Elizabeth Blair

'Venus And Serena': An Extraordinary Story, Told On Film

Elizabeth Blair — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:58:00 +0000

It's Cinderella plus Jackie Robinson times two. When Venus and Serena Williams burst onto the lily-white world of tennis, they changed the game and made history: They were sisters. From a poor neighborhood. Who brought unprecedented power to the game. And both reached No. 1.

Their journey is the subject of a new documentary called Venus and Serena, showing in select theaters around the country.

"It's not just about sports," says co-director Maiken Baird. "I think of it as the great American story. It's rich with family, sisterhood, race, hard work and tenaciousness."

In D.C., Art Program Turns Boys' Lives Into 'Masterpieces'

Elizabeth Blair — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:41:00 +0000

This is the third in a three-part series about the intersection of education and the arts.

Life Pieces to Masterpieces is an arts program that's not entirely about the art. It's an after-school program based in a struggling neighborhood in Washington, D.C., that teaches black boys and young men what they call "the four C's": "Connect, create, contribute, celebrate." From ages 3-25, they learn to express themselves by conceiving their paintings together. And those paintings will often reflect what's going on in their lives.

Maurice Kie, 26, is a mentor with Life Pieces.

More Than 50 Years Of Putting Kids' Creativity To The Test

Elizabeth Blair — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:37:00 +0000

This is the second in a three-part series about the intersection of education and the arts.

Let's start with a question from a standardized test: "How would the world be different if we all had a third eye in the back of our heads?"

It's not a typical standardized question, but as part of the Next Generation Creativity Survey, it's used to help measure creativity a bit like an IQ test measures intelligence. And it's not the only creativity test out there.

So why bother measuring creativity?

Creative Classes: An Artful Approach To Improving Performance

Elizabeth Blair — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:46:00 +0000

This is the first in a three-part series about the intersection of education and the arts.

Over the years, there have been a lot of claims about the benefits of the arts on the mind: Listening to Mozart makes you smarter; playing an instrument makes you better at math. One program — funded in part by the federal government — is putting these theories to the test.

Familiar Folks Make Up A Play's 'Good People'

Elizabeth Blair — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 04:48:00 +0000

How we end up in life has a lot to do with where we came from. That theory gets a good workout in the play Good People, from Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lindsay-Abaire. When the show was on Broadway two years ago, the trade magazine Variety proclaimed that "If Good People isn't a hit, there is no justice in the land."

As it turns out, justice has been served: Good People is the most produced play in America this theatrical season.

In Moscow, Scandals Shake A Storied Ballet

Elizabeth Blair — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:58:00 +0000

It's a story right out of the movies: The artistic director of one of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world is violently attacked. His attacker and the motive are shrouded in mystery. But behind these sensational headlines is a ballet company that is both legendary and plagued with scandals and infighting.

Last month in Moscow, Sergei Filin, the Bolshoi Ballet's artistic director, was attacked by a masked man who threw acid in his face, causing severe burns and nearly blinding him.

For Super Bowl Ads, More Social-Media Savvy

Elizabeth Blair — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:10:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfCm9P8naDQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmIGTTy8pI0

For Would-Be Sundancers, Kickstarter Can Fuel Films

Elizabeth Blair — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 07:46:00 +0000

If you want to make a movie, you generally need a lot of money. And filmmakers have to be creative about raising it.

Just ask the filmmakers at the Sundance Film Festival, taking place this week in Park City, Utah.

Rand Paul Calls Out Hillary Clinton Over Indian Comedy Tour

Elizabeth Blair — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:12:00 +0000

Sen. Rand Paul asked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday if she knew that the State Department sent three comedians on a tour of India. We talk to one of the comedians about what it's like to be a political football.

Hold On To Your Tighty Whities, Captain Underpants Is Back!

Elizabeth Blair — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 08:20:00 +0000

Let's face it. When you're a kid, sometimes adults can be a real drag. The new Captain Underpants book puts it this way: "Did you ever notice how grown-ups hate it when kids are having fun?"

Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants books are all about kids who get in trouble for having mischievous fun. With potty humor, wacky illustrations, and names like Tippy Tinkletrousers and Professor Poopypants, small wonder the books are hugely popular. Every book in the series has made it to USA Today's best-seller list.

World War II Exhibit Asks Visitors, 'What Would You Do?'

Elizabeth Blair — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 10:34:00 +0000

For many, the stakes and the scale of World War II are hard to fathom. It was a war fought around the world, against powerful, determined regimes in Europe and the Pacific; some 65 million people died.

The Strange Story Of The Man Behind 'Strange Fruit'

Elizabeth Blair — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 11:45:00 +0000

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer. The song "Strange Fruit" has been recorded by many musicians, but it belongs to Billie Holiday. She made it famous but she did not write it. The man who did did not have a big career as a songwriter but he did have an amazing life story, as NPR's Elizabeth Blair tells us.

ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: The man is Abel Meeropol and he really has two stories. They both begin at a public high school in the Bronx.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHATTER)

BLAIR: Dewitt Clinton is not your average high school.

Remembering Fontella Bass, Voice Of A Soul Classic

Elizabeth Blair — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 21:18:00 +0000

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

The voice of a great soul classic has died. Fontella Bass sang the 1965 hit "Rescue Me." She was 72 years old and died from complications caused by a recent heart attack. NPR's Elizabeth Blair has this appreciation.

ELIZABETH BLAIR, BYLINE: It's a perfect song with a perfect voice.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "RESCUE ME")

FONTELLA BASS: (Singing) Rescue me. Take me in your arms. Rescue me. I love your tender charms. I'm rather lonely and I'm blue. I need you and your love, too.

Beyond 'Downton': BBC Imports That Got Away

Elizabeth Blair — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:51:00 +0000

There was so much great stuff in arts and entertainment this year that we just couldn't report on all of it as it was happening. So we're playing a little catch-up on the ones that got by us.

In 2012, the BBC delivered some thrilling new TV dramas to its two primary outlets in the U.S.: PBS, which has been programming its shows for decades, and the cable channel BBC America.

First BBC America: One of its best shows is The Hour, a slick production set in the 1950s; think Mad Men meets Broadcast News.

Etsy Crafts A Strategy For Staying Handmade And Profitable

Elizabeth Blair — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 08:21:00 +0000

Etsy has gotten very big, very fast. This year, sales are at about $800 million.

"Their growth on all the major metrics you want to look at has accelerated really consistently," says journalist Rob Walker.

Walker recently wrote a story for Wired Magazine with the headline, "Can Etsy Go Pro Without Losing Its Soul?" Here's why: Etsy makes money from its sellers: 20 cents every time they list an item and 3.5 percent of every sale.

Hispanics Call For Kennedy Center Honors

Elizabeth Blair — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 10:43:00 +0000

This weekend, some big names are coming to Washington for a red-carpet event. Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, ballerina Natalia Makarova, blues guitarist Buddy Guy and the British rock band Led Zeppelin will be receiving the annual Kennedy Center Honors.

It's a prestigious award given to only a handful of performers each year. But over the past few months there's been controversy surrounding the awards.

The NFL's New Target Demographic: Kids

Elizabeth Blair — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 10:04:00 +0000

When the NFL wants to make a play for a particular demographic, they go long. To attract Latinos, it forged partnerships with Univision and Telemundo. To keep women happy, it came out with a clothing line featuring shirts that actually fit better than those boxy jerseys.

Now, to engage children, the NFL is going where kids go: Nickelodeon.

Puppeteer Behind Elmo Resigns Amid Sex Scandal

Elizabeth Blair — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 22:04:00 +0000

Kevin Clash, the Sesame Street puppeteer who made Elmo a sensation, has resigned.

When 'Unfilmable' Books Make Memorable Movies

Elizabeth Blair — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 08:23:00 +0000

The centerpiece of the film Life of Pi is a boy adrift on a lifeboat with a tiger in the middle of the ocean. That's easy enough for Yann Martel to describe in his novel — but hard to make happen on the set of a movie. As it happens, Pi is in theaters with another movie based on an "unfilmable" novel: Cloud Atlas, with six different plots in six different time periods.

Some books are challenging to film because they're challenging to read.

Impersonating The President: From Will Rogers To Obama's 'Anger Translator'

Elizabeth Blair — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 09:14:00 +0000

Political commentators will be working overtime in the countdown to the presidential election. So will political comedians, including the candidates' impersonators.

Impersonators have been part of the political landscape for so long, it's hard to imagine a time without them: Rich Little, Dana Carvey, Will Ferrell, Dan Aykroyd, Darrell Hammond, Tina Fey and other comedians have all famously done their turns as candidates. Remember "I can see Russia from my house"?

But if you go back further in history, you won't find much. At one time, impersonating the president was a no-no.

A Look At 'The Girl' Who Caught Hitchcock's Eye

Elizabeth Blair — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 10:37:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hplpQt424Ls

ABC's Kimmel To Compete Against Late-Night Kings

Elizabeth Blair — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 08:37:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Let's go now to a different type of media: late night television, where huge changes are afoot. Jimmy Kimmel is getting a better time slot. Arsenio Hall is coming back. Jay Leno took a pay cut, and Jon Stewart cleans up at 11 o'clock.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE DAILY SHOW")

JON STEWART: Yes! President Barack Obama decided to attend this debate. And the two candidates can finally have a truthful, substantive discussion about how much they (bleep) hate each other.

GREENE: Late-night comedy shows can actually be very valuable to the TV industry.

Hilary Mantel First Woman To Win Booker Prize Twice

Elizabeth Blair — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 23:06:00 +0000

Writer Hilary Mantel has won her second Man Booker prize. She was recognized for her book, Bring Up The Bodies. Mantel is the first British writer and woman to win the award more than once.

Delta Rae: Modern Folklore Music

Elizabeth Blair — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 21:03:00 +0000

Love songs are like the meat and potatoes of most rock and pop music, but sometimes you need something different. For the band Delta Rae from Durham, N.C., inspiration for new material comes from stuff like graveyards and being stuck in the wrong job.

Delta Rae is a six-piece band that includes three siblings: Ian, Eric and Brittany Holljes.

The Strange Story Of The Man Behind 'Strange Fruit'

Elizabeth Blair — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 07:24:00 +0000

One of Billie Holiday's most iconic songs is "Strange Fruit," a haunting protest against the inhumanity of racism. Many people know that the man who wrote the song was inspired by a photograph of a lynching. But they might not realize that he's also tied to another watershed moment in America's history.

The man behind "Strange Fruit" is New York City's Abel Meeropol, and he really has two stories.

Phyllis Diller, Comedy's Self-Deprecating Pioneer

Elizabeth Blair — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 19:29:00 +0000

A queen of comedy has died. Phyllis Diller had audiences in stitches for more than five decades with her outlandish get-ups and rapid-fire one-liners. She died at her home, where she had been in hospice care after a fall. She was 95.

Diller was glamorously outrageous — or at least the character she created was glamorously outrageous, the one who wore wigs that made her look like she had her finger in an electrical outlet, who wore gaudy sequined outfits.

Marvin Hamlisch, Movie And Broadway Composer, Has Died

Elizabeth Blair — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 18:15:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyZeGOsR9IA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dyu--xC72jg

Monroe's Legacy Is Making Fortune, But For Whom?

Elizabeth Blair — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 20:44:00 +0000

Marilyn Monroe, a global symbol of beauty, glamour and sex, died on Aug. 5, 1962. Fifty years later, she's still in style — and making more money than ever. Monroe's come-hither expression is emblazoned on posters, T-shirts and refrigerator magnets. She's become a multimillion-dollar brand, but that may never have happened if not for the will she left behind, a document that reveals a much quieter — and more complicated — side to her legacy.

Monroe grew up in an orphanage and foster homes.