KCRW's The Business

KCRW's The Business "The Business” is the show/podcast about the business of show business. We give you the who, why a
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This half-hour show/podcast has interviews and stories that go behind the glitz and glamour of Hollywood to the who, how and why of making entertainment. Every show begins with the Hollywood News Banter where Kim and John Horn of the Los Angeles Times banter the top entertainment stories of the week.

Filmmaker Waad al-Kateab spent her early twenties living inside a besieged Syrian hospital, documenting the brutal reali...
02/03/2020

Filmmaker Waad al-Kateab spent her early twenties living inside a besieged Syrian hospital, documenting the brutal reality -- mixed with joy and humanity -- of everyday life in Aleppo. When she was forced to flee in late 2016 with her husband and infant daughter Sama, she was determined to smuggle 12 hard drives of footage past a Syrian checkpoint.

After al-Kateab made it out, the UK’s Channel 4 introduced her to filmmaker Edward Watts. Together they made a 90-minute video diary from more than 500 hours of footage. Al-Kateab dedicated the project to her daughter. “For Sama” is now Oscar-nominated for best documentary.

Al-Kateab and Watts tell us about spending two years crafting “For Sama,” and the ah-ha moment that inspired the final version.

Filmmaker Waad al-Kateab spent years documenting the horror and humanity of life in Aleppo, Syria. When she fled with her family, she smuggled 12 hard drives of footage past a Syrian checkpoint.

“Parasite” has already made history as the first Korean movie nominated for Oscar--or six Oscars to be exact, including ...
01/27/2020

“Parasite” has already made history as the first Korean movie nominated for Oscar--or six Oscars to be exact, including Best Picture and Best International film. No foreign-language film has ever won Best Picture...yet.

Director B**g Joon Ho tells us about clashing with Harvey Weinstein over cuts to his 2013 film “Snowpiercer,” and explains how that led him to make “Okja” for Netflix, even though he prefers to watch films in theaters. And he shares his thinking behind the planned “Parasite” TV series.

“Parasite” has already made history as the first Korean film nominated for Oscar--or six Oscars to be exact, including Best Picture.

It’s a podcast crossover event! Recently, Kim Masters sat on the other side of the mic as Ronan Farrow interviewed her f...
01/21/2020

It’s a podcast crossover event!

Recently, Kim Masters sat on the other side of the mic as Ronan Farrow interviewed her for an episode of his "Catch and Kill Podcast." They talked about why it was so hard to reveal the allegations against Harvey Weinstein for so many years.

This week, we play sections from Episode Five of Farrow’s “Catch and Kill Podcast,” and Kim adds a few additional memories of her own.

It’s a podcast crossover event! Recently, Kim Masters sat on the other side of the mic as Ronan Farrow interviewed her for an episode of his “Catch and Kill Podcast.”

In recent weeks, we’ve heard from filmmakers who have made it in a big way in Hollywood. But hitting those career highs,...
01/13/2020

In recent weeks, we’ve heard from filmmakers who have made it in a big way in Hollywood. But hitting those career highs, didn’t come without some serious lows. We didn’t have time to fit all their interesting stories into the show, but we bring them to you now.

"Little Women" director Greta Gerwig told us she was initially set on becoming an actress, but the universe seemed to be sending her a clear message to go in a different direction.

Documentary filmmaker Nanfu Wang had made her family very happy by landing a stable office job in Shanghai. But Wang looked around, saw that all her coworkers were miserable, and knew she had to get out.

And before Victoria Mahoney became the first woman and first person of color to direct on a “Star Wars” film, she spent years trying to break into TV directing by watching other directors work. She learned a lot, just not what she thought she would.

This week, some delicious leftovers from three filmmakers reflecting on the tough early days of their careers.

This week, some very tasty leftovers from three filmmakers reflecting on the early, not-so-easy days of their careers.

Did you see "Star Wars" over the holidays? Take a listen to learn about some of the history happening behind the scenes....
01/06/2020

Did you see "Star Wars" over the holidays? Take a listen to learn about some of the history happening behind the scenes.

Victoria Mahoney literally went through homelessness to direct a small independent feature in 2011 and then became a successful TV director. She wanted to make more movies, sure, but she certainly wasn’t expecting the offer that came her way when she got a call from “Star Wars” director J.J. Abrams. As the second unit director on “The Rise of Skywalker,” Victoria Mahoney is making history: the first woman and first person of color to direct in the “Star Wars” movie universe.

