much more stunning. It’s sexier, more violent, and even more thought-provoking and illuminating than the original … all of which, in this context, are meant as compliments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first two episodes of \u003cem>Shōgun \u003c/em>are televised on FX opening night, and streamed the next day on Hulu, with the remaining episodes presented weekly. Don’t miss it: With this \u003cem>Shōgun\u003c/em>, as with the original, the TV miniseries is alive and well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2024 Fresh Air. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/\">Fresh Air\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Sex%2C+violence%2C+%27Game+of+Thrones%27-style+power+grabs+%E2%80%94+the+new+%27Sh%C5%8Dgun%27+has+it+all+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Returning Characters Revive ‘The Walking Dead’ in ‘The Ones Who Live’",
"headTitle": "Returning Characters Revive ‘The Walking Dead’ in ‘The Ones Who Live’ | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Nestled in a Burbank office filled with comic books, framed movie posters, \u003cem>Walking Dead\u003c/em> memorabilia and a life-size replica of Han Solo frozen in Carbonite looming over his desk, Scott Gimple knows what some of you are thinking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Chief Content Officer of the \u003cem>Walking Dead \u003c/em>franchise and showrunner for its newest spinoff series, \u003cem>The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live\u003c/em>, Gimple realizes some folks — like the critic from NPR who came to quiz him on the new show — understand several people who watched the original zombie drama have stopped keeping up with it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And even though \u003cem>The Ones Who Live\u003c/em> is centered on two of the show’s most popular characters — husband and wife team Rick Grimes and Michonne — many of us skeptics wonder: Will a new audience show up for the latest iteration of a franchise nearly 14 years old?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Well, things change,” says Gimple, who has the air of a mild-mannered comics nerd. “There was a short moment in the culture [where people reacted to] Taylor Swift; they would roll their eyes and [say she’s] singing about her ex-boyfriend again. Then people kind of understood what she was doing … I’m not saying anybody’s rolling their eyes at us, but I’m saying if you’re around long enough, things go in cycles.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN6_lMcYFKY\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Moving from film to TV series\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Though it debuted Sunday as a TV program,\u003cem> The Ones Who Live\u003c/em> was originally planned \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/04/arts/television/andrew-lincoln-the-walking-dead.html\">as a series of films\u003c/a> back when Andrew Lincoln, who plays earnest hero Rick Grimes, left the mothership show in 2018. Danai Gurira, a co-star in the \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> movies who plays sword-wielding warrior Michonne, \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-03-22/danai-gurira-the-walking-dead-michonne-goodbye#:~:text=Her%20departure%20also%20marked%20the,a%20Tony%20Award%20in%202016.\">departed in 2020 from the show\u003c/a>, which wrapped up in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Scott Gimple and I had an exit strategy [for me] from season four or five,” says Lincoln, who spoke to me with Gurira in a longer interview that will air in an upcoming episode of KCRW’s show \u003cem>The Business\u003c/em>. He didn’t actually leave \u003cem>The Walking Dead \u003c/em>until its ninth season, worn down by months spent shooting the show far away from his family in England.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='pop_97900']“I could tell he was near the end of his time on the show … but I also knew he loved it, and he loved working with the people,” Gimple says. “So I started to talk to him, saying…you can go, but that doesn’t mean we have to be done telling stories. We can tell stories in a way that fits with the life you need to lead. And that’s what happened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rick Grimes had always been the earnest, beating heart of \u003cem>The Walking Dead \u003c/em>series, as he fell in love with Michonne and they led a band of survivors. Onscreen, Rick was shown blowing up a bridge to save his friends and family, leaving them to believe he died, though Michonne eventually went searching for him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953002\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953002\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-rick-grimes-4_custom-bdb6d67582862db286b8974deb6b7c76bdefe2c2-e1708974785249.jpe\" alt=\"A disheveled man sits exhausted against a brick wall. He is spattered with blood.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1279\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes on ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.’ \u003ccite>(AMC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He was whisked away in a mysterious black helicopter, leaving open the question of when and how he might resurface — and what else it might reveal about\u003cem> The Walking Dead\u003c/em>‘s post-apocalyptic universe when he returned. But a changing industry meant that, by the time they could create something to continue the story, doing it as a movie wasn’t in the cards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We realized after COVID and a few delays that actually the best way to deliver this was a love story with, you know, the love of [his] life,” Lincoln adds. “And it felt better and more satisfying to do it over six hours rather than two [in a movie].”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Creating a spin off for a changed industry\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>What’s changed for \u003cem>The Walking Dead\u003c/em> and AMC is that the audience for traditional cable channels has plummeted as the TV industry turns toward streaming. According to \u003cem>The Hollywood Reporter\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Walking Dead\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/walking-dead-by-the-numbers-ratings-amc-1235265635/\">hit its ratings high \u003c/a>with the debut of its fifth season in 2014, which drew more than 17 million viewers. In contrast, the show’s 90-minute finale in 2022 drew just over 3 million viewers, though it set viewership records for AMC’s streaming service, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.amcnetworks.com/press-releases/the-walking-dead-series-finale-becomes-the-most-watched-single-episode-of-television-in-the-history-of-amc-and-drives-the-platforms-most-viewed-day-ever/#:~:text=In%20Nielsen%20live%2B3%20ratings,percent%20from%20the%20previous%20episode.\">a release from the company\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='pop_104118']Suggest to AMC executives that a number of fans may have just given up on watching the original show over its run, and they note the two spinoff series \u003cem>Dead City\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Daryl Dixon\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.amcnetworks.com/press-releases/the-walking-dead-daryl-dixon-becomes-1-most-viewed-premiere-and-season-in-amc-history/#:~:text=In%20linear%20viewership%2C%20the%20fourth,and%20392k%20adults%2025%2D54.\">were among cable’s top performers\u003c/a> in key demographics during 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the nature of television has changed so much over the years that those numbers from 2014, 2015, I don’t know if they exist anywhere anymore,” Gurira says. “It’s still actually a very successful franchise within its realm … It kind of keeps proving itself worthy to keep being explored.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953005\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1798px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953005\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-terry-oquin_custom-93a3e847123d6a8dcf88c928aab78da5103d60bf.jpe\" alt=\"Close up side profile of a white bald man with grey stubble.\" width=\"1798\" height=\"1232\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-terry-oquin_custom-93a3e847123d6a8dcf88c928aab78da5103d60bf.jpe 1798w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-terry-oquin_custom-93a3e847123d6a8dcf88c928aab78da5103d60bf-800x548.jpe 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-terry-oquin_custom-93a3e847123d6a8dcf88c928aab78da5103d60bf-1020x699.jpe 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-terry-oquin_custom-93a3e847123d6a8dcf88c928aab78da5103d60bf-160x110.jpe 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-terry-oquin_custom-93a3e847123d6a8dcf88c928aab78da5103d60bf-768x526.jpe 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-terry-oquin_custom-93a3e847123d6a8dcf88c928aab78da5103d60bf-1536x1052.jpe 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1798px) 100vw, 1798px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live,’ Terry O’Quinn plays Beale, the Major General of the Civic Republic Military. \u003ccite>(AMC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Ones Who Live\u003c/em> accomplishes that by leaping ahead years from Rick’s fateful moment on the bridge. It turns out he was brought to a secret city that hides its existence by making sure visitors never leave. Inside the walls, people live free from the violence and horror of a world ravaged by flesh-eating “walkers” (no one really uses the word zombie in the \u003cem>Walking Dead\u003c/em> universe).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they’re protected by an army of sorts called the Civic Republic Military, which goes to brutal lengths to keep their secrets. For a long time, Rick, desperate to return to Michonne, keeps trying — and failing — to escape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It gets more complex when the question is, ‘Who will you become to save someone you love or something you love?'” Gimple says. “That’s when people, I think, are even more apt to sacrifice their humanity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Working with his stars to shape the story\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Gimple worked closely with his stars, Lincoln and Gurira, to create the story and edit episodes after they filmed. Both stars also serve as executive producers and are listed as co-creators of the show with Gimple. Gurira, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/interviews/interview-with-eclipsed-playwright-danai-gurira\">Tony-nominated playwright\u003c/a>, wrote the series’ fourth episode.