MIKE ON KCRW: Who Is Jack Ma, and Why Is Hollywood Going GaGa Over Him?

On The Business' banter, Kim Masters and I discuss top entertainment news stories of the week:

- Hollywood hoping for facetime with Alibaba founder
- Formerly at Fox, Kevin Reilly lands at Turner
- Rich Ross named to run the Discovery Channel

Listen below:





From this Thursday's Hollywood Breakdown, Kim and I discussed Jack Ma's short visit to Los Angeles in the last week of October, and how it attracted a lot of attention in Hollywood, even if Ma hasn't fully laid out his plans in the film industry:

Ma is one of the wealthiest men in China and heads Alibaba, the Amazon of China, which raised $21.8 billion for its September IPO. That kind of money has executives eager to look at securing deals and partnerships with Alibaba Pictures, which may be opening an office in LA. Further down the line, there's speculation that Alibaba may be even looking to buy a U.S. studio. Ma met with leaders at Sony, Paramount and Lionsgate. He left midweek, earlier than some executives were anticipating, but not before catching a Laker's game with WME's Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell.

Listen by clicking below:

MIKE ON KCRW: Talking DreamWorks on "The Business" and Tribute to Joan Rivers on "Hollywood Breakdown"

On Monday's edition of KCRW's The Business, Kim Masters and I discussed Turner Entertainment programming president Michael Wright's move to DreamWorks -- and what's next. Here's the rundown:

- A surprising pick to run DreamWorks. Michael Wright will be leaving the TV world--he was Turner’s president of programming-- to become the CEO of the production company.
- Netflix is paying big bucks for the streaming rights to a show that hasn’t even aired on television yet.

Listen below, including Kim's interview with "Star Trek's" George Takei:





Meanwhile, on "Hollywood Breakdown," Kim and I paid tribute to the late Joan Rivers:

Kim Masters and Michael Schneider remember Joan Rivers and listen to a clip of her interview on KCRW's The Business from 2010. At that time, Rivers was promoting the documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, which showed a tireless, irreverent performer, still working as a stand-up as well as writing books and hosting TV shows including E!'s Fashion Police. She died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Listen by clicking the box below:

Turner's TNT Goes "Boom," as TBS Locates "The Office" Alums

As it heads into its busy Summer launch period, TNT is unveiling a new marketing campaign: "TNT Drama. Boom." Michael Wright, president, head of programming for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM), explains: "It's time to evolve and grow TNT– and that starts with refreshing the brand and evolving our content along with it. All of it is meant to work together to deliver a clear promise to the audience: If you're in the mood for drama that thrills, turn to TNT."

TNT's new original series set for 2015 include "Public Morals," from writer-director-producer-star Edward Burns, described as a "gritty, intense crime drama set in the world of the Vice Division of the New York City Police Department in the 1960s." TNT also has "Proof," a supernatural drama starring Jennifer Beals and Matthew Modine, about a doctor who explores whether there's a afterlife.

Here are the TNT Scripted Series in Development:

Anonymous
Producers: Wild West Picture Show Productions, Peter Billingsley (Iron Man, Sullivan & Son), Vince Vaughn (Sullivan & Son, Wedding Crashers), Victoria Vaughn (Couples Retreat), Chris Collins (Sons of Anarchy, The Wire) Writer: Chris Collins (Sons of Anarchy, The Wire)
When a highly trained, ex-Special Ops soldier uncovers a global cover-up that forces him to go off the grid, he discovers a new purpose helping those who cannot help themselves.

Breed
Producers: Invention Film Co, Nicky Weinstock, Scott Winant (True Blood), John Scott Shepherd (Save Me, Life or Something Like It)
Writer: John Scott Shepherd (Save Me, Life or Something Like It)
This atmospheric, supernatural drama centers on a volatile race of creatures who are committing brutal murders in the Pacific Northwest, and the reluctant FBI investigator who pairs with a female assassin to track them. Breed mixes suspense, excitement and humor to create an exhilarating ride full of unexpected moments and unforgettable characters.

Ed McBain's 87th Precinct
Producers: Donnie Wahlberg (Boston's Finest), Jonathan Baruch, Rob Wolken
One of the longest-running crime series ever published, Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series includes 82 novels. This new series centers on Detective Steve Carella and the 87th Precinct as they investigate the toughest cases while juggling their own personal struggles.

Fix-It Men
Producers: Mark Gordon (Criminal Minds, Grey's Anatomy), Nick Pepper, Joe Carnahan (The Blacklist), John Glenn (Eagle Eye, The Lazarus Project)
Director: Joe Carnahan (The Blacklist)
Writers: John Glenn (Eagle Eye, The Lazarus Project) and Joe Carnahan
Studio: Sonar Entertainment
A team is sent back in time from 2027 to 2014 to disrupt a series of events that will lead to a cataclysmic war in the future – but something goes wrong, trapping them in 2014 Manhattan. Cut off from their time and their families, the team must try to complete their unprecedented, high-stakes mission without any help from the future.

Kali
Producers: Steve McPherson (Wonder Monkey Entertainment), Gonzague Requillart (La Parisienne D'images), Harley Peyton (Dracula, Friends with Benefits)
Writer: Harley Peyton (Dracula, Friends with Benefits)
Awakened on a train with no memory of who she is or how she got there and then discovering that a chip has been implanted in her brain to transform her into a powerful human weapon, Kali must embark on a harrowing journey of survival and redemption. She will find herself at the center of two warring teams fighting to control her as she begins the battle to take back her life. Based on a French web series.

