The Business

Disney buys Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. Is it a super deal or super dud?  Plus, the division and drama continues in Hollywood's labor unions, and two top TV producers and their money-making program they call the "total engagement experience." Programming note: This program will be not air on KCRW as it will be pre-empted by special Labor Day programming. It will be available as a podcast and on demand, and will be archived online.

The producers of the hit show Ghost Whisperer on making great TV…and a successful marriage.  Plus, we talk to the newly-elected president of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

India's Reliance Big just made a major investment in Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks. Has another sucker landed on our shores, or has Hollywood finally met its match? And while India is coming to Hollywood, one Hollywood production went to India –  tales from Bombay with the producers of Bollywood Hero.

Documentaries used to be relegated to PBS and college classrooms, but these days, they're just as liable to come to theater near you.  We talk to Sheila Nevins, who's had a big part in growing of the nonfiction business as head of HBO Docs for the past three decades. Plus, we revisit our session with Hollywood therapist Dennis Palumbo.

This week, we look at the arcane, historical, fantastical and off-color jargon of the movie set.  Plus, when good executives recut bad films...inside the mind of a cinematic scissorhands. 

This week, The Business goes to "The Con," the annual nerd-fest know as Comic-Con that’s become a major marketing stop for Hollywood.  Plus, a new documentary looks at Ozploitation...

Twilight gave a faltering new movie studio an extreme makeover. We talk with Rob Friedman, the chief of Summit Entertainment.

From Michigan to New Mexico, the production tax incentives derby is on in a big, big way.  We talk to one of the producers of Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino, which moved from Minnesota to Michigan because of incentives, and two state legislators on opposite sides of the incentives debate.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has inducted 134 new members. We talk to one of funniest, actress Jane Lynch. Plus, the Supreme Court has cleared the way for cable companies to record programs so you don't have to.  What does it all mean for the television business and TV viewers?

Paramount shuffles its top executives and Universal may be next. Sony cancels a high-profile project just before cameras roll and Fox balks at the budget of their new Denzel Washington thriller.  What the hell’s happening to the movie business?

In a surprise move, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that next year there will be ten Best Picture Oscar nominees, instead of five.  AMPAS President Sid Ganis explains why.  Kind of.  Plus, producers stand up and say, "I am somebody!" at their guild's new Produced By conference. We speak with motion picture and TV producer and guild president Marshall Herskovitz.

Even in the age of Obama, black writers in Hollywood find there's no such as thing as post-racial, and a new Writers' Guild report concurs.

The changing entertainment industry and tanking economy have combined to put people below the line under the gun. We talk about what’s making it so hard and how its affecting the people on the ground with a veteran gaffer, a cameraman and an agent for below-the-line people.

Hollywood's video game nerds come out of the closet with a hip new event for less game savvy show biz types. Plus, executives are often maligned for re-cutting films, but sometimes they save filmmakers from themselves.

Network TV scheduling turns into a brutal game of musical chairs. We talk to the creator of the NBC show Medium, which jumped to CBS at the last minute to grab a seat.

A shaky economy and falling viewership meant nervous networks at the upfronts. Also, many new shows will be in hi-def. That’s great for viewers, but what does it mean for the people who make TV?

Why have the studios decided to get back in the video game business? Plus, even the biggest producer in the business is playing games. A chat with Jerry Bruckheimer about his new video game company. 

NBC rolls out its new season with the help of a new programming consultant -- the advertisers. We talk to network co-chair Marc Graboff. Plus, massive changes in the way the business does business is causing even more stress than usual in a stress-filled town. The therapist who has his finger on the pulse of Hollywood says it's definitely racing.

We look at selling Hollywood on the Hill with MPAA chief Dan Glickman. On April 21, the MPAA held its second "Business of Show Business" symposium in Washington, DC.  Plus, could bad news for big-budget studio films for adults be good news for cheaper indie fare?  We talk to Michael London, producer of Milk, The Visitor and Sideways.

A recent spate of films have scored underwhelming results at the box office. But is the death of big-budget studio movies for grown-ups greatly exaggerated? Plus, how do you rake in the biggest April opening in box office history?