The Business

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.