Celine Song on confronting the cost of love in ‘Materialists’
The Business
KCRW
4.5 • 699 Ratings
🗓️ 5 December 2025
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Producer’s note: This week’s banter segment was recorded before news broke of Netflix acquiring Warner Bros.
This week, Kim Masters sits down with writer-director Celine Song to talk about Materialists, her rom-com that became a surprise commercial hit worldwide. Song explains how a stint as a New York matchmaker schooled her in the economics of modern dating—and how those real-world dynamics shaped the film’s story. She also reflects on the privilege of a robust theatrical release through her fruitful partnership with A24, which also backed her Oscar-nominated debut Past Lives. And she gets into why certain elements of Materialists trace back to 19th-century novels, whether audiences realize it or not.
Plus, the lingering question of what a Netflix-owned Warner Bros. would mean for theatrical may be coming into focus. As the bidding war between Paramount and Netflix heats up, Netflix insists its WB films would still hit theaters, though a two-week run instead of the traditional 45 days raises concerns. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break down the latest in the Warners race.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From KCRW, I'm Kim Masters, and this is The Business. |
| 0:09.0 | Writer director, Celine Song, has done very well by indie production company A24 and vice versa. |
| 0:16.2 | Her debut film, Past Lives, scored an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. |
| 0:20.7 | She followed that up with the |
| 0:22.1 | commercial rom-com hit materialists. She says working with A-24 on both movies spared her from |
| 0:28.0 | pressure to do more of the same old's same old. People are starting to ask for movies where |
| 0:33.9 | facts and premises are being repeated 10 times, and what's happening is actually |
| 0:40.0 | being dictated. And I think that is the most dangerous thing. We're starting to let ourselves |
| 0:44.5 | become lazier and lazier about the kinds of stories that we're willing to watch. |
| 0:49.8 | Celine Song explains how her work is a matchmaker in New York City revealed the economic side of the dating game. |
| 0:56.7 | She says the Universal Quest for Love made materialists click with audiences around the world. |
| 1:02.2 | And she explains why some of the elements in her film echo the plots of 19th century novels. |
| 1:07.9 | But first we banter. Stick around. It's the business from KCRW. |
| 1:15.2 | I am joined by my partner in banter Matt Bellany. Hello, Matt. |
| 1:18.9 | Hi there. So the drama. We are once again in the position as we speak. The ongoing Warner |
| 1:24.5 | Brothers Discovery drama is still ongoing. So by the time this is out in the world, |
| 1:32.0 | I think things may have changed. As it stands, Netflix, I think, surprised a lot of people, |
| 1:38.1 | because a lot of people thought, okay, well, the bidders here are the Ellisons who are going to |
| 1:42.1 | come in with all this money and nobody can stave them off. |
| 1:46.1 | Comcast, can they really come up with a convincing offer? |
| 1:48.7 | And also Donald Trump hates them. |
| 1:51.1 | And then there was Netflix. |
... |
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