The Business

Latest Episodes:

Wittney Horton on casting 'Backrooms' and coaching Kane Parsons Nov 06, 2026

Show notes

This week, Kim Masters speaks with casting director Wittney Horton about helping Kane Parsons navigate his feature debut, Backrooms. Horton shares how she used a practice Zoom call to prepare Parsons for a meeting with Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor. She also considers how the new Oscar for casting might change the way her colleagues approach their craft, and whether an actor’s social media following should influence casting decisions.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni explore what the 2026 midterm results could mean for Hollywood in the coming year. They discuss whether changes in the Senate could create hurdles for the federal tax incentive endorsed by Trump, and whether the recent Skydance deal could draw scrutiny from both the House and Senate.

Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ and the politics of getting a movie seen Oct 30, 2026

Show notes

This week, Kim Masters sits down with Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney to talk about his new film, Musk. Gibney explains how the project grew from two hours to nearly four as Elon Musk aligned himself with Donald Trump, and the unexpected difficulties he faced when major social media platforms initially refused to run ads for the film. He also discusses why he remains confident the documentary will stream on HBO, despite David Ellison’s takeover of Warner Bros. and Musk’s billion-dollar investment in Skydance, and shares his outlook on the upcoming midterms.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni take a closer look at Musk’s relationship with the Ellisons, what a multi-billion dollar investment from Elon could mean for Skydance’s future, and whether Hollywood talent might think twice about working with the company.

Inside the great Netflix shakeup Oct 23, 2026

Show notes

It’s official: Bela Bajaria and Dan Lin are out at Netflix, and Peter Rice is in as the streamer’s new chief content officer. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down the shakeup, how Rice landed the top job, and who he might recruit to oversee Netflix’s future projects.

Plus, we’re sharing some unheard moments from Masters’ recent conversations. Tiger King filmmaker Eric Goode explains how his years running New York nightclubs, restaurants, and hotels prepared him for a documentary career involving venomous snakes and armed exotic animal traffickers. And veteran marketing executive Gerry Rich looks back at working with the Broccoli family to revive James Bond with GoldenEye, along with his experiences working for a notorious Hollywood producer who once threatened to break Kim’s kneecaps.

Veteran marketing executive Gerry Rich on surviving Hollywood’s worst bosses Oct 16, 2026

Show notes

This week, Kim Masters sits down with veteran Hollywood marketing executive Gerry Rich to talk about his memoir, Chasing Hollywood. Rich recalls the nightmare of working for Harvey Weinstein at Miramax, helping launch Iron Man before Marvel became part of the Disney empire, and getting a crash course in Amazon’s bizarre corporate culture after it acquired MGM. He also revisits a bitter Paramount power struggle involving Josh Greenstein, who now co-chairs Skydance’s film group overseeing Paramount and Warner Bros.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni break down yet another round of Hollywood layoffs, this time at Netflix. The banter partners discuss the streamer's decision to cut 1,000 jobs amid slower-than-expected growth and what the latest reductions signal for the streaming business.

Van Dyke Parks on Brian Wilson, Hollywood, and the authority of failure Oct 09, 2026

Show notes

This week, Van Dyke Parks sits down with The Business showrunner Joshua Farnham to look back at a career that stretches from childhood acting to collaborating with Brian Wilson, and scoring films for Jack Nicholson. He also recalls his first arranging job, The Bare Necessities for Disney’s The Jungle Book, and how Harry Nilsson talked him into spending five months in Malta for Robert Altman’s Popeye.

Plus, Kim Masters and Matt Belloni sort through who’s in and who’s out at Skydance. They discuss the unceremonious dismissal of Warner Bros. film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pamela Abdy, who’s taking their jobs, and the company’s promises for paying down its mountain of debt.

Malcolm McDowell on the director who changed his life Oct 02, 2026

Show notes

This week, Kim Masters speaks with actor Malcolm McDowell about his six-decade career and the long journey to finally making his latest film, the western Last Train to Fortune. McDowell reflects on his friendship with mentor and director Lindsay Anderson, shares stories from the set of Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, and looks back at the chaotic production of Caligula, including how Penthouse founder Bob Guccione took control of the film and added unsimulated material in post production.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni share the latest WarnerMount updates, including former Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz joining David Ellison to run the new studio, Cindy Holland’s departure as Casey Bloys prepares to lead its streaming division, and the latest questions surrounding the fate of CNN.

Sharon Horgan finds the comedy in 'Youth' Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

This week, Kim Masters speaks with Sharon Horgan about her HBO series Youth. The writer, actor and producer reflects on taking control of her career by creating her own material, building the production company Merman, and working across broadcast networks and streaming platforms. Horgan also explains why she returned to the idea for Youth after years spent making Bad Sisters, and how a brief pitch to HBO quickly turned into a green light.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni process California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s decision to settle the antitrust suit involving Paramount Skydance. With a major wave of layoffs looming, the banter partners look at what could come next for the proposed Warner Bros. Paramount merger.

Hollywood goes to Washington for a tax break Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

This week, Kim Masters reports on the newly formed U.S. Film and Television Production Coalition and its push for a federal tax incentive to stem the loss of production overseas. Members representing studios, producers and unions lay out the industry’s unusually unified campaign, the backing of President Donald Trump, and the details that still have to survive Congress.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni give a brief update on the rollout of Bari Weiss’s new 60 Minutes. Spoiler: the early ratings are not good. The banter partners also turn to a pair of surprises from the documentary world, including reports that Universal considered holding back Alex Gibney’s upcoming Elon Musk documentary from a global theatrical release, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalating threats against the directors of NAZA following the film’s Venice debut.

How new will the new ‘60 Minutes’ feel? Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

As CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss prepares to unveil a new era of 60 Minutes, questions are mounting over what America’s most-watched news program will look like under her leadership. Following the exits and firings of several correspondents and senior producers since Weiss arrived at the network, newly installed executive producer Nick Bilton faces the challenge of reshaping the show without alienating its loyal audience. Matt Belloni and Lucas Shaw examine what the next chapter could look like for the CBS News institution.

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

Lilly Wachowski remembers 30 years of ‘Bound’ Sep 04, 2026

Show notes

This week, Kim Masters talks to Lilly Wachowski about making Bound, the directorial debut she co-directed with sister Lana. Wachowski recalls the wild experience of working with legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis, and how she and Lana went from living paycheck to paycheck as carpenters to having producer Joel Silver beg them to sell him The Matrix.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni dig into a newly unveiled bill that would create a federal production tax incentive, and what it could mean for the industry if passed. The banter partners also turn to some good news at the box office, where summer grosses topped pre-COVID levels by nine percent.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected