Kim Masters interviews Hollywood directors, writers, and actors, plus sharp industry-news banter with Puck's Matt Belloni.
The Business pairs sharp entertainment-industry banter with long, reflective interviews about how film, television, and media power actually work. Recent episodes move from Disney succession and Warner bidding to Hamlet adaptations, IMAX cinematography, synthetic performers, and guild negotiations.
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The Business (KCRW) is an interview-format show hosted by journalist Kim Masters, with most episodes centered on a single guest discussing a specific project. Guests in the sampled episodes include actor-writer Riz Ahmed, screenwriter-director Drew Goddard, director Rian Johnson with producer Ram Bergman, actor Daryl Hannah, actor Jesse Eisenberg, cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, director Joachim Trier, and documentary director Alexandria Stapleton. Interviews move between craft topics — screenwriting process, cinematography choices, casting decisions — and the business side of filmmaking, including self-funded development, studio financing, and negotiations with Netflix or traditional studios. A recurring segment has Masters bantering with a fellow entertainment journalist, most often Matt Belloni from Puck News or Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw, running through current Hollywood news such as studio executive changes and box-office trends. Some episodes cover heavier subject matter, including a documentary on Sean Combs that discusses sex-trafficking charges and the deaths of Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G., and an interview with Daryl Hannah about her experiences with Harvey Weinstein. The show is conversational and lightly produced, built around Masters' interviewing rather than narrative sound design. It suits listeners who already follow entertainment trade coverage (Puck, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline) and want longer-form conversation with the people making films and shows rather than a news brief. Recurring throughlines include the friction between creative ambition and studio or financing constraints, and the ongoing shift from theatrical to streaming distribution. Episodes run roughly 30 minutes and are drawn from KCRW's long-running entertainment-industry interview format.
Made for: Listeners who follow entertainment trade press and want extended conversations with directors, writers, and actors behind current films and shows.
What sets it apart: Pairs single-guest craft-and-business interviews with a recurring two-journalist news-banter segment featuring Puck News reporting, rather than pure news recap or pure profile interview.
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.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Kim Masters makes Hollywood's power structures legible by tracing how financing, production constraints, distribution, and creative judgment shape the work audiences see.
The Business turns film coverage into a study of how creative work survives money, deadlines, corporate power, and changing distribution. Kim Masters pairs a news-driven opening conversation with an extended interview, moving from Disney leadership and theatrical windows to the…
Hollywood's sausage factory is more fun when Kim Masters asks who paid and who panicked.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Riz Ahmed turns a modern Hamlet into a thoughtful conversation about identity, ambition, and making space on screen.
Riz Ahmed's modern Hamlet gives The Business a sturdy frame for a conversation about adaptation, identity, and the pressure to split yourself into acceptable parts.
A brisk, insider-friendly conversation about Drew Goddard, Project Hail Mary, and the deadline pressure behind studio filmmaking.
Drew Goddard's conversation on The Business is a clean look at how studio movies get shoved from idea to deadline. Kim Masters frames Project Hail Mary as his second Andy Weir adaptation, then follows him back through the faster, messier work that shaped him, from TV writers'…
A grounded post-Oscars craft talk on IMAX strain, casting freedom, and the work behind the wins.
The Business uses its post-Oscars victory lap to get past the usual awards gloss and into the mechanics of making the work. Kim Masters pairs Autumn Durald Arkapaw on Sinners with Joachim Trier on Sentimental Value, and the better material comes when craft details crowd out…
A pointed Hollywood interview about Daryl Hanna, Coastal, Weinstein, and the politics of reputation.
KCRW's The Business turns a return visit with Daryl Hanna into a sharper Hollywood interview than the episode title suggests. The cleanest thread is Coastal, her Neil Young concert film, and the practical gamble of filming a performer who may not know the set until he is…
A measured interview on power, private footage, and the editorial choices behind Netflix's Sean Combs docuseries.
Kim Masters treats Alexandria Stapleton's Netflix docuseries on Sean Combs as a story about power, control, and the risks of making nonfiction while the legal picture is still moving.
A thoughtful Business interview on A Real Pain, Jesse Eisenberg's moral unease, and the practical work behind a hard-to-classify independent film.
The Business spends this episode with Jesse Eisenberg on A Real Pain, and the conversation is strongest when it stays close to the film's uneasy balance of grief, family memory, and comedy. Kim Masters draws out Eisenberg on Polish citizenship, whether leaving the U.S.
A smart industry-side conversation about Benoit Blanc's Netflix-era rise, with the theatrical tradeoff left plainly on the table.
