Veteran film strategist Kevin Goetz has conducted many test film screenings over his forty years in the industry. But please don’t ask him to reveal his secrets: “They'll look at me and go, ‘So Kevin, what about that movie?’ And I just look at them with a very, very blank stare and say, ‘You know better,’ jokes Goetz. “Or I'll say, ‘Great. Ask me how your movie is… Great.’” Goetz shares why he pivoted from a steady career in acting to his decades-long journey into entertainment research. The veteran analyst also sheds light on the science and art behind audience testing. Plus, he and Masters swap stories from some infamous screenings over the years.

As the Trump istration targets NPR’s federal funding, the network and three Colorado stations are fighting back in court with a First Amendment lawsuit. Meanwhile, Hollywood is seeing signs of life at the box office. Memorial Day weekend pulled in $326 million (a huge jump from last year’s $132 million) driven by a crowded slate of new releases. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down the biggest stories coming out of the holiday weekend. Public radio v. the president? As President Trump moves to cut NPR’s federal funding, the network and three Colorado stations hit back with a First Amendment lawsuit. “Objectively speaking, I think this is a good strategy,” says Masters. “It seems to me that the lawsuit, I would hope, has every chance of success as many such lawsuits against this istration … are succeeding, at least in the early going.” We are so back? Memorial Day weekend provided some relief for studios and theater owners alike, bringing in $326 million at the box office compared to last year’s $132 million. “According to The New York Times, there have been 20 movies in wide release in April and May, which is a 25% increase from the same period a year ago,” says Belloni. “That's what the difference is. There are more movies coming to the box office, and when you have more movies, you have more chances for hits.” Nobody gets left behind? The biggest driver of this year’s box office surge is Disney’s decision to move the live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch from streaming to theaters. “Lilo and Stitch was initially envisioned as a direct to Disney+ movie,” Belloni notes. “They reconfigured it, put it in theaters, and it opened to over $180 million domestic.”

A campaign to build housing on the site of the soon-to-be-shuttered airport is drawing pushback from opponents of new development.

The latest film releases include Karate Kid: Legends, The Phoenician Scheme, Bring Her Back, and Mountainhead. Weighing in are Alison Willmore, film critic for NY Magazine and Vulture, and Tim Grierson, senior U.S. critic for Screen International and author of This Is How You Make a Movie.

The popularity of Shohei Ohtani is encouraging fans to try Japanese food at Dodger Stadium.

The White House calls a wave of lawsuits a threat to the will of the people. Is Trump welcoming those challenges? Plus, campuses tackle a new diversity problem.

For more than 80 years, the Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz has been a home for those seeking answers to the big questions of life.

Since the age of five, Lucia Micarelli has been immersed in the world of classical music. Her early training at Juilliard laid a strong foundation for a remarkable career that seamlessly bridges multiple artistic disciplines. Over her years as a violinist, she has collaborated with an impressive array of artists — including Josh Groban, Lang Lang, Ian Anderson, Chris Botti, and Barbra Streisand — showcasing her versatility in genres ranging from classical, to jazz, to rock, and points beyond. Micarelli ventured into acting in 2010, making her debut in HBO’s Emmy-winning series Treme. While working in New Orleans on Treme, she discovered that music is less about perfection and more about fostering connection and community. Her latest album, Anthropology is due on June 6 and offers (among other stylistic detours) a fresh take on Nina Simone’s "Be My Husband.” More: Musician Lucia Micarelli talks New Orleans and Nina Simone (The Treatment, 2025) For her Treat, Micarelli reflects on her first experience with Beethoven's Opus 130, at the age of 15. Along with the cavatina, it's a piece that remains close to her heart. She marvels at Beethoven's groundbreaking approach to string quartets, how he was able to elevate the sound and complexity that four players could produce. She highlights how Beethoven’s piece was far ahead of its time. How — despite his age and deafness — Beethoven defied limitations, composing music that was initially misunderstood, but has since been celebrated as a masterwork. More: Lucia Micarelli: An Evening with Lucia Micarelli (The Treatment, 2017) This segment has been edited and condensed for clarity. When I was maybe 15 years old, I heard for the first time one of Beethoven's late string quartets – Opus 130. The slow movement from that, specifically the cavatina, is still one of my top five pieces of music ever, to this day. String quartets had never been written in that style before, so Beethoven just completely changed the whole landscape of the way that string quartets were written and the amount of sound, richness, and harmonic complexity that could happen within a string quartet with only four players. [Beethoven] blew that whole form so far open. There's a record of Schubert hearing Opus 130 on his deathbed and saying, 'Well, what is left for any of us to ever compose?' Beethoven wrote those late quartets at the end of his life. He was really struggling. He was very, very deaf and really struggling with his health, but still trying. It wasn't entirely well-received at the time. People just thought it was so, so odd and so weird. It was only way later that people realized this was absolutely just leagues ahead, just light years ahead of its time — musically and compositionally. He wrote in his journal, something along the lines of, 'I feel that I am on the threshold of some possibly great things.' And he was Beethoven! He was already Beethoven. He was already the goat. So that combination of what he, as an artist, was going through and still pushing himself to do and then, of course, what he did do… All of those pieces and then specifically, the cavatina is just really, really beautiful. Oddly so simple, but haunting. You should go check it out. I recommend the Guarneri [Eastern] quartet recording of it, just because that was the first one that I heard. I'll never forget listening to that recording in a car when I was 15, with my string quartet in the car with me at the time, and all of us just needing to pull over and have some quiet time. We were just blown away by the immensity of the work and how beautiful he made four lines sound.

