The Business

<p><span>The Netflix series “Cheer” focuses on the stressful lives of junior college cheerleaders fighting for their next national championship. Director Greg Whiteley says he could’ve done a better job of portraying one set of cheer parents, who came off as controlling. </span></p>

<p><span>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. That footage became the Oscar-nominated documentary “For Sama.” Al-Kateab and her collaborator Edward Watts tell us how they crafted an intimate 90-minute film dedicated to al-Kateab’s daughter. </span></p>

<p><span>“Parasite” has already made history as the first Korean film nominated for Oscar -- or six Oscars to be exact, including Best Picture. Director Bong 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. </span></p>

<p><span>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.</span></p>

<p><span>This week, some very tasty leftovers from three filmmakers reflecting on the early, not-so-easy days of their careers. "Star Wars" second unit director Victoria Mahoney, "Little Women" filmmaker Greta Gerwig and Nanfu Wang, director of "One Child Nation" share some of the ups and downs from when they were first starting out. </span></p>

<p><span>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. Wang tells us about her circuitous route to finally making “The Farewell,” which turned into an indie success story and now, an awards contender.</span></p>

<p><span>The streaming wars got real, writers fired their agents and time was up--or was it? Matt Belloni, editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter, and Lucas Shaw, entertainment reporter for Bloomberg, join Kim Masters to discuss top industry news stories of 2019. </span></p>

<p><span>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. As the second unit director on "The Rise of Skywalker," Mahoney's made history: the first woman and first person of color to direct in the "Star Wars" movie universe. </span></p>

<p><span>“One Child Nation,” a documentary about the devastating effects of China’s one-child policy, has been nominated for many awards. 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 tells us about making “One Child Nation,” which started as a personal story and grew into something broader. </span></p>

<p><span>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 who was Oscar-nominated for best director in 2018 with "Lady Bird." She tells us about making "Little Women"-- her way. </span></p>

<p><span>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 #PayUpHollywood hashtag. Alper and script coordinator Joelle explain why assistants feel now is the time to demand change, for the sake of the assistants themselves and the future of the industry. </span></p>

<p><span>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. And he walks us through his career post-‘Deadpool,’ from departing ‘Deadpool 2’ to seizing what seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime--directing a Terminator movie with James Cameron producing. </span></p>

<p><span>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. Plus, an all new banter!</span></p>

<p><span> In part two 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. </span></p>

<p><span>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. Keenly aware of that, ‘Watchmen’ showrunner Damon Lindelof believes Moore may have put a curse on him. Seriously. Lindelof tells us about risking curses to make his updated take on ‘Watchmen’ for HBO. </span></p>

<p><span>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. They tell us about their new young adult series on Hulu, ‘Looking for Alaska,’ which they first had dreams of making into a movie 14 years ago.</span></p>

<p><span>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. Fayyad became the first Syrian director to be nominated for Oscar with 'Last Men in Aleppo.' His new film, ‘The Cave,’ profiles a courageous young doctor as she runs an underground hospital in a besieged area outside Damascus. </span></p>

<p><span>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. </span></p>

<p><span>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. He tells us about doing his best for Lee in what would be Lee’s final year. Plus, reporter Gary Baum on his investigation into the battle for control of Lee's life. </span></p>

<p><span>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. Smith tells us about doing it his way--which includes embarking on a 60-date roadshow for his new movie, ‘Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.’ He also reflects on his long relationship with Harvey Weinstein and the heart attack that almost did Smith in last year. </span></p>

<p><span>The Netflix series 'Unbelievable' is based on a true story about how one team of cops pursued a serial rapist while another disbelieved and bullied a victim. Showrunner Susannah Grant tells us about turning a Pulitzer Prize winning news story into a scripted series. She also shares her thoughts on how to depict rape on screen and talks about speaking with the victim whose story is at the heart of the series.</span></p>

<p><span>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 strippers who robbed their Wall Street clientele. She finally won that battle, then the picture got dropped by Annapurna and then saved by STX. Scafaria also talks Jennifer Lopez's intense training to do that insane pole dance. </span></p>

<p><span>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 explore a couple of perspectives on the two groups competing for Guild leadership. <br /><br /><br /></span></p>

<p><span>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. With his Netflix series ‘Special,’ O’Connell is out in a big way. He tells us about the 4-year struggle to find a home for his autobiographical comedy, which is now nominated for 4 Emmys. </span></p>

<p><span>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 story of making ‘The Amazing Johnathan Documentary,’ which is now available on Hulu. </span></p>

<p>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. Moore offers some advice to actors just starting out, tells us how she picks her projects, and she and Freundlich discuss the struggle that comes with trying to get an indie melodrama like ‘After the Wedding’ financed.</p>

<p><span>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. So when she and Manzoor snagged a moment with The Boss on a red carpet, they took their shot. Incredibly, it worked. Chadha and Manzoor tell the tale of their film ‘Blinded by the Light.'</span></p>

<p><span>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. Wang tells us about her circuitous route to finally making ‘The Farewell,’ which has turned into the indie success story of the summer.</span></p>

<p><span>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. Shelton and Maron tell us about making the movie in 12 days in Alabama, and about shooting an extended, improvised, soul-baring monologue in the back of a sweltering box truck...for nine hours. </span></p>

<p><span>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. She took the case to her union and the result was not completely satisfying. </span></p>

