The Business

Journalist Robert Draper tells us about his profile of Kate del Castillo, the Mexican actress who served as the go-between for Sean Penn's infamous meeting with El Chapo. Then, a conversation with showrunners Michelle Ashford and Ilene Chaiken. They talk about their varied career paths that led them to overseeing their own shows.

Early in his career, Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim declared he would never make documentaries. He tells us about the bad experience in Hollywood that made him have a change of heart, and talks about his newest film, He Named Me Malala , which profiles activist Malala Yousafzai and her family.

Krisha Fairchild left LA in the 1980’s when her acting career failed to launch. Thirty years later, her nephew wrote and directed a film and cast her in the title role. Now, she's finally having her Hollywood moment. And Steve Harvey tells us how he's fought back against network execs who wanted to pigeonhole him in "black TV."

Writer-producer Kenya Barris tells us how he runs his writers room on his ABC show Black-ish , and what led him to write a much talked about recent episode about police brutality. 

It's been two decades since Sally Field headlined a film, but now she stars as the title role in Michael Showalter's new indie dramedy, Hello, My Name Is Doris . Field and Showalter share why they were drawn to the project, and how they filmed it in under a month. 

Terence Winter, the co-creator and showrunner of the new HBO series Vinyl, tells us how his roots in Brooklyn and stint practicing law both helped him -- in a roundabout way -- land big writing jobs in Hollywood.

When Douglas McGrath set out to make a documentary about Mike Nichols, he found the iconic director most excited to talk about his early work, up to and including perhaps his most defining movie, The Graduate.

Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller has had a successful and exceptionally varied career. He tells us what all his films have in common, despite the differing subject matter.

Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski have written movie scripts about real people like Ed Wood and Larry Flynt, but they weren't TV guys until they got an offer to tackle the trial of the century.

Director Todd Haynes and producer Christine Vachon trace tell us about the long journey to make their newest movie, Carol . Despite their past success, they say they still face resistance in the industry whenever they pitch a movie about women without any male leads.  

Writer-director Adam McKay is known for his Will Ferrell comedies like Anchorman and Talladega Nights . He’s gone a different direction with The Big Short , and now the film about the 2008 financial collapse is up for five Oscars. 

Director Lenny Abrahamson didn’t expect author Emma Donoghue would choose him to make a film based on her bestselling novel Room . Abrahamson tells us how he made his pitch to Donoghue -- and she explains why it worked.

First-time director László Nemes knew it would be tough to find funding for his intensely realistic Holocaust film, but he had no idea the level of resistance he'd face. He tells us how he went from having the movie no one wanted to touch to being a Cannes darling and Oscar contender.

Filmmaker Andrew Haigh had a difficult time funding his first film, a small indie drama called Weekend. When that movie charmed critics, everything changed. He tells us about his new film 45 Years.

Kim Masters, Michael Schneider of TV Guide Magazine and Matthew Belloni of the Hollywood Reporter, join forces for a 2015 year-in-review. They take on the year of the woman (or not), the fight over the future of Viacom, feast or famine at the box office, peak TV and more.

Rapper, actor and producer Ice Cube long hoped to make a movie about N.W.A., the hip hop group that gave him his start. Straight Outta Compton faced hurdles and backlash but that was no surprise to Cube. He tells us how he finally got the story to the screen.

Creed director Ryan Coogler wasn't even born when most of the Rocky movies were made, but he fell in love with the franchise thanks to his father. Coogler tells us how he went from football player to filmmaker, and how he convinced Sylvester Stallone to go another round with Creed.

Bill Pohlad has spent the past decade producing award-winners like Brokeback Mountain and 12 Years a Slave . With Love & Mercy , a unique Brian Wilson bio-pic, he comes back to directing after a 24 year hiatus.

KCRW's Saul Gonzalez checks in on the headshot -- still a staple of the industry despite changing technology. And executive producer Betsy Beers tells us why she's sick of talking about diversity and how an all-woman producing duo locked down Thursday nights on ABC.

Despite a shrinking budget and difficult subject matter, director Tom McCarthy pulled together a stellar ensemble including Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton and Rachel McAdams to portray the unglamorous work of investigative reporting for his new movie Spotlight.

Nick Hornby has seen his novels like High Fidelity and About a Boy made into films. He's also adapted other writers' work for movies, including An Education, Wild, and now, Brooklyn, an immigrant love story already generating Oscar buzz.

Bryan Cranston and Trumbo director Jay Roach tell us how they ended up making a biopic about blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and what drew them to the story of Hollywood’s darkest hour.

Director Leslee Udwin was in India as a court blocked the broadcast of her documentary about an infamous gang rape and murder in that country. Her film, India's Daughter , remains banned in India to this day. She tells us about putting herself at risk and in debt to make the film. 

Director Lenny Abrahamson didn’t expect author Emma Donoghue would choose him to make a film based on her bestselling novel Room . Abrahamson tells us how he made his pitch to Donoghue, and she explains why it worked.

Early in his career, Oscar-winning director Davis Guggenheim declared he would never make documentaries. He tells us about the bad experience in Hollywood that made him have a change of heart, and talks about his newest film, He Named Me Malala , which profiles activist Malala Yousafzai and her family.