Actor Forrest Whitaker’s work speaks volumes without him ever having to say a word. This is true of his Oscar-winning turn as dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006) and his portrayal of a serene hitman in the Jim Jarmusch helmed Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999). It’s also the case in his latest role as real life crime boss “Bumpy” Johnson in the fourth season of the MGM+ series Godfather of Harlem. Alongside his acting chops, Whitaker is an accomplished director of films including Hope Floats and Waiting to Exhale. He also produced Ryan Coogler’s debut feature Fruitvale Station, among others. Whitaker tells The Treatment about how exciting it is to have civil rights icons like Malcolm X and Adam Clayton Powell play big roles in Godfather of Harlem, the code “Bumpy” Johnson lived by, and why portraying Johnson took so much out of him.

The Workers Club co-founder Adam Cameron could talk about denim all day long. It is, afterall, the cornerstone of his sustainable fashion line. Cameron founded the brand with his wife Charlotte 10 years ago, and has committed to growing it gradually — adding carefully crafted core wardrobe pieces as an antidote to fast fashion. The line now has ready-to-wear and made-to-order options at its London shop. Cameron tells The Treatment about the origin of the line’s name, his excitement about a forthcoming made-to-order denim suit, and an LA trunk show in the near future.

The late actor Paul Reubens sat for more than 40 hours of interviews with documentarian Matt Wolf, whose two-part series Pee-wee as Himself is now showing on HBO. As viewers can see, getting at the man behind the beloved character was not always a walk in the park: “Some conflicts between us were genuinely interpersonal,” says Wolf. “But I would say most of it wasn't about me, and I included these barbed exchanges between us in the film because I felt like those really reflected Paul wrestling with himself; debating how much he was willing to show and share his authentic self with the world.” Wolf explains how his interest in overlooked artists and forgotten stories led to his portrait of the man behind Pee-wee Herman. He also talks about Reubens’ struggle with his sexuality, and reveals why HBO pushed for a two-part series to tell the late actor’s story.

“The appeasement continues unabated,” Matt Belloni observes. By appeasement, Belloni is referring to recent moves by several media organizations to get into the good graces of the current U.S. presidential istration: Bob Iger’s recent White House visit to unveil plans for Disney Abu Dhabi, Richard Grennell’s controversial appointment to Live Nation’s Board of Directors , and seemingly everything that Shari Redstone is doing behind the scenes to ensure a successful Paramount-Skydance merger. To the latter point, CBS News president Wendy McMahon has resigned , marking the second high-profile departure from the company as pressure builds around Paramount Global’s settlement talks with President Trump. But with senators watching the Skydance merger closely, is Redstone running out of moves? Kim Masters and Belloni are at your service with their deep dive into all of it. House of Mouse trap? While overseas, Trump praised Iger’s plans for a Disney park in Abu Dhabi, then promptly insinuated that ABC News could face another lawsuit over their reporting on the gift of a 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar. “I would say [it’s] yet more proof appeasement is not working that well with this particular person,” says Masters. Executive exodus? As Shari Redstone fights to salvage the Skydance deal, mounting pressure from Trump’s CBS feud forced McMahon’s departure. “She said publicly that she could not tolerate the pressure to apologize to Trump," explains Masters. “And this is Trump, you know? I would call it extortion.” Deal or ??? The Paramount-Trump settlement has drawn warnings from Democratic senators about potential criminal conduct if Redstone caves to payout demands. There is also a healthy amount of skepticism around her claims of recusal while her family stands to gain billions. “Shari is in a very, very tough spot here,” Belloni notes. “The alternative, if she does not get this deal done, is pretty perilous. This company could go bankrupt. Skydance and the Ellisons are just sitting there waiting to take over this company. And for now, it's in a limbo.”

President Trump invites a few high rolling guests to dinner. Will there be political costs for Trump’s handling of Ukraine? Plus, should we regulate temptation?

After the January fires displaced and scattered Palisades High’s seniors across LA, one student focuses on making prom a night to .

Medical schools must address unprofessional behavior early, as student misconduct often predicts future disciplinary issues and patient harm.

