The Business

Television icon Norman Lear wrote sitcoms that tackled real issues, like rape, abortion and race relations. This Labor Day, we revisit Lear's conversation with Kim Masters about the lifetimes worth of adventures in film and television chronicled in his memoir.

For years, Bobcat Goldthwait wanted to make a movie about his mentor, Barry Crimmins. A stand-up comic with a taste for sharp political satire, Crimmins became an activist who testified before Congress, taking on AOL over the proliferation of child pornography on the Internet. Goldthwait tells how the film came together with help from his best friend Robin Williams.

Writer and comedian Keegan-Michael Key shares why he and Jordan Peele have opted to go the "British route" and end their Comedy Central show Key & Peele at the height of its popularity. 

A TV show about the one man left alive after a virus wipes out the rest of humanity may not sound very funny, but Will Forte saw great comedic potential in the idea. Now he's Emmy nominated for writing and starring in Fox's The Last Man on Earth.

David Crane and Jeffrey Klarik hit the TV jackpot with shows like Friends and Mad About You. They mined their experience of years in network TV to make the Emmy-nominated Showtime satire Episodes, now headed into its fifth season.

Jason Segel says he was terrified to take on the role of writer David Foster Wallace in The End of the Tour, but director James Ponsoldt never doubted him. They tell us about their new film, which follows a journalist on the road with the famed author. 

The 2001 film Wet Hot American Summer tanked at the box office, but acquired a cult following as many members of its ensemble cast went on to have huge careers. Now director David Wain has reunited the entire cast for a new series on Netflix, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.

Filmmakers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia tell us about the secretive, years-long process of making Web Junkie, a documentary about an internet addiction treatment facility for teens in China. Then, the executive producers of the Hulu hit East Los High share how their show is filling a void in the teen media market. 

Filmmaker Benjamin Statler hopes his new documentary Soaked in Bleach will help reopen the Kurt Cobain case. Meanwhile, Courtney Love and her lawyers are attempting to stop his film from being shown in theaters.

Tab Hunter was the ultimate 1950's Hollywood heartthrob. Blond hair, blue eyes, stunning smile...and also gay. The multifaceted star, now nearly 84, tells his story in the new documentary Tab Hunter Confidential, directed by Jeffrey Schwarz. 

When filmmaker Crystal Moselle first saw the long-haired Angulo brothers walking in the Lower East Side, her gut told her to run after them. She and Govinda Angulo, one of the six members of The Wolfpack, tell us how their friendship evolved into an award-winning documentary.

What Happened, Miss Simone? is the first original documentary from Netflix. Director Liz Garbus shares how her Nina Simone project ended up there and tells us about the worldwide journey she traveled to find rare footage of the famous performer.

The new dramedy UnREAL is a major departure from the typical Lifetime fare. The series co-creator Sarah Gertrude Shapiro tells us how her past experience working on The Bachelor led to the creation of a show all about the behind-the-scenes machinations of a reality TV producer.

Comedian Cristela Alonzo created and starred in an ABC sitcom based on her own life -- which made getting canceled after just one season that much harder. She reflects on the past year and tells us why she won't be joining The View.

Journalist Josh Karp tells us why the Orson Welles movie The Other Side of the Wind has been so troubled for decades. And KCRW's Saul Gonzalez checks in on California's latest attempt to keep movie-making in Hollywood. 

Best known for his role at Lieutenant Sulu on Star Trek, George Takei is now the subject of the documentary, To Be Takei. The actor and activist talks about the chaos behind the first Star Trek movie and why William Shatner is like the crazy uncle of the Star Trek family.

If you came up with a hit TV show, would you want your agent to make more money than you? According to agent-turned-producer Gavin Polone, that's exactly what can happen thanks to what's known as the TV package fee. Polone and writer-producer Rob Long help us examine the long-standing system of fees.

As Brett Morgen has learned, people have powerful feelings about the mere idea of his new Kurt Cobain documentary, Montage of Heck. He tells us why Courtney Love first approached him about a film, and how having the cooperation of Love and her daughter, Frances Cobain, doesn't mean he had to give up control.

Brian Grazer has produced some of the most memorable movies of the last 30 years. He tells us how he's adapting to a rapidly changing film world and shares stories from his new book, A Curious Mind.

Showrunner Nahnatchka Khan reflects on a successful freshman season of her ABC comedy Fresh Off the Boat, and KCRW's Matt Holzman meets the top dogs of the new Hungarian movie White God.