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Helping with editing required Lincoln to do something he hadn’t done in 30 years as an actor: watch footage of his own performances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='pop_102007']“It wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences,” Lincoln says, chuckling. (I reminded him when I interviewed him publicly for \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/tvqVBNgGMSs?si=a9I38jIobXrSzR66&t=91\">a panel on the show convened by Smithsonian Associates\u003c/a> in 2016; he covered his eyes and ears as clips from the program played.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I watched it with one eye closed and sort of felt a bit queasy,” he adds. “And then I was able to do one scene with both eyes. And eventually, it was the strength of the other performances that I was able to tune into and get some objective perspective on the thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gimple says learning to watch his own performances ultimately seemed to be good for Lincoln. “In the process, he was able to get some separation between Andy and Rick,” the showrunner adds. “He was watching Rick. And when that was locked, we were off and running because he made major contributions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953004\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953004\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad.jpe\" alt=\"Movie image of a zombie with rotting face. It is wearing a military cap.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad.jpe 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad-800x450.jpe 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad-1020x574.jpe 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad-160x90.jpe 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad-768x432.jpe 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad-1536x864.jpe 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad-1920x1080.jpe 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A “walker” from the series ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.’ \u003ccite>(AMC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gimple was a showrunner for the original series for several seasons before becoming Chief Content Officer in 2018. Though one spin off, \u003cem>Fear the Walking Dead\u003c/em>, was already going by then, he’s shepherded five other spinoffs of the show, which now are an important part of AMC’s strategy, including two other series which have taken popular characters from the original and placed them in new locations: \u003cem>The Walking Dead: Dead City\u003c/em> (New York) and \u003cem>The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon\u003c/em> (France).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dan McDermott, president of entertainment for AMC Networks and AMC Studios, compares \u003cem>The Walking Dead\u003c/em> universe to the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the fictional worlds containing the \u003cem>Star Trek\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Star Wars\u003c/em> TV shows and films. He referenced Robert Kirkman, co-creator of the graphic novel on which the TV shows are based, who also serves as an executive producer on the original series.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13952691']“The way Robert Kirkman designed this story from the beginning was it’s a walker apocalypse that never ends,” McDermott adds, noting AMC is also hoping to build a similar network of programs around characters and stories created by novelists Anne Rice and Tony Hillerman. “Our job, as stewards of this universe, is: How do we continue to tell stories in this universe that don’t feel repetitive, redundant, overdone and can be … revolutionary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics may say the franchise has struggled with exactly what McDermott wants to avoid. But it’s obvious AMC has a lot riding on the success of the \u003cem>Walking Dead \u003c/em>spinoffs, especially \u003cem>The Ones Who Live\u003c/em>, which brings together two characters fans have been waiting years to see together onscreen again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless of what skeptics may say, it is also true that \u003cem>The Walking Dead\u003c/em> is arguably one of the most successful franchises in cable TV history, outlasting more acclaimed AMC shows like \u003cem>Mad Men, Breaking Bad\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Better Call Saul\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a certain timelessness to TV now,” Gimple says. “Back in the past, you would have a shelf of DVDs [with episodes of TV shows]. We’re now trying to fill up that virtual shelf, both for people who love the show and maybe for people who, you know, stumbled into that corner of the house and … pulled one down. And, hopefully, they will want to keep pulling them down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">\u003cem>Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org\">visit NPR\u003c/a>.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Returning+characters+revive+%27The+Walking+Dead%27+in+%27The+Ones+Who+Live%27&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/em>\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Danai Gurira and Andrew Lincoln are back as Michonne and Rick Grimes. But will a new audience still show up?