Movies | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/movies/RSS feed for MoviesenThu, 14 May 2026 19:21:03 +0000No Joke, Ahead of His 100th Birthday, Mel Brooks Donates His Hilarious Archive to the National Comedy Centerhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/no-joke-ahead-of-his-100th-birthday-mel-brooks-donates-his-hilarious-archive-to-the-national-comedy-center-180988741/Thousands of notes, storyboards, early scripts and photographs belonging to the “2,000-year-old man” and EGOT winner will join material from Lucille Ball, Joan Rivers and George CarlinThu, 14 May 2026 19:21:03 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/no-joke-ahead-of-his-100th-birthday-mel-brooks-donates-his-hilarious-archive-to-the-national-comedy-center-180988741/Marilyn Monroe Collections Assembled for Her 100th Birthday Cut Through Hollywood Glamour to Reveal the Star’s Human Sidehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/marilyn-monroe-collections-assembled-for-her-100th-birthday-cut-through-hollywood-glamour-to-reveal-the-stars-human-side-180988726/A selection of the movie star’s clothing, jewelry and dark, personal letters will be auctioned for the big anniversary of her birthTue, 12 May 2026 20:00:41 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/marilyn-monroe-collections-assembled-for-her-100th-birthday-cut-through-hollywood-glamour-to-reveal-the-stars-human-side-180988726/The Creator of 'Star Wars' Loves Art That Tells a Story. Peek at the Collection of George Lucas’ New Museum Before It Opens This Fallhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-creator-of-star-wars-loves-art-that-tells-a-story-peek-at-george-lucas-collection-before-his-new-museum-opens-this-fall-in-los-angeles-180988668/Adventure, comics, childhood, love and everyday life are among the dozens of themes that will guide the curation of the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los AngelesMon, 04 May 2026 20:11:24 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-creator-of-star-wars-loves-art-that-tells-a-story-peek-at-george-lucas-collection-before-his-new-museum-opens-this-fall-in-los-angeles-180988668/Why Do We Love Movies? This New 'Smart' Movie Theater Tracks Viewers' Brain Waves and Heart Rates to Find Outhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-new-smart-movie-theatre-is-tracking-audiences-brain-waves-and-heart-rates-to-create-more-engaging-films-180988614/Researchers at the University of Bristol are studying the appeal of the cinema-watching experience by turning one theater into a biometric laboratoryFri, 24 Apr 2026 18:20:25 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-new-smart-movie-theatre-is-tracking-audiences-brain-waves-and-heart-rates-to-create-more-engaging-films-180988614/A Rare 1897 Film Discovered in an Old Trunk in Michigan Features the First On-Screen Appearance of a Robothttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rare-1897-film-discovered-in-an-old-trunk-in-michigan-features-the-first-on-screen-appearance-of-robot-180988547/Filmmaker Georges Méliès employed some of his signature special effects techniques to create comedy in "Gugusse and the Automaton"Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:16:42 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/rare-1897-film-discovered-in-an-old-trunk-in-michigan-features-the-first-on-screen-appearance-of-robot-180988547/The La Brea Tar Pits Have Been Sucking in Visitors for Millennia. Paleontologists Are Still Finding Out What Lies Within the Oozehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/la-brea-tar-pits-sucking-visitors-millennia-paleontologits-still-finding-out-what-lies-within-ooze-180988404/In Los Angeles, scientists are delighted to decode one of the richest fossil records on EarthTue, 07 Apr 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/la-brea-tar-pits-sucking-visitors-millennia-paleontologits-still-finding-out-what-lies-within-ooze-180988404/This C-3PO Head From 'The Empire Strikes Back' Just Sold for More Than $1 Million at Auctionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-c-3po-head-from-the-empire-strikes-back-just-sold-for-more-than-1-million-at-auction-180988460/The 'Star Wars' prop was likely the only C-3PO head from the 1980 film to appear on the collector market. It features working light-up eyes, including one with the original wiringTue, 31 Mar 2026 20:23:25 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-c-3po-head-from-the-empire-strikes-back-just-sold-for-more-than-1-million-at-auction-180988460/'The King and I' Spotlights an English Governess Who Modernized Siamese Society. The Real Anna Leonowens Exaggerated Her Influence and Lied About Her Originshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-king-and-i-spotlights-an-english-governess-who-modernized-siamese-society-the-real-anna-leonowens-exaggerated-her-influence-and-lied-about-her-origins-180988394/The beloved musical is loosely based on a Eurasian schoolteacher's accounts of her time at King Mongkut's court. These memoirs masked her mixed-race status and unfairly portrayed the monarch as a tyrantFri, 27 Mar 2026 11:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/the-king-and-i-spotlights-an-english-governess-who-modernized-siamese-society-the-real-anna-leonowens-exaggerated-her-influence-and-lied-about-her-origins-180988394/