Victoria Mahoney literally went through homelessness to direct a small indie feature in 2011 and then became a TV director. She wanted to make more movies, sure, but she certainly wasn’t expecting a call from "Star Wars" director J.J. Abrams.

One Child Nation, a documentary about the devastating effects of China’s one child policy, has been nominated for lots o...
12/16/2019

One Child Nation, a documentary about the devastating effects of China’s one child policy, has been nominated for lots of prizes. But director Nanfu wang says any film buff who has to rely on Chinese media to follow these competitions wouldn’t even know her film exists--it's totally banned in China.

Wang was born in China and remains a citizen of that country, though she now lives in the U.S. Her 2016 documentary about an activist known as Hooligan Sparrow relied on surreptitiously captured footage that was smuggled out of the country. That film shows Wang and her team as authorities harass and threaten them. Watching “Hooligan Sparrow,” it’s surprising Wang was ever let back into China.

But she was, and once again, she took on a taboo topic--the forced abortions and child trafficking that happened under China’s one-child policy. She tells us how she made “One Child Nation.”

“One Child Nation,” a documentary about the devastating effects of China’s one-child policy, has been nominated for many awards.

When a studio executive “suggested” that Greta Gerwig change the ending she had devised for her version of "Little Women...
12/09/2019

When a studio executive “suggested” that Greta Gerwig change the ending she had devised for her version of "Little Women," Gerwig channeled Jo March, the fiery heroine of the Louisa May Alcott classic.

Gerwig tells us about re-discovering the 19th century novel in her 30s and finding it surprisingly modern. And she explains why she insisted on writing and directing this film version even though when she pitched it (before she made "Lady Bird"), she wasn’t exactly qualified.

When a studio executive “suggested” that Greta Gerwig change the ending she had devised for her version of "Little Women," Gerwig channeled Jo March, the fiery heroine of the Louisa May Alcott classic.

In Hollywood, working as an assistant is a time-honored way to break into the business. No one should expect those jobs ...
12/02/2019

In Hollywood, working as an assistant is a time-honored way to break into the business. No one should expect those jobs to be glamorous, but now assistants are saying that their working conditions are intolerable and even detrimental to the industry.

While the cost of living in LA has gone up, assistants’ wages have not. Add to that unpaid overtime and abusive bosses, and you have a toxic stew, says writer and former assistant Liz Alper, who created the hashtag. Alper and a current assistant share stories from the trenches, and explain why assistants feel now is the time to demand change, for the sake of the assistants themselves and the future of the industry.

This week, we talk with a Hollywood assistant who, like many, has not only been underpaid, but has had staplers and markers thrown at her. She came to the studio with former assistant Liz Alper, who created the hashtag.

Most filmmakers hide for a while after a bomb, but not ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ director Tim Miller. Miller thought it wa...
11/25/2019

Most filmmakers hide for a while after a bomb, but not ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ director Tim Miller.

Miller thought it was a dream come true when he got a chance to direct a new Terminator movie with James Cameron on board as a producer.

Then he actually had to make the movie. After dealing with script troubles, a difficult shoot, and intense disagreements on the final edit, Miller watched as ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ met a dark fate at the box office.

Miller talks us through that process of making the film and tries to figure why audiences were not saying “I’ll be back”...for another Terminator movie.

Most filmmakers hide for a while after a bomb, but not ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’ director Tim Miller. Miller tries to figure why audiences were not saying “I’ll be back”...for another Terminator movie.

Peter Jackson generated whole worlds for his ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Hobbit’ trilogies. Last year he made a documentary...
11/18/2019

Peter Jackson generated whole worlds for his ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Hobbit’ trilogies. Last year he made a documentary that magically brought to life old footage shot on the front lines of World War I. It was no easy feat. This week we’re revisiting our conversation with Peter Jackson about ‘They Shall Not Grow Old,’ which returns to theaters for 3 nights in December.

Jackson tells us about hiring forensic lip readers to interpret conversations captured on silent film so actors could perform the lines, and how the techniques used in ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’ could be used on other old films, including some of his own. Plus, an all new banter!