The Business looks at Wake Up Dead Man through the machinery behind Benoit Blanc rather than the mystery itself. Kim Masters draws Rian Johnson and Bergman into the less glamorous parts of the Knives Out story: why the first film felt like a gamble after Star Wars, how Johnson…
Billboard's Keith Caulfield and Katie Atkinson break down the week's Hot 100 and 200 charts.
Two-minute TMZ newsroom rundowns on celebrity deaths, divorces, lawsuits, and courtroom news.
Atlanta chatter with Hollywood whiplash.
Riz Ahmed talks with Kim Masters on KCRW's The Business about a modern Hamlet that turns the Danish royals into a wealthy South Asian family and was developed over nearly a decade.
Drew Goddard moves fast when the job leaves him no choice.
The Academy Awards are behind us.
Daryl Hannah returns in a KCRW conversation revisited by Kim Masters.
Producers Diane Becker and Ted Tremper discuss their documentary 'The AI Doc' and the challenges of booking high-profile AI experts like OpenAI and Anthropic CEOs, while also touching on Bob Iger's Disney departure.
Aline van der Velden defends her synthetic character Tilly Norwood against criticism that AI creations threaten actors' jobs, arguing it's meant for the AI realm and represents a new form of entertainment.
This episode features an interview with SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin discussing his first months in office, contract negotiations with studios, AI challenges like synthetic actors and OpenAI, and includes banter about David Ellison's ambitious plans to reinvent the business amid a major merger.
This episode features an interview with Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho discussing his politically charged film 'The Secret Agent', the backlash it received, and his protest at Cannes, while also touching on industry news about Netflix and Warner Brothers.
This episode features an interview with Oscar-nominated cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw about her work on 'Sinners', challenges for women in cinematography, and includes a discussion on Warner Bros and Paramount negotiations.
Kim Masters interviews Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi about his career and prison sentence, then discusses Warner Brothers sale with Matt Bellany.
Kim Masters discusses the 2026 Oscar nominations and Disney's new CEO appointment with industry insiders.
Alexandria Stapleton is not selling certainty.
Kim Masters interviews Tom Freston about his memoir and discusses Netflix's subscriber growth and theatrical window strategy.
Kim Masters interviews filmmaker Joachim Trier about his film Sentimental Value and the state of the entertainment industry, followed by banter on the Golden Globes.
Kim Masters interviews director Joachim Trier about casting Stellan Skarsgård in his film Sentimental Value.
Kim Masters discusses Warner Brothers Discovery's rejection of Paramount's offer and interviews actor Tim Blake Nelson about his novel and career.
Jesse Eisenberg chooses engagement.
This episode discusses the tumultuous year of 2025 in Hollywood, covering crises like devastating fires, industry consolidation, and the impact of AI deals.
Kim Masters discusses entertainment industry news, including Vince Gilligan's new project and the Academy Awards moving to a new platform.
Discussion of the bidding war for Paramount between Netflix and the Ellison family, with analysis of the hostile takeover attempt.
Writer-director Celine Song discusses her films 'Past Lives' and 'Materialists' with A24, the economic aspects of dating, and how her work avoids formulaic storytelling.
Rian Johnson and Bergman talk with Kim Masters about bringing the whodunit back, spending Star Wars goodwill on Knives Out, and the Netflix question hanging over the whole thing.
Kim Masters interviews director Sean Levy about his career and discusses the latest bidding war for Warner Bros Discovery.
Kim Masters discusses Paramount's earnings call and interviews Judd Apatow about his memoir and the state of comedy in Hollywood.
Kim Masters and Lucas Shaw discuss the potential sale of Warner Bros Discovery and interview documentarians about their film on Alabama prison conditions.
Kim Masters discusses entertainment industry news, including Taylor Sheridan's move to NBC Universal, and interviews Brad Falchuk about his new Netflix series Famous Last Words.
Kim Masters interviews Benny Safdie about his solo film 'The Smashing Machine' and discusses recent box office news.
Kim Masters discusses the surprising box office success of the Minecraft movie and the resignation of 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens amid Trump's lawsuit.
Kim Masters interviews Daryl Hannah about her film on Neil Young and discusses Trump's attacks on media companies.
Kim Masters interviews actor Michael Shannon about his directorial debut film on school shootings and discusses the impact of tariffs on the entertainment industry.
Interview with Rebecca Rine about California's production incentives and the Entertainment Union Coalition's plan to boost middle-class jobs, plus banter from CinemaCon.
Kim Masters revisits a chat with Rob Reiner and Albert Brooks about their careers and the changing Hollywood landscape, followed by a discussion on a Deloitte survey showing Gen Z prefers social media content over traditional TV.
Kim Masters interviews Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney about his upcoming HBO project and discusses Jeremy Zimmer's departure from UTA.
Kim Masters interviews director Leslie Linka Glatter about her career and discusses Disney's Snow White controversy.