The Business

KCRW

Lively banter about entertainment industry news and in-depth interviews with directors, producers, writers and actors, hosted by award-winning journalist Kim Masters of The Hollywood Reporter.

  • 30 minutes 2 seconds
    How ‘Survive until 2025’ became Hollywood’s new mantra

    It’s been more than two years since anyone watched the second season finale of HBO’s “Euphoria.” Season three was delayed by the strikes that shut down Hollywood, and a series of dramatic events surrounding the creator Sam Levinson. The network has confirmed its return, but will the audience stay tuned-in?

    Plus, Comcast and its streaming service Peacock are hoping the Olympic games can reverse a recent subscriber shrinkage. It’s just one example of the television industry’s troubles. Low production, delayed premieres and a sense of uncertainty have plagued T.V. land this year. Kim Masters speaks with the Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg about what the latest Emmy nominations say about the state of the industry. Then NPR’s Eric Deggans breaks down what he learned at this month’s gathering with the Television Critics Association.

    25 July 2024, 7:00 am
  • 30 minutes 2 seconds
    FX’s Emmy domination; ‘Shƍgun’ makes awards history

    The 2024 Emmy nominations are here, with lots of record-breaking nods and surprises to unpack — along with the strategy behind Disney’s acquisition of FX. What does the success of Shƍgun and The Bear say about streaming? And does a new Bank of America report on Warner Bros. Discovery suggest
 “unbundling”? Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break it down. 


    Plus, in honor of Shƍgun’s 25(!) Emmy nominations, Masters revisits her conversation with creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo. The series made history this week with its Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama, becoming only the second non-English show ever considered. The husband-and-wife creative team talk about how they’ve been granted more control writing for television over feature films, and explain why FX took the risk on their very expensive, and heavily subtitled, period epic.

    19 July 2024, 7:00 am
  • 30 minutes 5 seconds
    Muta’Ali on his documentary ‘MoviePass, MovieCrash’; CNN and Paramount step into the future

    Kim Masters and Matt Belloni discuss the Paramount-Skydance merger. They also look at CNN’s digital future after the company lays off 100 employees, and weigh in on Kevin Costner’s sad “Horizon” rollout. 

    Plus, Masters speaks to Muta’Ali, director of the HBO documentary “MoviePass, MovieCrash.” The filmmaker talks about his desire to center the story of the company’s two Black founders, while detailing the complex business dealings that led to MoviePass’s meteoric rise and fall.

     

    12 July 2024, 7:00 am
  • 30 minutes 2 seconds
    The latest twist in the Paramount saga; ‘Hacks’ showrunners Jen Statsky and Paul W. Downs (Encore)

    Kim Masters and guest Banterer Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg News discuss the latest twist in the Paramount saga: Just after billionaire Barry Diller raised his hand as a potential buyer, the Skydance-Paramount deal is resurrected from the dead.

    Plus, Masters returns with an encore of her 2021 interview with Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky, two of the three showrunners behind the award-winning HBO Max series "Hacks." Downs and Statsky talk about how lead actress Jean Smart insisted the cameras keep rolling when her husband passed away with a week of shooting the first season left.

    4 July 2024, 8:47 am
  • 29 minutes 34 seconds
    ‘Ren Faire’ director Lance Oppenheim; A.I. at the Olympics

    Kim Masters and Matt Belloni discuss the tentative deal reached by the major Hollywood studios and IATSE, the union representing below-the-line workers. They also break down NBC’s effort to boost streaming numbers with Olympics recaps from an A.I.-generated version of sports broadcaster Al Michaels.

    Plus, Masters speaks to Lance Oppenheim, director of the new HBO docu-series Ren Faire, about honing his intimate, uniquely collaborative style of filmmaking, and his interest in subjects who become “entombed” by their own fantasies. The filmmaker also talks about how he cold emailed his way into director Darren Aronofsky’s inner circle. 

    28 June 2024, 7:00 pm
  • 52 minutes 25 seconds
    Albert Brooks, Rob Reiner on their HBO doc and the state of Hollywood

    Kim Masters and Matt Belloni examine the dissolution of the Paramount-Skydance merger after Shari Redstone calls it quits on the deal. They also discuss Sony’s purchase of Alamo Drafthouse theaters.

    Plus, Masters speaks to Rob Reiner and Albert Brooks about Reiner’s HBO documentary, Albert Brooks: Defending My Life. The legendary filmmakers talk about their early years in the industry and they talk about the drastically changing landscape of entertainment. 

    14 June 2024, 9:30 pm
  • 30 minutes 3 seconds
    Neal Brennan on his Netflix special ‘Crazy Good’; Shari Redstone weighs options at Paramount

    Kim Masters and Matt Belloni examine the complicated situation developing at Paramount as controlling shareholder Shari Redstone determines the future of the company. 

    Plus, Eric Deggans speaks to comedian and Chappelle’s Show co-creator Neal Brennan about his Netflix standup special, Crazy Good. Brennan talks about what he and friends Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock have taught each other about their craft over the years, and he argues that people shouldn’t always care what comedians have to say.

    7 June 2024, 7:00 am
  • 30 minutes 1 second
    Paramount’s Chris Aronson on the future of movie-going; Trump, according to an ex-’Apprentice’ producer

    Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down the latest NBA news at Warner Bros. Discovery. They also discuss activist investor Nelson Peltz’s decision to sell his entire stake in Disney, and why Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos thinks last summer’s biggest theatrical hits would have fared as well on the streamer. 

    Plus, Masters speaks to the head of domestic distribution at Paramount, Chris Aronson. The long-serving executive explains why he believes that movie theaters will survive despite industry-wide gloom over waning box office numbers, and he argues that the lack of consensus about the length of the theatrical window isn't helping consumers or studios.

    31 May 2024, 7:00 am
  • 30 minutes 1 second
    Spring Megabanter: Cannes flops, Scarlett Johansson vs. OpenAI, underwhelming box offices

    A frighteningly lackluster summer box office, human ScarJo dukes it out with OpenAI’s ‘definitely-not-supposed-to-sound-like-ScarJo’ ScarJo, and the movies making noise at this year’s Cannes Film Festival–not necessarily in a good way. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down this week’s news in a special Spring Megabanter episode of The Business.

    24 May 2024, 7:00 am
  • 30 minutes 1 second
    Jane Schoenbrun on ‘I Saw the TV Glow’; 2024 Upfronts

    Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down the biggest stories to come out of the 2024 Upfronts. They also take a look at the latest streaming bundle announcement between Netflix, Apple TV+, and Peacock.

    Plus, Masters speaks with Jane Schoenbrun about their film, I Saw the TV Glow. The director talks about how growing up in the suburbs was the inspiration for the sinister setting in their A24-backed film, produced by Emma Stone and husband Dave McCary. Schoenbrun also shares why the nuances of gender and identity play a major role in their work, and how they realized they were transgender after taking a mushroom trip with friends.

    17 May 2024, 9:30 pm
  • 30 minutes 1 second
    ‘Doctor Who’ showrunner on teaming up with Disney; inside Warner Bros. Discovery following Q1 earnings

    Kim Masters and Matt Belloni discuss the latest at Warner Bros. Discovery following the company’s Q1 earnings report. They also dive into the announced streaming package bundling Max, Disney+, and Hulu.

    Plus, Eric Deggans speaks to writer Russell T Davies about the new season of Doctor Who on Disney+. Davies talks about casting Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa as the latest Doctor, why having Disney on his side is such a big deal, and he explains why he thinks writing Doctor Who is one of the hardest jobs in television.

    10 May 2024, 7:00 am
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