The Business

This week, an encore presentation of Kim Masters’ interview with Alexandria Stapleton, the DGA Award nominated director of Sean Combs: The Reckoning. The Netflix docuseries examines the rise and fall of the hip hop mogul. Stapleton discusses partnering with executive producer 50 Cent, her approach to telling the story without turning it into a hit piece, and the care required when working with the alleged victims of Combs. She also explains why Netflix proved to be the ideal partner for this project, and how its legal team vetted controversial pre-arrest footage that Combs had commissioned himself.

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Kim Masters talks to John Carney, who after his 2006 indie breakout film Once, has made a career of making movies about musicians making music. Generally, the ones who never got famous. His new film, Power Ballad, stars Paul Rudd as a wedding singer alongside Nick Jonas, who plays a flawed former pop star. Carney discusses his struggles to raise money for his films, and reveals what he says to - or maybe shouts at -  buskers in Dublin who have their amps cranked up to 11.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni discuss why Amazon dropped out of...

Kim Masters talks to screenwriter David Koepp about Disclosure Day, his latest collaboration with director Steven Spielberg. After Spielberg sent Koepp a 40 page treatment for the movie, which Koepp gave notes on, Spielberg emailed him back that “it’s your problem now.” Koepp also reveals the downside of his early success, which included writing the Jurassic Park screenplay when he was just 29. He also explains why he’s not that scared AI will replace him, and offers his very dark pitch for one final Tom Cruise-led Mission Impossible movie (Koepp wrote the original 1996 release). 

Plus, Masters an...

This week, Kim Masters talks to Alvaro Bedoya, a former FTC Commissioner, about why he objects to the Paramount-Warner Brothers merger. Bedoya says it will mean fewer jobs, higher subscription fees for consumers, and more censorship when the Ellison family - who own Paramount Skydance - control both CBS News and CNN. Bedoya also addresses a surprising accusation from Paramount’s Chief Counsel against some who oppose the merger. 

[Editor’s note: this episode first aired before the Department of Justice announced on Friday afternoon that they would not challenge the Paramount-Warner merger.]

Plus, Masters and M...

This week, Eric Deggans talks to Eric Kripke, creator of the Amazon Prime series The Boys, about criticism of the show’s final season. Elon Musk went online to trash the finale of the politically provocative superhero satire, and some of the show’s less wealthy fans also didn’t care for it either. Kripke also talks about how The Boys managed to be pretty prescient about the current state of the country, and whether the franchise–with its multiple spinoffs–is actually becoming like the superhero genre it mocks. 

Plus, Kim Masters and Matt Belloni discuss the...

This week, Kim Masters talks to Jack Thorne, who won all the prizes for writing the Netflix series Adolescence, about his new series, an adaptation of the novel Lord of the Flies. They also discuss how Adolescence revealed Netflix’s stunning global reach, and why series star Stephen Graham has a co-writing credit, even though Graham doesn’t actually write. Thorne also tells Kim about being diagnosed as autistic in his mid-40s.

Plus, Kim and Matt Belloni discuss the major shakeup at CBS’ 60 Minutes. Bari Weiss, the controversial head of the network’s news division, fired two...

This week, Eric Deggans talks to Courtney Kemp, co-creator of the Netflix crime drama Nemesis, about the changing TV landscape, and whether she sees Hollywood standing by diversity initiatives despite the pushback from the Trump administration. She also explains how some executives who give her notes don’t necessarily grasp what matters to her audience. After signing an overall deal with Netflix in 2021, Kemp developed Nemesis, a Los Angeles-set crime story built around ambition, class, and power. 

[Editor’s note: this segment was taped before it was announced that Kemp had signed an overall deal with Apple TV, a...

Kim Masters wraps up her two-part conversation with legendary actor William Shatner and famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. Shatner reflects on his deeply emotional journey to space at age 90 and Tyson shares why he isn’t picky about the show biz gigs he takes. The pair also reflect on technological disruption, including how the rise of AI inspired Shatner to record a heavy metal album about the Industrial Revolution. Their two-night live event, The Universe is Absurd, will be at The Saban Theatre May 19-20. 

