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The Way to Paradise, by Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, devotes alternating chapters to the lives of political activist Flora Tristan and her grandson, the artist Paul Gauguin. The two were idealists bound to struggle against the status quo. Alan Cheuse has a review.

Angels in America, playwright Tony Kushner's epic meditation on AIDS, hope and despair in 1980s America, is finally making the move from the stage to the small screen. The television movie boasts an all-star cast, and its first installment airs Sunday on HBO. NPR's Lynn Neary reports.

When an old master's painting fetches tens of millions on the auction block, it makes headlines around the world. But at any given time, a handful of artworks are unavailable at any price. NPR's Renee Montagne talks to Kelly Devine Thomas of ARTnews magazine about the "most wanted" works of art.

Austin City Limits, the PBS music program, has presented the likes of Willie Nelson, Johnnie Cash, and Ray Charles since 1975. The show is now honored as a 2003 National Medal of Arts winner. NPR's Renee Montagne reports.

A growing number of American movies are being filmed in Vancouver, Canada. The city offers a similar look to U.S. cities, experienced crews, tax breaks and lower production costs due to the difference between American and Canadian dollars. Trevor Hughes reports.

Charlotte Renner reports on the filming of an HBO movie based on Richard Russo's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Empire Falls. The film, which describes life in a dying New England mill town, has brought a jolt of prosperity to the real-life mill town of Skowhegan, Maine.

NPR's Scott Simon talks to writer Peter Ackroyd about his new book, Albion: The Origins of the English Imagination. Ackroyd discusses some of the defining features of English literature and culture, such as a reverence for nature, privacy, and squeamishness about sex.

A new exhibit celebrates Joseph Cornell, one of the most influential and idiosyncratic American artists of the 20th century. The self-taught artist created small wooden boxes filled with knickknacks he collected in New York junk shops. As David D'Arcy reports, the results were beautiful, almost religious creations that inspired just about every visual artist who followed him.

The last installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy opens in theaters next week, and the three films could eventually earn $3 billion in worldwide ticket sales. But the project almost never happened -- Kim Masters reports on New Line Cinema's $400-million gamble on director Peter Jackson's sweeping vision.

Love Actually is a new film from writer and director Richard Curtis, who put together a series of vignettes about different types of love. The all-star cast includes Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Colin Firth, Billy Bob Thornton, and Keira Knightley. Hear Curtis and NPR's Scott Simon.