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Nestled in a Burbank office filled with comic books, framed movie posters, \u003cem>Walking Dead\u003c/em> memorabilia and a life-size replica of Han Solo frozen in Carbonite looming over his desk, Scott Gimple knows what some of you are thinking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Chief Content Officer of the \u003cem>Walking Dead \u003c/em>franchise and showrunner for its newest spinoff series, \u003cem>The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live\u003c/em>, Gimple realizes some folks — like the critic from NPR who came to quiz him on the new show — understand several people who watched the original zombie drama have stopped keeping up with it all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And even though \u003cem>The Ones Who Live\u003c/em> is centered on two of the show’s most popular characters — husband and wife team Rick Grimes and Michonne — many of us skeptics wonder: Will a new audience show up for the latest iteration of a franchise nearly 14 years old?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Well, things change,” says Gimple, who has the air of a mild-mannered comics nerd. “There was a short moment in the culture [where people reacted to] Taylor Swift; they would roll their eyes and [say she’s] singing about her ex-boyfriend again. Then people kind of understood what she was doing … I’m not saying anybody’s rolling their eyes at us, but I’m saying if you’re around long enough, things go in cycles.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/cN6_lMcYFKY'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/cN6_lMcYFKY'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003ch3>Moving from film to TV series\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Though it debuted Sunday as a TV program,\u003cem> The Ones Who Live\u003c/em> was originally planned \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/04/arts/television/andrew-lincoln-the-walking-dead.html\">as a series of films\u003c/a> back when Andrew Lincoln, who plays earnest hero Rick Grimes, left the mothership show in 2018. Danai Gurira, a co-star in the \u003cem>Black Panther\u003c/em> movies who plays sword-wielding warrior Michonne, \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2020-03-22/danai-gurira-the-walking-dead-michonne-goodbye#:~:text=Her%20departure%20also%20marked%20the,a%20Tony%20Award%20in%202016.\">departed in 2020 from the show\u003c/a>, which wrapped up in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Scott Gimple and I had an exit strategy [for me] from season four or five,” says Lincoln, who spoke to me with Gurira in a longer interview that will air in an upcoming episode of KCRW’s show \u003cem>The Business\u003c/em>. He didn’t actually leave \u003cem>The Walking Dead \u003c/em>until its ninth season, worn down by months spent shooting the show far away from his family in England.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I could tell he was near the end of his time on the show … but I also knew he loved it, and he loved working with the people,” Gimple says. “So I started to talk to him, saying…you can go, but that doesn’t mean we have to be done telling stories. We can tell stories in a way that fits with the life you need to lead. And that’s what happened.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rick Grimes had always been the earnest, beating heart of \u003cem>The Walking Dead \u003c/em>series, as he fell in love with Michonne and they led a band of survivors. Onscreen, Rick was shown blowing up a bridge to save his friends and family, leaving them to believe he died, though Michonne eventually went searching for him.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953002\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953002\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-rick-grimes-4_custom-bdb6d67582862db286b8974deb6b7c76bdefe2c2-e1708974785249.jpe\" alt=\"A disheveled man sits exhausted against a brick wall. He is spattered with blood.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1279\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes on ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.’ \u003ccite>(AMC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>He was whisked away in a mysterious black helicopter, leaving open the question of when and how he might resurface — and what else it might reveal about\u003cem> The Walking Dead\u003c/em>‘s post-apocalyptic universe when he returned. But a changing industry meant that, by the time they could create something to continue the story, doing it as a movie wasn’t in the cards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We realized after COVID and a few delays that actually the best way to deliver this was a love story with, you know, the love of [his] life,” Lincoln adds. “And it felt better and more satisfying to do it over six hours rather than two [in a movie].”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Creating a spin off for a changed industry\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>What’s changed for \u003cem>The Walking Dead\u003c/em> and AMC is that the audience for traditional cable channels has plummeted as the TV industry turns toward streaming. According to \u003cem>The Hollywood Reporter\u003c/em>, \u003cem>The Walking Dead\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/walking-dead-by-the-numbers-ratings-amc-1235265635/\">hit its ratings high \u003c/a>with the debut of its fifth season in 2014, which drew more than 17 million viewers. In contrast, the show’s 90-minute finale in 2022 drew just over 3 million viewers, though it set viewership records for AMC’s streaming service, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.amcnetworks.com/press-releases/the-walking-dead-series-finale-becomes-the-most-watched-single-episode-of-television-in-the-history-of-amc-and-drives-the-platforms-most-viewed-day-ever/#:~:text=In%20Nielsen%20live%2B3%20ratings,percent%20from%20the%20previous%20episode.