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni break down the strength of the new...

This week, Kim Masters speaks with legendary actor William Shatner and famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson about their upcoming two-night live event, The Universe is Absurd. In the first installment of a sprawling two-part conversation, the pair reflect on how syndication helped solidify Star Trek as a cultural phenomenon, why studio executives don’t know what they’re doing, and they wrestle over the universe’s biggest questions.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni break down the seismic shift at Netflix following the company’s decision to give Greta Gerwig’s Narnia film a 49-day theatrical window ahead of i...

This week, Kim Masters speaks with director Kirk Jones and actor Robert Aramayo about I Swear, the BAFTA winning film about Tourette’s advocate John Davidson. Jones talks about using his own life savings to self-finance the project after potential backers pushed him to tone down the film’s language, and how that decision allowed him to cast Aramayo in the lead without studio oversight. Aramayo discusses the physical and emotional demands of portraying Davidson, a role that required extensive preparation and ultimately earned him a BAFTA. They also reflect on the widely publicized moment at the BAFTA ceremony that...

This week, Kim Masters speaks with Ben McKenzie about his documentary Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, which examines fraud in the cryptocurrency world. The actor discusses leaning into his popularity as Ryan on The OC as a narrative device in the film—one that helped get him in the room for a cringe-inducing interview with now-convicted crypto figure Sam Bankman-Fried. McKenzie also explains how he bet against crypto to help finance the project and shares some thoughts on the celebrities who profited from crypto endorsements.

Plus, as the White House Correspondents’ Dinner approaches—with Donald...

This week, Kim Masters speaks with Riz Ahmed about his modern retelling of Hamlet. The actor and producer discusses the decade-long journey of adapting the Shakespeare classic and how the project evolved from a planned Netflix streaming release to securing theatrical distribution with Focus Features. He also jokes about family members misinterpreting the significance of his Oscar-nominated performance in Sound of Metal and traces the origins of the “Riz Test,” a Bechdel-adjacent measure of Muslim representation in storytelling.

Plus, as theater owners and studio executives share their views on the Paramount–Warner Bros. deal at CinemaCon, thousands of ind...

This week, Kim Masters sits down with Drew Goddard to discuss adapting Andy Weir’s novel Project Hail Mary for the big screen. He reflects on how his early days writing on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alias, and Lost trained him to move fast, as he did when he was tasked with turning around the script for Cloverfield after Paramount greenlit the project from an outline. He also talks about being brought in to rescue World War Z, and shares the advice he gave Andy Weir about a potential Project Hail Mary sequel.

Plus, Masters and Ma...

The Academy Awards are behind us, but we’re sharing unheard stories from Kim Masters’ interviews with some of the recently minted Oscar winners. That includes director Joachim Trier, who shares how he landed on casting Elle Fanning in his Best International Feature winner, Sentimental Value. Trier also talks about getting to a place where he can cast well-known actors who sign on to his films without reading a script, just because it’s him. And we hear more from Autumn Durald Arkapaw, the first woman to win an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. She breaks down the challenges of sho...

And just like that, Josh D'Amaro’s first week as CEO of The Walt Disney Company proved challenging, to say the least. From a brewing Bachelorette scandal to the abrupt cancellation of Sora by OpenAI, and fresh turmoil at Epic Games amid layoffs, Matt Belloni and Lucas Shaw unpack the challenges facing Disney’s new chief.

Plus, we revisit our conversation with Daryl Hannah, who joined Masters last year to discuss her Neil Young concert film Coastal, which had a limited theatrical run in 2025. Hannah reflects on her years of acting and activism, pursued alongside figures like...

