The Business

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 explains why he took the unusual step of 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 brought renewed attention to Tourette’s syndrome.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni break down the post–Correspondents’ Dinner fallout Disney faces over a Jimmy Kimmel late-night joke delivered in the days leading up to the event, and the FCC scrutiny now confronting the company. The banter partners also examine the surprising commercial success of the whitewashed Michael Jackson biopic and the tightrope Lionsgate navigates as it considers plans for a sequel in the wake of public concerns.

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 Trump expected to attend and a mentalist booked instead of a comedian—Masters and Matt Belloni examine concerns about the event’s legitimacy, media boycotts, and the broader political entanglements facing outlets like CBS News under David Ellison’s leadership.

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 industry professionals—including Ben Stiller, Kristen Stewart, and J.J. Abrams—have signed a petition to block the merger. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni examine Hollywood’s opposition and consider whether the growing outcry will have any real influence as the company seeks approval from regulators and shareholders.

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 Matt Belloni dig into the fallout from Jeff Shell’s exit as Paramount president, tied to allegations of leaking company information. The banter partners also spotlight a bit of good news in the industry following last week’s box office report: the Writers Guild’s unexpected four-year contract extension with studios, which could help build momentum ahead of SAG-AFTRA negotiations set to resume later this month.

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 shooting Sinners for IMAX, and recalls Christopher Nolan’s advice to Ryan Coogler about the best way to shoot the movie.

Plus, Masters and Matt Belloni dig into the theatrical bounce-back, with the box office up 23% from last year. They point to big wins like Project Hail Mary and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which is on track to pull in $200 million domestically and $350 million worldwide. The banter partners also unpack a stacked summer slate from Universal and Disney, and weigh in on superhero fatigue, with the latest Avengers movie set to drop this December.