Pam Grier on ‘Them’; Comcast prepares bid for NBA TV rights

Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down the latest NBA news at Warner Bros. Discovery. They also discuss activist investor Nelson Peltz’s decision to sell his entire stake in Disney, and why Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos thinks last summer’s biggest theatrical hits would have fared as well on the streamer.  Plus, Masters speaks to the head of domestic distribution at Paramount, Chris Aronson. The long-serving executive explains why he believes that movie theaters will survive despite industry-wide gloom over waning box office numbers, and he argues that the lack of consensus about the length of the theatrical window isn't helping consumers or studios.

A frighteningly lackluster summer box office, human ScarJo dukes it out with OpenAI’s ‘definitely-not-supposed-to-sound-like-ScarJo’ ScarJo, and the movies making noise at this year’s Cannes Film Festival–not necessarily in a good way. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down this week’s news in a special Spring Megabanter episode of The Business.

Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down the biggest stories to come out of the 2024 Upfronts. They also take a look at the latest streaming bundle announcement between Netflix, Apple TV+, and Peacock. Plus, Masters speaks with Jane Schoenbrun about their film, I Saw the TV Glow. The director talks about how growing up in the suburbs was the inspiration for the sinister setting in their A24-backed film, produced by Emma Stone and husband Dave McCary. Schoenbrun also shares why the nuances of gender and identity play a major role in their work, and how they realized they were transgender after taking a mushroom trip with friends.

Kim Masters and Matt Belloni discuss the latest at Warner Bros. Discovery following the company’s Q1 earnings report. They also dive into the announced streaming package bundling Max, Disney+, and Hulu. Plus, Eric Deggans speaks to writer Russell T Davies about the new season of Doctor Who on Disney+. Davies talks about casting Sex Education’s Ncuti Gatwa as the latest Doctor, why having Disney on his side is such a big deal, and he explains why he thinks writing Doctor Who is one of the hardest jobs in television.

Kim Masters and Matt Belloni discuss why Comcast’s proposed bid for NBA TV rights put Warner Bros. Discovery in a tight spot. They also get into the latest at Paramount as a potential merger inches closer.  Plus, Eric Deggans speaks to legendary actress Pam Grier about her storied career in filmmaking and appearing in Prime Video’s horror anthology series, Them. The pioneering female action star explains the origins of the term “Blaxploitation” and shares how she accidentally left Quentin Tarantino hanging for three weeks after he sent her his script for Jackie Brown.

Kim Masters and Matt Belloni examine the surprising decision made by the New York State Court of Appeals to overturn Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction.  Plus, Masters speaks to writer Justin Kuritzkes about the rollout of his first effort at writing a movie, Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers. He talks about how the Zendaya-led film was inspired by a particular US Open match that turned him into a tennis obsessive. And he shares how he and his wife, Celine Song — known for her Oscar-nominated Past Lives — manage to keep their work separate from their relationship.

Kim Masters and Matt Belloni take a look at Jeff Skoll’s decision to close Participant Media after 20 years. And the banter partners break down why two congress members sent a letter addressed to the heads of Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery about their in-development joint sports streamer affectionately nicknamed “Spulu.”  Plus, Masters speaks to Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz about their investigative documentary series, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV. The filmmakers talk about working with Business Insider contributor Kate Taylor to uncover years of inappropriate behavior that took place on the sets of Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider. They also share how Investigation Discovery went from ordering a three episode series to five episodes with more on the way as the cameras continue rolling.

Kim Masters and Matt Belloni dive into the challenges faced by legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola as he struggles to find distribution for his self-financed passion project, Megalopolis. The Banter partners also take a look at the risks behind David Ellison’s bid to acquire Paramount parent company National Amusements. Plus, Eric Deggans speaks to comedian Mike Birbiglia and documentary filmmaker Eddie Schmidt about their new special, Good One: A Show About Jokes. They share how they approached adapting a popular Vulture podcast into their Peacock special, and talk about sticking with the truth in autobiographical comedy following allegations that Hasan Minaj falsified elements of his award-winning special Homecoming King.

Kim Masters and Matt Belloni take a quick look at Ari Emanuel-led Endeavor going private, and the banter partners break down the outcome of the long battle between Nelson Peltz and Disney.  Plus, on this special episode of The Business, Kim Masters speaks to director James Hawes about his film One Life, which tells the story of Sir Nicholas Winton, who saved more than 600 children, including Masters’ own mother, from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. Hawes talks about how after years as a television director, he found his feature directorial debut in One Life, and Masters shares her deeply personal family stories connected to Winton’s rescue efforts.

Kim Masters and Matt Belloni report on the latest in the Disney proxy battle, and the banter partners examine the outrage of NBC staff following the brief, yet confounding, hiring of former RNC chair Ronna McDaniel. Plus, Masters speaks to writers Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo about their FX limited series, Shōgun. The husband and wife creative team talk about how they’ve been granted more control writing for television over feature films. They also explain why the risk FX took on their very expensive—and heavily subtitled—period epic tops any hurdles they experienced on the show’s massive production.