Peter Jackson generated whole worlds for his ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Hobbit’ trilogies. Last year he made a documentary that magically brought to life old footage shot on the front lines of World War I. It was no easy feat.

This week, it's part 2 of our interview with Damon Lindelof. He and Kim Masters have a heart to heart about ‘The Hunt.’I...
11/12/2019

This week, it's part 2 of our interview with Damon Lindelof.
He and Kim Masters have a heart to heart about ‘The Hunt.’

In August, following back-to-back mass shootings, Masters co-wrote a story in The Hollywood Reporter about the movie--a satire in which elites hunt so-called deplorables for sport. Days later, Universal canceled the film’s release. Lindelof, who co-wrote ‘The Hunt,’ tells us what happened from his perspective.

In part two of our interview with Damon Lindelof, he and Kim Masters have a heart to heart about ‘The Hunt.’

Alan Moore, writer of the 1980s ‘Watchmen’ comic series, has been very clear: no ‘Watchmen’ movie or TV show has his ble...
11/04/2019

Alan Moore, writer of the 1980s ‘Watchmen’ comic series, has been very clear: no ‘Watchmen’ movie or TV show has his blessing. That includes the new series on HBO.

Keenly aware of that, ‘Watchmen’ showrunner Damon Lindelof believes Moore may have put a curse on him. Seriously.

Lindelof thought he really shouldn’t do the series but still he did--create an updated version of Watchmen HBO. Critics love it, the alt right hates it, and it’s delivering solid ratings for HBO. Lindelof--a passionate, lifelong ‘Watchmen’ fan--tells us why he said yes when asked, for the third time, to tackle this project.

The writer of the 1980s ‘Watchmen’ comic books, Alan Moore, has been very clear: no ‘Watchmen’ movie or TV show will ever get his blessing--and that includes the new series on HBO.

Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage created The O.C. and Gossip Girl--some of the most defining young adult shows of the ...
10/28/2019

Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage created The O.C. and Gossip Girl--some of the most defining young adult shows of the 2000’s. As they continue to make shows about young-adult angst, they also confront the passage of time. They’re now working with actors weren't even born when the duo's earlier shows first premiered. Savage and Schwartz tell us about their new series, Looking for Alaska, a coming of age story set in the ancient days of 2005. They first dreamed of a film adaptation of John Green’s novel of the same name 14 years ago. They tell us how they finally managed to turn it into a limited series on Hulu.

Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage made ‘The O.C.’ and ‘Gossip Girl’--some of the most defining young adult shows of the early 2000’s. They continue to create series about young-person angst, including a ‘Gossip Girl’ reboot for HBO Max.

Almost a decade ago, Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad was imprisoned and tortured by the Assad regime for filming anti-gove...
10/21/2019

Almost a decade ago, Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad was imprisoned and tortured by the Assad regime for filming anti-government protests. After his release in 2012, he kept the cameras rolling.

Fayyad became the first Syrian director to be nominated for Oscar with his 2017 film 'Last Men in Aleppo,' about the White Helmets who rescue the injured at great risk to themselves.

Fayyad’s new film, ‘The Cave,’ profiles a courageous young doctor as she runs an underground hospital in a besieged area outside Damascus.

Almost a decade ago, Feras Fayyad was imprisoned and tortured by the Assad regime in Syria for filming anti-government protests. But after his release, he kept making documentaries.

If you subscribe to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO NOW--and maybe a couple others--you may feel like your TV streaming plate...
10/14/2019

If you subscribe to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, HBO NOW--and maybe a couple others--you may feel like your TV streaming plate is pretty full. The bad news is that next month brings two more major streaming options to tempt you: Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus. Warner Media’s HBO Max and Comcast’s Peacock aren’t far behind.

But maybe that’s the good news. Media analyst Rich Greenfield thinks it is, at least for you, the customer.

He gives us updates on all the major players on the scene and explains why more and more people are saying bye-bye to the cable bundle and embracing a streaming future.

With even more new streaming services launching in the months ahead, we talk with opinionated analyst Rich Greenfield about the transforming media landscape and the challenges facing giants Disney, Comcast and AT&T.

