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Production is underway in Texas for a new movie that may explode long-standing myths surrounding the 1836 siege of the Alamo. The film aims to set history straight by portraying the faults of such Alamo heroes as David Crockett and telling the story in part through the eyes of Mexican soldiers. NPR's John Burnett reports.

In Washington, several aspiring conductors get a chance to learn from a maestro. Leonard Slatkin, music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, offers his young charges advice ranging from clothing tips to the physicality of the job. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.

City Lights, the West Coast bookstore of the Beat Generation and American alternative culture turns 50 on June 8. Commentator Andrei Codrescu offers a poem, paying homage to a San Francisco icon and to City Lights founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

After four years of a record industry war on illegal file-sharing, more people than ever are flouting the rules and swapping music online. The Recording Industry Association of America is trying various tactics to end the practice. NPR's Laura Sydell reports.

NPR's Bob Mondello reviews Sweet Sixteen, a Scottish film about a tough teenager determined to raise enough money to buy a gift for his mother upon her release from prison -- a mobile home near the water.

Pat Dowell profiles Canadian Director Guy Maddin, whose new movie, Pages from a Virgin's Diary, is a screen adaptation of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet's production of Dracula. Maddin describes his movie making technique as "primitive," because he strives to give his story telling a dream-like effect. He was motivated to make this movie by curiosity about elements of female sexuality and male jealousy in the Dracula story.

If you think a deck goes on the back of your house, you're probably not a hipster. 'The Hipster Handbook' tells us 'deck' means cutting edge or cool. NPR's Madeleine Brand drops in on a New York book party to find out just what it means to be hip these days. Read clues on being a hipster and take a hipster quiz.

Screen legend Katharine Hepburn, who starred in more than 50 films and projected the ideals of independence and intelligence to generations of women, dies at 96. Hepburn won a record four best actress Oscars in her 60-year career, for her roles in Morning Glory, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Lion in Winter and On Golden Pond. Hear Pat Dowell.

The musical Hairspray dominates the 2003 Tony Awards, winning eight awards including best score, book, costume design and director. The performance, which opened on Broadway last year, is the stage version of the 1988 John Waters movie. It focuses on an overweight teenage girl and explores social and racial attitudes of 1962 Baltimore. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards.

The new movie The Hulk is based on a Marvel comics character who is a sort of muscle-bound green id run amok. The film, from acclaimed director Ang Lee, has received mixed responses from the nation's critics. NPR's Bob Mondello offers his review.