The Business

Filmmaker Reginald Hudlin recently directed the new documentary ‘The Black Godfather’ for Netflix, but he’s held a lot of other jobs, including writing ‘Black Panther’ comics and running BET...at the same time. He tells us about those years, plus, working with Quentin Tarantino. We’ve also got some goodies from cinematographer Caleb Deschanel on Disney’s new ‘Lion King.’

Actress, director, producer Elizabeth Banks is a member of a very small club: women who make commercial big-studio movies. After directing ‘Pitch Perfect 2’ and a ‘Charlie’s Angels’ reboot set for release this fall, plus producing the heartfelt Hulu comedy ‘Shrill,’ Banks has even bigger ambitions. She talks about getting bored with acting and moving into producing, directing, and making it in the mainstream.

In 1989, a young sailor named Tracy Edwards made history when she skippered the first all-female crew in a round-the-world race aboard a secondhand yacht named Maiden. Twenty-five years later, Edwards learned Maiden had been abandoned, and at the same time, someone wanted to make a film about her. Sailor Tracy Edwards and director Alex Holmes tell us about saving Maiden the boat, and making ‘Maiden’ the movie.

Over the course of its record-breaking 15 seasons, ABC's 'Grey's Anatomy' has never shied away from tough subjects. When a recent script included a scene of a patient undergoing a rape kit exam, the network wanted some changes. 'Grey's Anatomy' showrunner Krista Vernoff and writer Elisabeth Finch tell us how, with an assist from Shonda Rhimes, they got their powerful episode about consent to air as written.

Writer-producer Simon Kinberg has worked on the X-Men movie franchise since 2006. ‘Dark Phoenix’ was his directorial debut. The film got panned by critics and opened to only $33 million in the U.S. We talked to Kinberg a few days after that brutal weekend. He shares his perspective on what went wrong and tells us about the reshoots, release date changes, and working at Fox in the midst of Disney's takeover.

A week after TV writer Liz Feldman lost a family member unexpectedly and found out her fertility treatment had failed again, she took a meeting with some producers, having been told she didn’t need to come with ideas. So she was immersed in loss and blindsided when she was asked for ideas after all. A seasoned improvisor, Feldman delivered. That quick pitch turned into the Netflix series ‘Dead to Me,’ a funny show about grief.

You may have never heard of Clarence Avant, but this enigmatic manager, producer and record executive has touched the lives of a wide array of people you have heard of: Bill Withers, Hank Aaron, Barack Obama. Director Reginald Hudlin tells us about his new Netflix documentary ‘The Black Godfather,’ which profiles the now 88-year-old Clarence Avant, the ultimate unseen mover in music, movies, politics and more.

This week, Jemele Hill tells us about her years at ESPN, where she had a good career until she drew the wrath of the White House by tweeting that Trump is a white supremacist. She thought she was stating the obvious, but eventually, Trump tweeted about her. Jemele Hill tells us about her tumultuous final year at ESPN, becoming a "walking think piece," and what happened next: producing, podcasting and more.  

Growing up in Rockford, Illinois, Bing Liu was obsessed with making skateboarding videos with his friends. Over the course of more than a decade, one of those mini-movies morphed into a feature-length documentary, ‘Minding the Gap.’ This week, as the film is being honored with a Peabody award, we’re revisiting Matt Holzman’s conversation with Liu.

It’s TV staffing season: when writers look for jobs. But this year, writers have fired their agents in their battle over packaging fees. Still, showrunners Mike Royce and Valentina Garza say the seats in the writers rooms will be filled. They tell us about building a writing staff without agents, and Royce gives us an update on 'One Day at a Time.'