\">a release from the company\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Suggest to AMC executives that a number of fans may have just given up on watching the original show over its run, and they note the two spinoff series \u003cem>Dead City\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Daryl Dixon\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.amcnetworks.com/press-releases/the-walking-dead-daryl-dixon-becomes-1-most-viewed-premiere-and-season-in-amc-history/#:~:text=In%20linear%20viewership%2C%20the%20fourth,and%20392k%20adults%2025%2D54.\">were among cable’s top performers\u003c/a> in key demographics during 2023.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think the nature of television has changed so much over the years that those numbers from 2014, 2015, I don’t know if they exist anywhere anymore,” Gurira says. “It’s still actually a very successful franchise within its realm … It kind of keeps proving itself worthy to keep being explored.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953005\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1798px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953005\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-terry-oquin_custom-93a3e847123d6a8dcf88c928aab78da5103d60bf.jpe\" alt=\"Close up side profile of a white bald man with grey stubble.\" width=\"1798\" height=\"1232\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-terry-oquin_custom-93a3e847123d6a8dcf88c928aab78da5103d60bf.jpe 1798w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-terry-oquin_custom-93a3e847123d6a8dcf88c928aab78da5103d60bf-800x548.jpe 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-terry-oquin_custom-93a3e847123d6a8dcf88c928aab78da5103d60bf-1020x699.jpe 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-terry-oquin_custom-93a3e847123d6a8dcf88c928aab78da5103d60bf-160x110.jpe 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-terry-oquin_custom-93a3e847123d6a8dcf88c928aab78da5103d60bf-768x526.jpe 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-terry-oquin_custom-93a3e847123d6a8dcf88c928aab78da5103d60bf-1536x1052.jpe 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1798px) 100vw, 1798px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live,’ Terry O’Quinn plays Beale, the Major General of the Civic Republic Military. \u003ccite>(AMC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The Ones Who Live\u003c/em> accomplishes that by leaping ahead years from Rick’s fateful moment on the bridge. It turns out he was brought to a secret city that hides its existence by making sure visitors never leave. Inside the walls, people live free from the violence and horror of a world ravaged by flesh-eating “walkers” (no one really uses the word zombie in the \u003cem>Walking Dead\u003c/em> universe).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they’re protected by an army of sorts called the Civic Republic Military, which goes to brutal lengths to keep their secrets. For a long time, Rick, desperate to return to Michonne, keeps trying — and failing — to escape.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It gets more complex when the question is, ‘Who will you become to save someone you love or something you love?'” Gimple says. “That’s when people, I think, are even more apt to sacrifice their humanity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Working with his stars to shape the story\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Gimple worked closely with his stars, Lincoln and Gurira, to create the story and edit episodes after they filmed. Both stars also serve as executive producers and are listed as co-creators of the show with Gimple. Gurira, a \u003ca href=\"https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatre-news/interviews/interview-with-eclipsed-playwright-danai-gurira\">Tony-nominated playwright\u003c/a>, wrote the series’ fourth episode.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Helping with editing required Lincoln to do something he hadn’t done in 30 years as an actor: watch footage of his own performances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences,” Lincoln says, chuckling. (I reminded him when I interviewed him publicly for \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/tvqVBNgGMSs?si=a9I38jIobXrSzR66&t=91\">a panel on the show convened by Smithsonian Associates\u003c/a> in 2016; he covered his eyes and ears as clips from the program played.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I watched it with one eye closed and sort of felt a bit queasy,” he adds. “And then I was able to do one scene with both eyes. And eventually, it was the strength of the other performances that I was able to tune into and get some objective perspective on the thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gimple says learning to watch his own performances ultimately seemed to be good for Lincoln. “In the process, he was able to get some separation between Andy and Rick,” the showrunner adds. “He was watching Rick. And when that was locked, we were off and running because he made major contributions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13953004\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2048px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13953004\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad.jpe\" alt=\"Movie image of a zombie with rotting face. It is wearing a military cap.