This week, we bring you Part 2 of our interview with Kevin Smith. The filmmaker tells us how he set out to rescue his he...
10/07/2019

This week, we bring you Part 2 of our interview with Kevin Smith. The filmmaker tells us how he set out to rescue his hero, the legendary Stan Lee. Last year, Smith began to fear that the elderly co-creator of Spider-Man, Iron Man and the X-Men was being abused. Smith acted, though he felt strongly that there could be no good outcome.

He tells us about his friendship with Lee and explains why he called Kim Masters to share his concern about what was happening to Lee following the death of his beloved wife Joan.

This week, how filmmaker Kevin Smith set out to rescue his hero, the legendary Stan Lee. Last year, Smith began to fear that the elderly Marvel creator was being abused. Smith acted, though felt strongly there could be no good outcome.

We've got a good one for you today! Kevin Smith tells us about all kinds of things---making it work as an indie filmmake...
09/30/2019

We've got a good one for you today! Kevin Smith tells us about all kinds of things---making it work as an indie filmmaker 25 years after 'Clerks,' his long relationship with Harvey Weinstein, and taking his new movie 'Jay and Silent Bob Reboot' on the road.

Twenty-five years after ‘Clerks,’ Kevin Smith is shook. Despite his insistence that he's behind the times, he's always found ways to get his movies made.

This week on the show, we're joined by Susannah Grant, showrunner of the new Netflix series 'Unbelieveable.' She tells u...
09/23/2019

This week on the show, we're joined by Susannah Grant, showrunner of the new Netflix series 'Unbelieveable.' She tells us about the challenge of turning a Pulitzer prize winning news story into a scripted series about how one team of cops pursued a serial ra**st while another disbelieved and bullied a victim. She also shares her thoughts on how to depict r**e on screen and talks about what she did and did not discuss with the victim whose story is at the heart of the series.

The Netflix series 'Unbelievable' is based on a true story about how one team of cops pursued a serial ra**st while another disbelieved and bullied a victim.

Did you see Hustlers over the weekend?Listen to writer-director Lorene Scafaria talk about the struggle to get the movie...
09/16/2019

Did you see Hustlers over the weekend?

Listen to writer-director Lorene Scafaria talk about the struggle to get the movie made.

Plus, that insane pole dance? Scafaria says--that's all Jennifer Lopez!

Hot off Toronto, where ‘Hustlers’ won raves, Lorene Scafaria tells us about her fight to direct the movie, which is based on her script about a real-life group of st*****rs who robbed their Wall Street clientele.

Five months after firing their agents, members of the Writers Guild are still at war with the major agencies over packag...
09/09/2019

Five months after firing their agents, members of the Writers Guild are still at war with the major agencies over packaging fees. In the heat of the ongoing union election, we try to explore a couple of perspectives on the two groups competing for Guild leadership.

We talked to WGA board member Angelina Burnett about why she thinks the Guild can ultimately win this fight. We had trouble getting anyone on the air to discuss the dissidents' point of view, but finally Guild member Rob Long--who's not running for anything, but does support the opposition--stepped up. But unlike many dissidents who think some change is needed, Long thinks the Guild's fight against packaging is pointless.

Five months after firing their agents, members of the Writers Guild are still at war with the major agencies over packaging fees.

When Ben Berman set out to make ‘The Amazing Johnathan Documentary,’ he figured it would be a poignant film about an ail...
08/26/2019

When Ben Berman set out to make ‘The Amazing Johnathan Documentary,’ he figured it would be a poignant film about an ailing comedian and magician. But very quickly, Berman found himself wondering: was he making a movie about Jonathan, or was Johnathan roping him into a project of his own? Berman shares the crazy, twist-filled story of making ‘The Amazing Johnathan Documentary,’ which is now available on Hulu.

When Ben Berman set out to make ‘The Amazing Johnathan Documentary,’ he figured it would be a poignant film about an ailing comedian and magician.

When Julianne Moore was starting out as an actress in the 1980’s, she got offered a part on the soap opera ‘As the World...
08/19/2019

When Julianne Moore was starting out as an actress in the 1980’s, she got offered a part on the soap opera ‘As the World Turns.’ Maybe it wasn’t the most prestigious gig, but Moore immediately saw the upside. That soap won Moore a Daytime Emmy and now she has an Oscar, too.

Moore talks about how she picks her projects and why she’s not afraid to work with first-time directors--one of whom--Bart Freundlich--later became her husband. Moore and Freundlich join us to talk about the first film they made together, 'The Myth of Fingerprints,' and their latest collaboration, an English-language remake of the Danish film, 'After the Wedding.'