<p><span>Filmmaker Reginald Hudlin recently directed the new documentary ‘The Black Godfather’ for Netflix, but he’s held a lot of other jobs, including writing ‘Black Panther’ comics and running BET...at the same time. He tells us about those years, plus, working with Quentin Tarantino. We’ve also got some goodies from cinematographer Caleb Deschanel on Disney’s new ‘Lion King.’</span></p>

<p><span>Actress, director, producer Elizabeth Banks is a member of a very small club: women who make commercial big-studio movies. After directing ‘Pitch Perfect 2’ and a ‘Charlie’s Angels’ reboot set for release this fall, plus producing the heartfelt Hulu comedy ‘Shrill,’ Banks has even bigger ambitions. She talks about getting bored with acting and moving into producing, directing, and making it in the mainstream.</span></p>

<p>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. Twenty-five years later, Edwards learned Maiden had been abandoned, and at the same time, someone wanted to make a film about her. Sailor Tracy Edwards and director Alex Holmes tell us about saving Maiden the boat, and making ‘Maiden’ the movie.</p>

<p><span>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 rape kit exam, the network wanted some changes. 'Grey's Anatomy' showrunner Krista Vernoff and writer Elisabeth Finch tell us how, with an assist from Shonda Rhimes, they got their powerful episode about consent to air as written.</span></p>

<p><span>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. We talked to Kinberg a few days after that brutal weekend. He shares his perspective on what went wrong and tells us about the reshoots, release date changes, and working at Fox in the midst of Disney's takeover. </span></p>

<p>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. So she was immersed in loss and blindsided when she was asked for ideas after all. A seasoned improvisor, Feldman delivered. That quick pitch turned into the Netflix series ‘Dead to Me,’ a funny show about grief.</p>

<p><span>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. Director Reginald Hudlin tells us about his new Netflix documentary ‘The Black Godfather,’ which profiles the now 88-year-old Clarence Avant, the ultimate unseen mover in music, movies, politics and more.</span></p>

<p><span>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. She thought she was stating the obvious, but eventually, Trump tweeted about her. Jemele Hill tells us about her tumultuous final year at ESPN, becoming a "walking think piece," and what happened next: producing, podcasting and more. </span></p>

<p><span>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.’ This week, as the film is being honored with a Peabody award, we’re revisiting Matt Holzman’s conversation with Liu. </span></p>

<p><span>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. They tell us about building a writing staff without agents, and Royce gives us an update on 'One Day at a Time.'</span></p>

<p><span>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.’ Taberski tells us about making ‘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. </span></p>

<p><span>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. Years later, Wainwright learned that Lister was truly ahead of her time: a businesswoman and a gay-marriage pioneer. Wainwright tells us about ‘Gentleman Jack,’ her new HBO-BBC series based on the extraordinary life of Lister.</span></p>

<p dir="ltr"><span>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. O'Connell wrote a book about it, and now, with his Netflix show ‘Special,’ O’Connell is out in a big way. He tells us about the 4-year struggle to find a home for his autobiographical comedy.</span></p>

<p><span>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. Her career in docs wasn’t always a foregone conclusion--she used to keep lists of other jobs she could do--but now says there's no place she'd rather be. She talks to Matt Holzman about an industry in transition and some of Participant's newest projects. </span></p>

<p><span>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. That would be the dark rom-com, ‘You’re the Worst’--it just wrapped its final season on FXX. Falk talks about the road to making ‘You’re the Worst,’ which critics concur is actually the best. </span></p>

<p><span>Actress, director, producer Elizabeth Banks is a member of a very small club: women who make commercial big-studio movies. After directing ‘Pitch Perfect 2’ and a ‘Charlie’s Angels’ reboot set for release this fall, plus producing the heartfelt Hulu comedy ‘Shrill,’ Banks has even bigger ambitions. She talks about getting bored with acting and moving into producing, directing, and making it in the mainstream.</span></p>

<p><span>Earlier this year, actor Steven Yeun joined us to talk about his role in the Oscar-shortlisted Korean film, ‘Burning.’ We talked about other topics too, and this week, for the first time, we’re airing that part of the conversation. Yeun tells us about getting his start in the industry and what he’s looking for in future roles. Plus, a visit to the set of Sebastian Lelio’s new film ‘Gloria Bell.’</span></p>

<p><span>When comedian Kathy Griffin posed for a photo holding what appeared to be the bloody head of Donald Trump, she became a pariah overnight. So she did the only thing she could do: turned her story into an act, and took it around the world. This week, we revisit our conversation with Griffin, whose movie version of her stand-up special just premiered at SXSW. </span></p>

<p><span>A potentially epic confrontation is on the horizon, pitting the Writers Guild against the talent agencies. And, after Todd Douglas Miller made a short film about Apollo 17, he figured he was done with outer space. Then he got an email from an employee at the National Archives who had found some old reels labeled: Apollo 11. Miller talks about the never-before-seen footage that led to his new movie, ‘Apollo 11.’</span></p>

<p><span>Dan Reed’s documentary ‘Leaving Neverland’ features interviews with two men who say Michael Jackson sexually abused them for years when they were children. Initially conceived as just one hour of television, Reed soon realized it’d have to be longer. He talks about making this unflinching four-hour film and how, despite a lawsuit from the Jackson estate, HBO is standing behind ‘Leaving Neverland.’</span></p>