\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad.jpe 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad-800x450.jpe 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad-1020x574.jpe 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad-160x90.jpe 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad-768x432.jpe 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad-1536x864.jpe 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/twd-walkers_wide-0445eb997f718cd99cea28966074c3c633bcb5ad-1920x1080.jpe 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A “walker” from the series ‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live.’ \u003ccite>(AMC)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Gimple was a showrunner for the original series for several seasons before becoming Chief Content Officer in 2018. Though one spin off, \u003cem>Fear the Walking Dead\u003c/em>, was already going by then, he’s shepherded five other spinoffs of the show, which now are an important part of AMC’s strategy, including two other series which have taken popular characters from the original and placed them in new locations: \u003cem>The Walking Dead: Dead City\u003c/em> (New York) and \u003cem>The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon\u003c/em> (France).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dan McDermott, president of entertainment for AMC Networks and AMC Studios, compares \u003cem>The Walking Dead\u003c/em> universe to the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the fictional worlds containing the \u003cem>Star Trek\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Star Wars\u003c/em> TV shows and films. He referenced Robert Kirkman, co-creator of the graphic novel on which the TV shows are based, who also serves as an executive producer on the original series.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“The way Robert Kirkman designed this story from the beginning was it’s a walker apocalypse that never ends,” McDermott adds, noting AMC is also hoping to build a similar network of programs around characters and stories created by novelists Anne Rice and Tony Hillerman. “Our job, as stewards of this universe, is: How do we continue to tell stories in this universe that don’t feel repetitive, redundant, overdone and can be … revolutionary.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics may say the franchise has struggled with exactly what McDermott wants to avoid. But it’s obvious AMC has a lot riding on the success of the \u003cem>Walking Dead \u003c/em>spinoffs, especially \u003cem>The Ones Who Live\u003c/em>, which brings together two characters fans have been waiting years to see together onscreen again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless of what skeptics may say, it is also true that \u003cem>The Walking Dead\u003c/em> is arguably one of the most successful franchises in cable TV history, outlasting more acclaimed AMC shows like \u003cem>Mad Men, Breaking Bad\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Better Call Saul\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Star actress \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/zendaya\">Zendaya\u003c/a> has made a large donation to the California Shakespeare Theater (Cal Shakes) that’s expected to have a major impact on the company’s upcoming 50th anniversary season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='arts_13891785']\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/pop/95643/how-oaklands-zendaya-became-the-most-woke-disney-star-ever\">The Oakland-born star\u003c/a> of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13952684/dune-part-two-sustains-the-dystopian-dream-of-part-one\">\u003cem>Dune\u003c/em>\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13907939/hbos-euphoria-is-more-than-a-parents-worst-nightmare-its-a-creative-triumph\">\u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em> \u003c/a>facilitated a $100,000 grant to the theater’s \u003ca href=\"https://calshakes.org/support/\">North Star Fund\u003c/a> via the Women Donors Network (WDN).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We hope that our funding supports your work and helps further your strategic vision, wherever funds are most needed,” said WDN’s President and CEO Leena Barakat in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The North Star Fund is dedicated toward launching a development program for young acting talent, improving sound and lighting at the Bruns Amphitheater in Orinda, and upgrading Cal Shakes’ cafe facilities. The fund will also finance the theater’s \u003ca href=\"https://calshakes.org/calshakes50_pr/\">50th anniversary production of \u003c/a>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://calshakes.org/calshakes50_pr/\">As You Like It\u003c/a>,\u003c/em> set to be directed by Elizabeth Carter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“To me, \u003cem>As You Like It\u003c/em> is ultimately about the freedom to uncover ourselves,” Carter said when the play was announced, “being loved for our true selves, and that the least of us is the most of us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postid='pop_95643']Zendaya, 27, has been closely linked to