Julianne Moore joins us with her husband, writer-director Bart Freundlich, to talk about their careers and their new drama, ‘After the Wedding,’ the fourth film they’ve made together.

When filmmaker Gurinder Chadha, OBE set out to make a movie based on journalist Sarfraz Manzoor’s coming-of-age memoir a...
08/12/2019

When filmmaker Gurinder Chadha, OBE set out to make a movie based on journalist Sarfraz Manzoor’s coming-of-age memoir about the profound effect of Bruce Springsteen music on his life, she had one small problem. The movie couldn’t work without Springsteen’s songs. So when Chadha and Manzoor had the opportunity for a few seconds of face time with The Boss on a red carpet, they took their shot. Chadha and Manzoor tell us about the unplanned pitch that set in motion their new film Blinded By The Light Movie, which includes no fewer than 19 Springsteen songs.

When Gurinder Chadha set out to make a movie based on journalist Sarfraz Manzoor’s memoir about the effect of Bruce Springsteen music on his life, she had one small problem. The movie couldn’t work without Springsteen’s songs.

When filmmaker Lulu Wang set out to make a personal movie--largely set in China, mostly in Mandarin--she had a clear pit...
08/05/2019

When filmmaker Lulu Wang set out to make a personal movie--largely set in China, mostly in Mandarin--she had a clear pitch, but buyers weren’t biting.

She tells us about the circuitous route to making The Farewell, which went from public radio piece to Sundance success to indie hit of the summer. Wang also explains the vagaries of filming in China and why she felt so strongly that her film had to play in theaters rather than finding a home on a streaming service.

When filmmaker Lulu Wang set out to write and direct a personal movie based on a real-life family saga, she had a clear vision for an American film, largely set in China, mostly in Mandarin. But buyers weren’t biting.

When Marc Maron had indie filmmaker Lynn Shelton as a guest on his WTF podcast in 2015, the two hit it off and kept in t...
07/29/2019

When Marc Maron had indie filmmaker Lynn Shelton as a guest on his WTF podcast in 2015, the two hit it off and kept in touch. Later she directed one of his standup specials and the two worked together on the Netflix series ‘GLOW.’ They also started planning to make a movie together, but Shelton says she struggled to get Maron to help her finish the script.

Finally he gave it to her straight: "I said look, if you want to make a movie with me, why don’t you just go write one?”

Turns out, she did just that. Marc Maron and Lynn Shelton tell us about making their new caper movie Sword of Trust.

In Lynn Shelton’s new comic caper film 'Sword of Trust,' Marc Maron plays a pawnbroker who gets caught up in a scheme to sell a Civil War artifact of dubious provenance.

Sarah Scott had had uncomfortable experiences on set during her decade-plus career. But in May of 2018, she says she was...
07/22/2019

Sarah Scott had had uncomfortable experiences on set during her decade-plus career. But in May of 2018, she says she was harassed and assaulted while shooting an independent pilot. Thinking her union SAG-AFTRA would be well equipped to deal with the allegations, especially with the awareness of the Me Too era, she took her case there. But her experience trying to get justice was long, frustrating and ultimately somewhat unsatisfying. We talked to Scott about her roller coaster ride over the past year and her hope for reform within the union for other assault survivors.

Sarah Scott was a working actress in Hollywood with the usual ups and downs of a life in the entertainment industry. But, last year while shooting a pilot, Scott says she was harassed and assaulted by a fellow actor.

In 1989, a 26-year-old sailor named Tracy Edwards made history when she skippered the first all-female crew in the Whitb...
07/01/2019

In 1989, a 26-year-old sailor named Tracy Edwards made history when she skippered the first all-female crew in the Whitbread Round the World Race, and she did it aboard a secondhand yacht named Maiden.

Twenty-five years later, Edwards learned Maiden had been abandoned, and at about the same time, someone wanted to make a film about her.

Edwards set about saving Maiden the boat, while documentary director Alex Holmes began making ‘Maiden’ the movie. Edwards and Holmes tell Matt Holzman about their parallel ventures and the globe-trotting quest to find the footage from Maiden’s original voyage around the world.

