Strictly Business

On today’s episode, Variety’s Matt Donnelly details his Variety cover story on Ben Affleck as the multihyphenate returns to the spotlight as an industry player. Affleck also breaks down the working model of Artists Equity, the production company he runs with Matt Damon that has taken a United Artists-like vow to share the wealth with creative talent.
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Stars and creatives behind buzzy shows coming to Broadway – including “A Few Good Men,” “Evita” and “Dolly: A True Original Musical” – gathered Oct. 5 to talk shop and compare notes about working on the Main Stem at Variety’s annual The Business of Broadway breakfast, presented by City National Bank. “Pete Hegseth makes Jessep look like a folk singer,” Whitford says of the rock-ribbed Marine he plays in the upcoming revival of “A Few Good Men.”
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On today’s episode, Jason Klarman, chief digital officer for Fox News Media, discusses the channel’s milestone 30th anniversary that arrives on Oct. 7. The veteran marketer and programmer who was part of the channel's launch team talks about the brand’s enduring “challenger” mentality, how it's dealing with upstart competitors and how it’s courting younger viewers via streaming and social platforms.
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Dan Houser, co-founder and former head writer of Rockstar Games, details his vision for building a new kind of media company rooted in transmedia storytelling across games, TV, film and audio fiction. Houser is the mastermind of the original "GTA" and "Red Dead Redemption" gaming franchises.
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On today's episode, as part of Variety's annual Business of Broadway celebration, veteran stage producer Sue Frost discusses her work in bringing original musicals to life, including such acclaimed Broadway productions as "Memphis" and "Come From Away." Frost, who is also chair-elect of the Broadway League, explains why her Junkyard Dogs Productions banner is devoted exclusively to launching original tuners, including "The Heart," which opens Oct. 8 at the Roundabout Theatre. "It's a crazy business model, but somebody's got to do it," Frost says.
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