The Business

Is that laughter coming from your television fresh or canned?  We talk to Chuck Lorre, creator of some of the most popular sitcoms in TV history.  Plus, USC students practice the art of the pitch--and we ain't talking about baseball.

We use the funny new feature film, The TV Set, to show how real television pilots fight their way to the little screen. Plus, a conversation with the agent-turned-author of Hollywood Girls Club, the deliciously salacious and sometimes true novel about women and power in Hollywood.

For the past 30 years, Stan Winston's Studio has built some of the scariest and most memorable film effects by hand.  But are digital effects rendering Winston's old-fashioned movie magic obsolete--or indispensable?

HBO's hit show Entourage goes deep inside the business of show business. This week, we go deep inside Entourage with the show's creator, Doug Ellin.

The Television Academy changes its Emmy rules to make them more fair--and less embarrassing.  Also, so you think you've got the pipes to make a bundle voicing TV commercials?  You'll know for sure as we give voiceover the once-over.

The Swifty Lazar of kid's agents shares horror stories of Mafia moms, Clearasil emergencies and casting for the role of the 'chubby kid.' Then, what it means when your kid wants to be a star.  Finally, all scripts are not created equal, so why do they all look like?

A wave of Wall Street money washes into Hollywood, but will the investors be taken to the cleaners?  Then, one man from the street puts up his personal money for a slice of an indie film. And, the writer speaks again!

We go to Threat Level Red as we look at filming abroad in a time of terrorism and political unrest.

Hollywood's littered with rich guys who've thought they could beat the game, but is producer Bob Yari the mark or the hustler?

What do you do when your venerable music festival is in trouble? You turn Ozzfest into Freefest!

How does Hollywood rank on the global trust barometer? Also, everyone -- in Hollywood -- hates novelist Chris Moore, and the seventh conversation in our series on the business of writing.

Mr. Hollywood goes to Washington to launch a major charm offensive. Plus, the sixth conversation in our series on the business of writing.

The good news is, you've finally landed that break-out part.   The bad news, they're covering your face with a squid.

The studio lions throw themselves to the Christians. We hear how -- and why -- in a conversation with Jonathan Bock, to the man who helps preach Hollywood's holy word.