With a career spanning decades, actress Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor consistently demonstrates a commitment to storytelling that infuses depth, nuance, and authenticity into each of her performances. Her talent has garnered multiple award nominations — including an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Oracene Price in the critically acclaimed 2021 film King Richard and a near-concurrent Emmy nod for her role in the HBO series Lovecraft Country. Ellis-Taylor’s more recent endeavors include her emotionally captivating performance in Ava DuVernay’s 2024 feature Origin, and an equally commanding ing role in RaMell Ross’ Nickel Boys — released later the same year. More: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor on holding back emotion, justice in Nickel Boys, and her family’s connection to the Jim Crow South (The Treatment, 2025) For her Treat, Ellis-Taylor shares a deeply personal reflection on the profound influence of the D. Danyelle Thomas book of essays The Day God Saw Me as Black. The book powerfully echoes Ellis-Taylor’s own experiences growing up as a queer woman in the Baptist Church in southwest Mississippi, where she faced the twin challenges of entrenched misogyny and the expectations of women’s subservience. Thomas’s work offered Ellis-Taylor a profound sense of validation and comfort, articulating the unspoken struggles, emotions, and resilience of Black women with authenticity and truth. Ellis-Taylor contributed the book’s foreword, highlighting how its message resonates deeply with her spiritual and personal growth. This segment has been edited and condensed for clarity. I want to talk about a book called The Day God Saw Me as Black — a new book by [D.] Danyelle Thomas. It is a book of essays about her experience of being a woman, a young woman growing up in the church, and her path to finding herself in a space that maligned her, that rejected her, that refused her whole self. That book means so much to me because it is a reflection of how I felt growing up in the Baptist Church in southwest Mississippi and feeling, particularly as someone who was a queer woman, knowing that I was attracted to other girls, and also feeling like I don't understand this misogyny that's happened. Why? Why do women have to be subservient to men? Why do women have to submit themselves to a man? And being eight years old and thinking that. The Day God Saw Me as Black by author D. Danyelle Thomas. Photo credit: Row House Publishing She has an incredible mind, Danyelle Thomas. I learned about her during lockdown. I did a film called The Clark Sisters, and she was able to talk about the minds of those women. I think that's kind of what I wanted – trying to do a little bit, you know? And what I'm doing is not to be a product of what you think is my talent, but I want to be an expression of my mind. People portray Black women like they don't think. It tarries in, as a church term, it tarries in a Black woman's mind, the unspoken, the unsaid, that place that she doesn't want you to reach, but it is hers and hers alone. So this book is the language for how I felt as a child, and it's my Treat.

Despite many arguments to the contrary, TV-powerhouses Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino don’t think they have a “brand.” The Emmy-winning creators of the beloved series Gilmore Girls and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel have instead latched onto one producer’s broader description: “spiky and eccentric.” They’ve certainly applied these sensibilities to their latest show, the Prime Video series Étoile, starring Luke Kirby and Charlotte Gainsbourg. The series centers two ballet companies — one American, one French — that exchange their star dancers in an attempt to boost ticket sales and publicity. As part of a lengthy chat with The Treatment, the pair tells us about wanting a theme song for the series, how there’s something in ballet for everyone, and why filming in Los Angeles needs to be easier and cheaper.

Ramy Youssef won a Golden Globe and a Peabody for creating and starring in the Hulu series Ramy, a show about the American Muslim experience in the wake of 9/11. Now, the comedian and actor lends his creativity (and his voice) to the new Amazon Prime Video animated series #1 Happy Family USA. The new show centers many of the same poignant topics as Youssef’s acclaimed live action work. Youssef voices the characters of Hussein Hussein, an Egyptian-American husband, and Rumi, his son. The edgy comedy introduces us to a New Jersey family as they navigate being Muslim in the midst of their many white neighbors. Youssef chats with NPR’s Eric Deggans about his interest in exploring the Muslim experience after 9/11, which has also been central to his standup and his storytelling via Ramy. “I realized I had so many stories from that era and how that entire time … has been mainly captured through one lens, maybe two,” Youssef says. “And for me, there's a real draw to touching on some of this, because it does end up where a lot of people feel really seen from a totally different angle.” Youssef also opens up about his experience of working in animation for the first time, and learning from the show’s co-creator Pam Brady (one of the minds behind South Park). Youssef its to knowing very little about how animated shows are made, and tells us how much he relied on Brady’s expertise to craft #1 Happy Family USA. “I didn't think that I would make an animated show. I kind of found myself with a series of ideas that felt like they could only be an animated show in order to cut the way that I hoped they would,” Youssef explains. “It really was very iterative for me to be with [Brady], because it reminded me of a lot of early sketch comedy stuff that I used to do with my buddies growing up in Jersey.” “#1 Happy Family USA,” series still image. Courtesy of Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Content Services LLC.

Cracks within the GOP turn the “Big, Beautiful Bill” into a mess. President Trump visits the Middle East. Plus, Democrats’ past and future collide.

Port business slowed to a trickle after Pres. Trump’s imposition of a 145% tariff on Chinese goods. Even with a lower tariff, the uncertainty is hard on trade.