The Business

The Netflix series 'Unbelievable' is based on a true story about how one team of cops pursued a serial rapist while another disbelieved and bullied a victim. Showrunner Susannah Grant tells us about turning a Pulitzer Prize winning news story into a scripted series. She also shares her thoughts on how to depict rape on screen and talks about speaking with the victim whose story is at the heart of the series.

Hot off Toronto, where ‘Hustlers’ won raves, Lorene Scafaria tells us about her fight to direct the movie, which is based on her script about a real-life group of strippers who robbed their Wall Street clientele. She finally won that battle, then the picture got dropped by Annapurna and then saved by STX. Scafaria also talks Jennifer Lopez's intense training to do that insane pole dance. 

Five months after firing their agents, members of the Writers Guild are still at war with the major agencies over packaging fees. In the heat of the ongoing union election, we explore a couple of perspectives on the two groups competing for Guild leadership. 

For years, Ryan O’Connell was in the closet: not because he’s gay, which he is, but because he was ashamed of having cerebral palsy.  His cover? He’d been hit by a car--which was true. But eventually, that lie took a toll. With his Netflix series ‘Special,’ O’Connell is out in a big way. He tells us about the 4-year struggle to find a home for his autobiographical comedy, which is now nominated for 4 Emmys. 

When Ben Berman set out to make ‘The Amazing Johnathan Documentary,’ he figured it would be a poignant film about an ailing comedian and magician. But very quickly, Berman found himself wondering: was he making a movie about Jonathan, or was Johnathan roping him into a project of his own. Berman shares the crazy story of making ‘The Amazing Johnathan Documentary,’ which is now available on Hulu. 

Julianne Moore joins us with her husband, writer-director Bart Freundlich, to talk about their careers and their new drama, ‘After the Wedding,’ the fourth film they’ve made together. Moore offers some advice to actors just starting out, tells us how she picks her projects, and she and Freundlich discuss the struggle that comes with trying to get an indie melodrama like ‘After the Wedding’ financed.

When Gurinder Chadha set out to make a movie based on journalist Sarfraz Manzoor’s memoir about the effect of Bruce Springsteen music on his life, she had one small problem. The movie couldn’t work without Springsteen’s songs. So when she and Manzoor snagged a moment with The Boss on a red carpet, they took their shot. Incredibly, it worked. Chadha and Manzoor tell the tale of their film ‘Blinded by the Light.'

When filmmaker Lulu Wang set out to write and direct a personal movie based on a real-life family saga, she had a clear vision for an American film, largely set in China, mostly in Mandarin. But buyers weren’t biting. Wang tells us about her circuitous route to finally making ‘The Farewell,’ which has turned into the indie success story of the summer.

In Lynn Shelton’s new comic caper film 'Sword of Trust,' Marc Maron plays a pawnbroker who gets caught up in a scheme to sell a Civil War artifact of dubious provenance. Shelton and Maron tell us about making the movie in 12 days in Alabama, and about shooting an extended, improvised, soul-baring monologue in the back of a sweltering box truck...for nine hours. 

Sarah Scott was a working actress in Hollywood with the usual ups and downs of a life in the entertainment industry. But, last year while shooting a pilot, Scott says she was harassed and assaulted by a fellow actor. She took the case to her union and the result was not completely satisfying.