The Business

When John Cho got an offer to star in the new movie ‘Searching,’ a thriller set entirely on computer screens, he didn’t have to search for an answer: it was no. Cho explains his initial hesitations about the digital drama, and first-time feature director Aneesh Chaganty tells us how he convinced his dream lead to swipe right on ‘Searching.’

Growing up in Rockford, Illinois--a city outside Chicago that’s seen better days--Bing Liu was obsessed with making skateboarding videos. Over the course of more than a decade, one of those mini-movies morphed into a feature-length documentary. ‘Minding the Gap’ uses 12 years worth of verite footage to tell the story of 3 young men--Zack, Keier, and Liu himself, each coming of age in the shadow of abuse.

Author Kevin Kwan and director Jon M. Chu passionately wanted the movie version of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ to play in theaters. So they turned down a huge offer from Netflix and took their chances with Warner Brothers. Chu and Kwan talk about what they did for love when they made the first major studio movie to feature an all Asian cast in years.

After her first feature premiered at Sundance to strong reviews, director Desiree Akhavan thought finding money to make a second film would be a snap. But after striking out in LA, Akhavan’s quest to make another project ultimately landed her in London. She tells us why she thinks the Brits are more open to her ideas, and talks about her newest film, ‘The Miseducation of Cameron Post.’

A new documentary explores the incredible life of 95-year-old Scotty Bowers--a prolific pansexual pimp to the stars. Bowers says he set up liaisons for celebrities from Cary Grant to Rock Hudson to J. Edgar Hoover--all from his base in a gas station on Hollywood Boulevard. Director Matt Tyrnauer tells us about his film, ‘Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood.’

Late on Friday afternoon, a New Yorker investigation by Ronan Farrow dropped, revealing accusations of misconduct against Leslie Moonves by six women. The CBS board met on Monday and announced that Moonves would remain at work while the board works to hire outside counsel to conduct an investigation.

As showrunner Marti Noxon was preparing to film her new series ‘Dietland’ on AMC, a former colleague from another AMC show, ‘Mad Men,’ accused series creator Matthew Weiner of sexually harassing her. Noxon decided to make a statement in support of the writer, Kater Gordon. Noxon tells us why she felt the need to speak up and talks about her two new series-- ‘Dietland' and ‘Sharp Objects.’

‘Blockers ’is comedy writer Kay Cannon’s directorial debut. When she was hired for the project, she had some work to do on a script about girls, written by a bunch of guys. 'Blockers' is now out on DVD, and we're revisiting our conversation with Cannon. She tells us how she made ‘Blockers’ funnier and more feminist.

Debra Granik’s new movie, ‘Leave No Trace’ follows a father and daughter living completely off the grid, in the woods. Granik could have cast a big name to play the daughter, and perhaps gotten a bigger budget, but she says that’s not how her style of filmmaking works. Instead, she went with an unknown teenager from New Zealand.

Courtney Kemp, creator of the Starz drama ‘Power,’ is one of the few women of color running her own TV show. With the push for increased diversity in the industry, Kemp says it’s easier for networks to open their wallets than their hearts. As 'Power' returns for a 5th season, Kemp gets real about being a parent and a showrunner, and how she wishes her series had been marketed differently in earlier seasons.