The Business

In a surprise move, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that next year there will be ten Best Picture Oscar nominees, instead of five.  AMPAS President Sid Ganis explains why.  Kind of.  Plus, producers stand up and say, "I am somebody!" at their guild's new Produced By conference. We speak with motion picture and TV producer and guild president Marshall Herskovitz.

Even in the age of Obama, black writers in Hollywood find there's no such as thing as post-racial, and a new Writers' Guild report concurs.

The changing entertainment industry and tanking economy have combined to put people below the line under the gun. We talk about what’s making it so hard and how its affecting the people on the ground with a veteran gaffer, a cameraman and an agent for below-the-line people.

Hollywood's video game nerds come out of the closet with a hip new event for less game savvy show biz types. Plus, executives are often maligned for re-cutting films, but sometimes they save filmmakers from themselves.

Network TV scheduling turns into a brutal game of musical chairs. We talk to the creator of the NBC show Medium, which jumped to CBS at the last minute to grab a seat.

A shaky economy and falling viewership meant nervous networks at the upfronts. Also, many new shows will be in hi-def. That’s great for viewers, but what does it mean for the people who make TV?

Why have the studios decided to get back in the video game business? Plus, even the biggest producer in the business is playing games. A chat with Jerry Bruckheimer about his new video game company. 

NBC rolls out its new season with the help of a new programming consultant -- the advertisers. We talk to network co-chair Marc Graboff. Plus, massive changes in the way the business does business is causing even more stress than usual in a stress-filled town. The therapist who has his finger on the pulse of Hollywood says it's definitely racing.

We look at selling Hollywood on the Hill with MPAA chief Dan Glickman. On April 21, the MPAA held its second "Business of Show Business" symposium in Washington, DC.  Plus, could bad news for big-budget studio films for adults be good news for cheaper indie fare?  We talk to Michael London, producer of Milk, The Visitor and Sideways.

A recent spate of films have scored underwhelming results at the box office. But is the death of big-budget studio movies for grown-ups greatly exaggerated? Plus, how do you rake in the biggest April opening in box office history?