This week, Kim talks to Diane Becker and Ted Tremper about The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist. The producers discuss how they managed to land big names in machine learning, including the CEOs of OpenAI and Anthropic. Becker and Tremper also explain how they nearly got Elon Musk—until, surprisingly, he ghosted. They also share how they kept their brains from melting while tackling a subject as overwhelming as AI.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni break down the first week of Disney’s new CEO, Josh D’Amaro, who outlined his goals for the compan...

This week, Kim talks with Tilly Norwood creator Eline Van der Velden, who defends her controversial synthetic character. Van der Velden argues that Tilly Norwood is simply another character, an extension of herself, not so different from others she’s created during her years as an actress. The Particle6 Productions co-founder explains why she believes entertainment built with generative AI will find a place in the industry and predicts that more agents will follow CAA’s lead in signing synthetic characters.

Plus, Kim Masters and Matt Belloni discuss Ben Affleck’s investment in AI through his compan...

This week, Kim talks with SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin about stepping into the job during a tumultuous year for Hollywood. His early tenure has already included an FCC clash involving Jimmy Kimmel, the arrival of synthetic “performers,” and some wonky legal maneuvering from OpenAI. Astin discusses the most pressing issues facing the union as bargaining is underway, including wages and working conditions as well as the challenges posed by AI companies scraping copyrighted material.

Plus, David Ellison has unveiled plans to merge Paramount+ and HBO Max into a single streaming platform. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni dig...

This week, Kim sits down with Brazilian writer-director Kleber Mendonça Filho to discuss his Oscar-nominated political thriller The Secret Agent. A former film critic, Mendonça explains why he still reads every review of his work. He also reflects on the backlash that followed his 2016 Cannes red carpet protest against Brazil’s leadership and the fallout that complicated the Oscar hopes for Aquarius. Plus, a special guest drops in for a brief chat.

Meanwhile, in an unexpected turn of events, Netflix has dropped out of the Warner Bros. bidding war, leaving Paramount as the winner. Masters and...

This week, Kim sits down with Academy Award–nominated cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who made history with Sinners as the first woman of color nominated for the Oscar for Best Cinematography. She discusses her work on the film and how it evolved from a scrappy 16mm concept into a full-scale IMAX spectacle at the studio’s urging. She also addresses the mounting strain on crews as production continues to leave Los Angeles, and why meaningful opportunities for women in film remain notably scarce.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni unpack a less than ideal week for Paramount as the...

This week, Kim Masters sits down with Academy Award nominated Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi to discuss his Palme d’Or winning film It Was Just an Accident. Panahi explains why he self finances his films, bringing in partners only after he decides the work is worthy of his signature, and how he has continued to shoot in secret despite years of arrests, censorship, and government bans. He also reflects on his decision to return to Iran after the awards season, even as he faces the possibility of another prison sentence.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni dig into th...

This week, Kim Masters is joined by Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter’s Executive Editor of Awards, for a deep dive into the 2026 Oscar nominees. Feinberg unpacks the debut of the new Best Casting category and explains the strategy behind Warner Bros.' support for its Best Picture frontrunners One Battle After Another and Sinners.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni dig into the power shifts at Disney, including Josh D’Amaro’s appointment as CEO and Dana Walden’s elevation to president and chief creative officer of The Walt Disney Company. They also unpack Netflix co-CEO Te...

This week, Kim speaks with Alexandria Stapleton, the DGA Award nominated director of Sean Combs: The Reckoning, a Netflix docuseries that examines the rise and fall of the hip hop mogul. Stapleton discusses partnering with executive producer 50 Cent, her approach to telling the story without turning it into a hit piece, and the care required when working with the alleged victims of Combs. She also explains how Netflix’s legal team vetted controversial pre arrest footage that Combs had commissioned himself.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni break down the final Sundance Film Festival hosted in Park Ci...