In 1989, a young sailor named Tracy Edwards made history when she skippered the first all-female crew in a round-the-world race aboard a secondhand yacht named Maiden.

This week, Lesley Goldberg Abrams talks to Grey's Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff and Elisabeth Finch. When an episode...
06/24/2019

This week, Lesley Goldberg Abrams talks to Grey's Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff and Elisabeth Finch.

When an episode this season included a more than 2-minute-long scene of a patient undergoing a r**e kit exam--ABC wanted some changes. The show’s creator Shonda Rhimes stepped in, and pushed back. Vernoff and Finch discuss how they ultimately got their powerful episode about sexual consent to air as written, and provide a peek at their process for breaking new ground on 'Grey's Anatomy,' which recently overtook ‘ER’ as the longest-running medical drama in prime time TV history.

Over the course of its record-breaking 15 seasons, ABC's 'Grey's Anatomy' has never shied away from tough subjects. When a recent script included a scene of a patient undergoing a r**e kit exam, the network wanted some changes.

A big flop is painful even to the most successful filmmakers. That didn’t stop writer-producer Simon Kinberg from sharin...
06/17/2019

A big flop is painful even to the most successful filmmakers. That didn’t stop writer-producer Simon Kinberg from sharing exclusively with The Business his perspective on what went wrong with 'Dark Phoenix.'

The film got panned by critics and opened to only $33 million in the U.S. We talked to Kinberg a few days after that brutal weekend. He tells us about the reshoots, release dates changes, and working at Fox as it was being swallowed by Disney.

Writer-producer Simon Kinberg has worked on the X-Men movie franchise since 2006. ‘Dark Phoenix’ was his directorial debut. The film got panned by critics and opened to only $33 million in the U.S.

This week! Liz Feldman, creator of  Dead to Me Netflix, tells us how this funny series about grief and friendship came t...
06/10/2019

This week! Liz Feldman, creator of Dead to Me Netflix, tells us how this funny series about grief and friendship came to be.

And she talks us through her varied resume: she started doing stand up at 16, has come up with blue-collar jokes for Jeff Foxworthy; nice, clean monologues for Ellen DeGeneres and raunchy scripts for 2 Broke Girls.

Plus, Dead to Me Netflix just got renewed for a second season!

A week after TV writer Liz Feldman lost a family member unexpectedly and found out her fertility treatment had failed again, she took a meeting with some producers, having been told she didn’t need to come with ideas.

You may have never heard of Clarence Avant, but this enigmatic manager, producer and record executive has touched the li...
06/03/2019

You may have never heard of Clarence Avant, but this enigmatic manager, producer and record executive has touched the lives of a wide array of people you have heard of: Bill Withers, Hank Aaron, Barack Obama. In his new Netflix documentary ‘The Black Godfather,’ director Reginald Hudlin lines up all those people and many more to reveal the behind-the-scenes story of Avant.

You may have never heard of Clarence Avant, but this enigmatic manager, producer and record executive has touched the lives of a wide array of people you have heard of: Bill Withers, Hank Aaron, Barack Obama.

This week! Jemele Hill was best known to sports fans as the co-anchor of SportsCenter on ESPN, where she had a good care...
05/28/2019

This week! Jemele Hill was best known to sports fans as the co-anchor of SportsCenter on ESPN, where she had a good career until she drew the wrath of the White House by tweeting what she thought she was an obvious fact: that Donald Trump is a white supremacist. The controversy that followed ultimately led to her departure from ESPN and the beginning of a whole new chapter in her life. Hill takes us on a little tour of the world she inhabited for most of her career and talks about leaving it behind.

This week, Jemele Hill tells us about her years at ESPN, where she had a good career until she drew the wrath of the White House by tweeting that Trump is a white supremacist.

With the Peabody Awards gala happening over the weekend, we decided now would be a great time to revisit a conversation ...
05/20/2019

With the Peabody Awards gala happening over the weekend, we decided now would be a great time to revisit a conversation with director and cinematographer Bing Liu, whose film Minding The Gap is now a Peabody winner. Liu tells Matt Holzman about the years-long journey to making the film, the difficult decision to include himself in the story, and explains how the band the Mountain Goats changed his life.

Growing up in Rockford, Illinois, Bing Liu was obsessed with making skateboarding videos with his friends. Over the course of more than a decade, one of those mini-movies morphed into a feature-length documentary, ‘Minding the Gap.’