Cal Shakes since her childhood. Her mother, elementary school teacher Claire Stoermer, worked as the house manager for 12 summers. Zendaya often accompanied her mom to the theater, helping out by selling raffle tickets and handing out programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The actress began taking classes at Cal Shakes at the age of 8, encouraged by her mom. Within six years, Zendaya began starring in the Disney Channel series, \u003cem>Shake it Up\u003c/em>. In 2020, she became the youngest actor to ever win an Emmy Award for her work on \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $100,000 donation follows a pattern of Zendaya representing her hometown of Oakland and supporting its community programs. Last year, with boyfriend Tom Holland, she \u003ca href=\"https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/zendaya-and-boyfriend-tom-holland-made-a-secret-trip-to-her-oakland-school\">visited her alma mater Oakland School for the Arts\u003c/a> to talk with students. In 2018, she \u003ca href=\"https://www.essence.com/celebrity/zendaya-google-computer-science-roses-oakland/\">helped fund a grant supporting computer science curriculum\u003c/a> at Oakland’s Roses In Concerete Community School.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zendaya remains a regular visitor to the Cal Shakes’ theater in Orinda, and was made aware of its post-pandemic challenges in conversations with Executive Director Clive Worsley and others at Cal Shakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are deeply grateful to Zendaya and the WDN for their partnership,” Worsley said in a statement. “This gift helps keep Cal Shakes going strong.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Zendaya, 27, has been closely linked to Cal Shakes since her childhood. Her mother, elementary school teacher Claire Stoermer, worked as the house manager for 12 summers. Zendaya often accompanied her mom to the theater, helping out by selling raffle tickets and handing out programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The actress began taking classes at Cal Shakes at the age of 8, encouraged by her mom. Within six years, Zendaya began starring in the Disney Channel series, \u003cem>Shake it Up\u003c/em>. In 2020, she became the youngest actor to ever win an Emmy Award for her work on \u003cem>Euphoria\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $100,000 donation follows a pattern of Zendaya representing her hometown of Oakland and supporting its community programs. Last year, with boyfriend Tom Holland, she \u003ca href=\"https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/zendaya-and-boyfriend-tom-holland-made-a-secret-trip-to-her-oakland-school\">visited her alma mater Oakland School for the Arts\u003c/a> to talk with students. In 2018, she \u003ca href=\"https://www.essence.com/celebrity/zendaya-google-computer-science-roses-oakland/\">helped fund a grant supporting computer science curriculum\u003c/a> at Oakland’s Roses In Concerete Community School.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Zendaya remains a regular visitor to the Cal Shakes’ theater in Orinda, and was made aware of its post-pandemic challenges in conversations with Executive Director Clive Worsley and others at Cal Shakes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are deeply grateful to Zendaya and the WDN for their partnership,” Worsley said in a statement. “This gift helps keep Cal Shakes going strong.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"id": "baycurious",
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"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
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},
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},
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"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
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"order": 8
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"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
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"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"order": 1
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
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"title": "Forum",
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"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 9
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"meta": {
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"source": "WNYC"
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"hidden-brain": {
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"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
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"source": "NPR"
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"how-i-built-this": {
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"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
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"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"jerrybrown": {
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"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"order": 18
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},
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"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
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"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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