This week, Kim sits down with former Viacom CEO and MTV co-founder Tom Freston to discuss his memoir, Unplugged: Adventures from MTV to Timbuktu. From his vagabond youth to the birth of MTV and his years working under billionaire mogul Sumner Redstone, Freston reflects on a career spent shaping modern media, and weighs in on the Warner Bros. succession fight, arguing that Netflix may be the legacy studio’s best-fit suitor. 

Speaking of the streamer, Masters and Matt Belloni break down Netflix’s stock stumble despite reported subscriber growth, as Co-CEO Ted Sarandos reiterates the company’s commitm...

This week, Kim Masters sits down with writer-director Joachim Trier to discuss his Cannes Grand Prix–winning film Sentimental Value. Trier explains how he structures his financing to preserve creative control while allowing for longer shooting schedules — and still delivering returns for his investors. He also reveals why he broke his own “no-begging the talent” rule when he persuaded newly minted Golden Globe winner Stellan Skarsgård to join the project. And the filmmaker shares why Sentimental Value takes a playful jab at a certain streamer’s reluctance to embrace theatrical exhibition.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni tak...

Listen to a special preview of Kim Masters’ conversation with Joachim Trier about his film Sentimental Value. 

Kim Masters talks with Tim Blake Nelson about his wide-ranging career in entertainment. Best known for his breakout role in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Nelson is also a director, screenwriter, and playwright, and he’s now out with a second novel, Superhero—a black comedy about the making of a big-budget comic-book film that follows executives, cast, and crew caught in the pressure cooker of a chaotic production. He also shares his perspective on the Warner Bros. sale and explains how his fascination with the entertainment business informed the book.

Meanwhile, Warner Bros. has once agai...

Kim Masters rings in the new year with Matt Belloni and Lucas Shaw to forecast what 2026 could hold for Hollywood. The trio debates Disney’s long-simmering succession question, the impact of Trump administration tariffs on the industry, and YouTube’s growing ambitions in original programming.

Plus, we revisit a conversation between Masters and Jesse Eisenberg about his award winning film, A Real Pain. The writer, director, and actor talks about the challenges of capturing the complicated feelings of the descendents of holocaust survivors while still including humor. They also talk about the special relevance that Majdanek–the concen...

This week, Kim Masters is joined by Matt Belloni and Lucas Shaw for a year-end Megabanter, looking back at a messy 2025. From the devastating Los Angeles fires to the shadow cast by the Trump administration over Hollywood, the trio digs into the Skydance-Paramount deal, a surprise Warners-Netflix upset, and Disney’s move to partner with OpenAI.

This week, Eric Deggans speaks with Vince Gilligan about his new series, Pluribus. The creator of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul explains how he felt being at the center of his first-ever bidding war, and how a long-standing partnership with Sony ultimately brought the project to Apple. Gilligan also reflects on why the days of writing episodic television on The X-Files shaped his love of serialized storytelling. And after years of explaining his work to fans and critics alike, Gilligan shares why he’s learning to let audiences decide what his shows mean for themselves.

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With Netflix’s bombshell move to acquire Warner Bros. still reverberating through the town, Paramount has gone fully hostile–bypassing Warner leadership and taking its case straight to shareholders. Matt Belloni and Lucas Shaw break down the latest maneuvering in a saga that seems to sprout new twists by the day.

Also, with Kim Masters sidelined by a bug this week, Belloni presents a few bonus stories from Masters's recent conversations: Wake Up Dead Man writer-director Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman talk about the green room they devised for the first Knives Out–a space that b...

Producer’s note: This week’s banter segment was recorded before news broke of Netflix acquiring Warner Bros.

This week, Kim Masters sits down with writer-director Celine Song to talk about Materialists, her rom-com that became a surprise commercial hit worldwide. Song explains how a stint as a New York matchmaker schooled her in the economics of modern dating—and how those real-world dynamics shaped the film’s story. She also reflects on the privilege of a robust theatrical release through her fruitful partnership with A24, which also backed her Oscar-nominated debut Past Lives. And she gets into why...