President X
Producers: Greg Berlanti (Arrow, Brothers & Sisters), Nick Wootton (Prison Break, NYPD Blue), Alon Aranya (Betrayal, Hostages), Rob Golenberg (Betrayal)
Writer: Nick Wootton (Prison Break, NYPD Blue)
Studio: Warner Horizon
This conspiracy thriller opens as President Dominic Avery awakens from a 13-month coma. Battered and out-of-office, he realizes that the attempt on his life wasn't from foreign terrorists. It was a homegrown plan. No longer the President, he uses his Detroit-bred cunning to investigate his own murder attempt, unearthing suspects in the new administration, the wealthy political world and even his own family. President X is an engrossing and intense thriller packed with heart-stopping discoveries.

The Shop
Producers: James Middleton (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Jaime Paglia (Eureka), Robbie Thompson (Supernatural)
Writer: Robbie Thompson (Supernatural)
Studio: Universal Cable Productions
Based on characters created by Stephen King, this supernatural thriller centers on The Shop, a mysterious organization that once exploited the pyrokinetic abilities of a young girl named Charlie McGee. Twenty years after bringing the organization to its knees in a blaze of fire, Charlie has been tracked down by one of its former members, Henry Talbot. Talbot introduces Charlie to a group of people just like her, all products of The Shop with their own unique abilities. It turns out The Shop is very much alive, bigger and badder than ever, and its dark experiments are unleashing terrifying new entities on the world. It's now up to Talbot, Charlie and the rest of the team to find The Shop and destroy it for good.

On the TBS side, Turner sure does love "The Office." Not only is Steve Carrell the producer of the new police spoof "Angie Tribeca," but fellow alum Ed Helms and John Krasinski have projects lined up there too.

Besides "Angie Tribeca," starring Rashida Jones, new shows coming to TBS in 2015 include "Buzzy's," about pals who work at a barbershop. David Kohan and Max Mutchnick executive produce. And "Your Family or Mine," which focuses on a different side of young couple's family each week.

Here are the TBS Series in Development:

Good Bread
Producers: Ed Helms and Mike Falbo (Pacific Electric Picture Co.), Pat O'Neill (Knight and Day), Writer: Pat O'Neill (Knight and Day)
From executive producer Ed Helms, Good Bread is a half-hour comedy about a tough but likeable, by-the-book real estate developer forced to partner with an idealistic young woman whose efforts to lead a meaningful, non-cynical life have become a disaster. The show takes place in and around the Good Bread Cafe, which sits at the epicenter of an urban neighborhood teetering on the brink of gentrification, a place where classes, cultures and personalities collide.

Jackass of All Trades
Producer: John Krasinski, Adam Goldworm (Masters of Horror), Seth Fisher (Blumenthal) & Daniel McKey, Sunday Night Productions
Writers: Seth Fisher (Blumenthal) & Daniel McKey
Executive-produced by John Krasinski, this comedy centers on an emotionally stunted adult doing what it takes to provide for his family. He's a Jack-of-all-trades who often gets work from odd jobs online with the help of his genius – or mentally unstable – brother-in-law who lives behind his house.

Jake & Amir
Producers: Ricky Van Veen (College Humor), Ed Helms and Mike Falbo (Pacific Electric Picture Co.), Mike Lisbe & Nate Reger, Amir Blumenfeld & Jake Hurwitz,
Writers: Mike Lisbe & Nate Reger (Cougar Town, Men at Work), Amir Blumenfeld & Jake Hurwitz
Amir Blumenfeld and Jake Hurwitz (better known as Jake & Amir) are the subjects of this odd-couple comedy about two best friends and co-workers: Jake, the sensible "regular guy," and Amir, the obsessive oddball. Together they must navigate the cubicles of their workplace, stand up to the corporate man and try to function with their dysfunctional co-workers, all while maintaining their shenanigans. Based on the most popular and longest-running web series in the history of College Humor, this comedy is being executive-produced by Ed Helms.

Lunch with Vince Vaughn

Vince Vaughn outside the Turner lunch at Del Posto, May 16

One of the highlights of covering the network upfront presentations in New York earlier this month was an annual lunch at Del Posto that Turner Broadcasting throws for the talent, producers and key executives of TNT and TBS. This year, I got to sit at a table with Courteney Cox and Vince Vaughn, among others. Since Vince was right next to me, we struck up a conversation about our kids and about Chicago (where he lives, and where I went to college) and about Los Feliz (and how Maria and I recently watched "Swingers" on Netflix for the first time in years). That got us to chatting about how much Los Feliz (the Derby, R.I.P.) and downtown L.A. has changed -- and we began to talk about Northeast L.A., and some of our favorite spots in Eagle Rock and Highland Park. Vince is the exec producer of the new TBS comedy "Sullivan and Son," but is heading down to Atlanta this summer to star in the new movie "The Internship" with Owen Wilson.



Meanwhile, in what was a total strange coincidence, a few days later I got this email pitch from one of those random P.R. factories that's forever sending me random pitches:

Dear Michael Schneider :

Do you feel frazzled, disconnected, unhappy? Chances are good, either you or someone you know has just lost their zest. Shea Vaughn has discovered the solution – a remarkable blend of wellness training, inspiration and practical advice. For added interest this charismatic personality is also the mother of Vince Vaughn, the award-winning actor and comedian.

We would very much appreciate your help in getting this message out to your audience via your blog. We are sure that many of your readers would greatly benefit from the wealth of knowledge and experience Vaughn shares in her book. Thank you.

If only I had gotten this pitch before lunching with Vince -- it would have been another conversaton, I'm sure.