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NPR's coverage of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 2003 Oscar awards: Film music critic Andy Trudeau talks about the Oscar-nominated film scores, and dissects how music can make a good film great.

After early reports that Rotterdam would briefly take apart a historic bridge for the yacht's passage, thousands of people joined a Facebook event called "Throwing eggs at superyacht Jeff Bezos."

Elmore Leonard doesn't care to be characterized as a mystery writer. The author of Get Shorty, Maximum Bob and 52 Pickup, says he writes crime novels that delve into the bad-guy characters from the get-go rather than having them suddenly appear in the last act. NPR's Brian Naylor interviews the best-selling author on Weekend Edition Sunday.

Sid Couchey was a "factory artist" in the 1950s. Like many others, he worked in relative obscurity, churning out drawings for comic books. He didn't create the characters, but Couchey's pencil work for Harvey Comics included scads of drawings that made Richie Rich and Little Lotta famous. Hear Brian Mann of North Country Public Radio.

Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury, one of the giants of the genre, takes an optimistic perspective on NASA's current Mars mission and President Bush's vision for future space exploration. The author of classics such as The Martian Chronicles speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Journalist Richard Pollak's latest book, The Colombo Bay, tells the story of his five-week journey from Hong Kong to New York aboard a container ship. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Pollak.

The British actor Sir Alan Bates has died, after a lifetime spent on the stage and silver screen. Bates died of cancer in a London hospital. He was 69. The popular movies Bates starred in beginning in the 1960s include Zorba the Greek and Georgy Girl. He went on to win a Tony Award in 2002 for his role in Fortune's Fool, on Broadway. Bates was knighted at the end of 2002. Hear NPR's Nancy Marshall.

Hiroshima Maiden is the name of a theater work based on the experiences of a group of women disfigured by the atomic bomb. To help raise money for reconstructive surgery in New York, two of the women and their sponsor appeared on an episode of the old TV show This Is Your Life. One of the guests was the co-pilot of the Enola Gay.

The Sundance Film Festival kicks off in Park City, Utah. In the past few years, Sundance has become associated with Hollywood sightings, glamorous parties and celebrity skiing. This year, festival organizers are trying to take the event back to its independent roots by featuring more films from unknown directors. David D'Arcy reports.

Josh Roseman is a young trombonist who appreciates music with a groove. His band, the Josh Roseman Unit, has a new CD called Treats for the Nightwalker that blends styles of jazz, from funk to progressive. Music critic Jim Fusilli has a review.