This week, Kim Masters talks to writer-director Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman about their latest Knives Out installment, Wake Up Dead Man. Johnson opens up about leaning on his producer when he panics during the writing process—and why, oddly enough, he never hit that wall on The Last Jedi. Bergman explains why he and Johnson prefer to bankroll early development themselves rather than put up with studio input. And they dive into the Netflix of it all: a global megaphone for Benoit Blanc mysteries, but not much of a run in theaters.

Plus, in a...

This week, Kim Masters talks to filmmaker Shawn Levy, who takes a short break from the London shoot of his Star Wars film to talk about the final season of Stranger Things, including Netflix's surprising decision to give the finale a limited theatrical release. He also weighs in on his work from Night at The Museum through Deadpool & Wolverine, and he shares his bittersweet feelings about an industry that’s undergoing very painful contraction.

Meanwhile, the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery offers no especially comforting scenario: Paramount’s deep-pocketed Ellisons, a studio-and-streamer play from Netflix, or a...

This week, Kim Masters talks to Judd Apatow about his memoir, Comedy Nerd, a scrapbook that chronicles his journey from a stand-up-obsessed kid to one of Hollywood’s most influential comedy voices. Apatow shares stories from his early days interviewing his heroes on his high school radio station, to his years as an uncredited screenwriter on the films of Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey. He also reads the infamous letter he wrote at age twelve to Steve Martin, demanding an apology after being turned down for an autograph.

Plus, Paramount has released its first earnings report un...

This week, Kim Masters talks with documentarians Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman about their film The Alabama Solution. The filmmakers reveal how an invitation from an unwitting warden to film a religious revival at an Alabama prison opened the door to their investigation. They met desperate prisoners who shared allegations of abuse and even murder. The film includes evidence that the prisoners captured on their cell phones, which were smuggled in and sold to them by prison guards.

Plus, after turning down Paramount’s latest buyout offer, Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav is teasing a Christmas an...

This week, Eric Deggans talks with Brad Falchuk about his Netflix series Famous Last Words. The longtime Ryan Murphy collaborator talks about adapting a Danish format built around deeply personal conversations that air only after the guests have died. He also explains why working with streamers isn’t so different from his days in cable television, and how living with dyslexia has made him a stronger writer and creative partner.

Plus, NBCUniversal has snatched up Taylor Sheridan from Paramount, marking the latest shift in Hollywood’s talent landscape. The Yellowstone creator will start a film deal...

Warner Bros. stock is up after CEO David Zaslav confirmed the company is on the market and open to offers. Following Netflix’s moderate Q3, dragged by an unexpected Brazilian tax hit, speculation is growing over the streamer’s possible interest in Warners. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has dismissed talk of buying legacy media networks, though the studio and streaming divisions may still be in play. Matt Belloni and Lucas Shaw break down why Netflix might consider a partial acquisition, and what it could mean for Hollywood.

Plus, Kim Masters talks to Kelly Reichardt about her new...

This week, Kim Masters talks to Aziz Ansari about his directorial debut, Good Fortune. After his 2022 project Being Mortal was shut down following a misconduct complaint involving star Bill Murray, Ansari regrouped. He gathered cast members Seth Rogen and Keke Palmer for a new film and added Keanu Reeves to the mix. He’s filling us in on how he overcame production delays and Reeves’ on-set injury. Plus, he addresses his controversial appearance at the Riyadh Comedy Festival.

Meanwhile, and also on the topic of accepting Saudi money, producer Erik Feig has raised roughly $1 billion for his new v...

This week, Kim Masters speaks with The Road Between Us director Barry Avrich and retired Israeli General Noam Tibon, the latter of whom drove straight into the October 7 massacre to rescue his family. Despite the third-rail nature of anything involving Israel and Gaza, the pair hopes that the documentary can be viewed as a story about family. But politics were inescapable — the film was pulled from the Toronto Film Festival, reinstated after protests, and then greeted with protests from the other side before going on to win the festival’s People’s Choice documentary prize.

Plus, as pre...