Want to know how TV showrunners are finding writers to hire without the help of agents? Listen as Valentina Garza and Mi...
05/13/2019

Want to know how TV showrunners are finding writers to hire without the help of agents? Listen as Valentina Garza and Michael Royce tell us how they're finding people through the WGA online portal, Twitter, meetups and recommendations from fellow writers.

Plus, Royce gives us an update on One Day At A Time.

It’s TV staffing season: when writers look for jobs. But this year, writers have fired their agents in their battle over packaging fees. Still, showrunners Mike Royce and Valentina Garza say the seats in the writers rooms will be filled.

For his third audio documentary-style podcast, Dan Taberski set out to investigate the the long-running show COPS. Taber...
05/06/2019

For his third audio documentary-style podcast, Dan Taberski set out to investigate the the long-running show COPS. Taberski tells us about making Headlong: Running From COPS the product of an 18-month deep-dive into in the show. Turns out, if you live in a town where it films, ‘Cops’ might come for you whether you’re a bad boy or not.

As a follow-up to his podcasts about exercise guru Richard Simmons and then Y2K, Dan Taberski set out to investigate the darker aspects of the long-running show ‘Cops.’

Growing up in West Yorkshire, Sally Wainwright visited the historic home of Anne Lister, but learned nothing about the e...
04/29/2019

Growing up in West Yorkshire, Sally Wainwright visited the historic home of Anne Lister, but learned nothing about the extraordinary 19th century businesswoman and gay-marriage pioneer. Once she did, years later, Wainwright wanted to make a series about Lister’s life, but she only got the chance after creating a hit crime show. Now, Wainwright has finally brought Lister to life in Gentleman Jack, her new BBC-HBO series. She tells us about reading Lister’s 5 million word diary--the sexy parts were written in code--and about the critical lessons she learned writing British soaps early in her career.

Growing up, Sally Wainwright visited Shibden Hall, a historic house and park in West Yorkshire. But she wasn’t taught much about Anne Lister, who had lived there in the 19th century.

For years, Ryan O'Connell was in the closet: not because he’s gay, which he is, but because he didn't want people to kno...
04/22/2019

For years, Ryan O'Connell was in the closet: not because he’s gay, which he is, but because he didn't want people to know he has cerebral palsy. His cover? He’d been hit by a car--which was true. But eventually, that lie took a toll. O'Connell wrote a book about his life, and now, with his new comedy series Special Netflix, O’Connell is out in a big way. He tells us about the 4-year struggle to find a home for his autobiographical comedy.

For years, Ryan O’Connell was in the closet: not because he’s gay, which he is, but because he was ashamed of having cerebral palsy. His cover? He’d been hit by a car--which was true. But eventually, that lie took a toll.

If you're into documentaries, this week's episode is for you! Guest host Matt Holzman talks to Elise Pearlstein, SVP of ...
04/15/2019

If you're into documentaries, this week's episode is for you! Guest host Matt Holzman talks to Elise Pearlstein, SVP of Documentary for Participant Media. She talks about what she looks for when picking doc projects to produce and how to stand out in a very crowded non-fiction film space.

Elise Pearlstein has dedicated her life to non-fiction film, first as award-winning producer, and since 2013, as SVP of Documentary at Participant Media.

Stephen Falk thought he’d gotten his big break in 2012, when NBC picked up his comedy series ‘Next Caller.’ He moved acr...
04/08/2019

Stephen Falk thought he’d gotten his big break in 2012, when NBC picked up his comedy series ‘Next Caller.’ He moved across the country to run the show, but after he’d shot just 4 episodes, the Peacock pulled the plug, without ever airing it at all. Falk vowed for his next thing, he'd write for himself. That project would turn out to be the boozy dark comedy You're the Worst which just wrapped its fifth and final season on FXX. Falk talks to The Hollywood Reporter’s Lesley Goldberg Abrams about going from writing TV recaps, to actual TV--and the road to making ‘You’re the Worst,' which critics concur is actually the best.

Stephen Falk thought he had gotten his big break in 2012, when NBC picked up his series ‘Next Caller.’ But after he’d shot just 4 episodes, NBC pulled the plug. He vowed for his next project, he'd write what he wanted.

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