From KCRW, I'm Kim Masters, and this is the business.

Filmmaker Sean Levy's new movie, Free Guy, a big budget original starring Ryan Reynolds as a video game character, is flying into the teeth of the storm.

After having had its release date pushed three times because of the pandemic, the film is finally opening exclusively in theaters.

Heading into opening weekend, Levy wasn't sure. Are people going to go?

I have to confess, I don't know. I don't know what the comfort level will be. I don't know what

the reaction will be to A, going to theaters and B, going to theaters for a new movie.

I'd like to believe there's an audience and an appetite for originality and non-franchise sequels,

etc. But I don't know.

The producer and director behind hits including Night at the Museum and Netflix's Stranger Things

tells us about the ups and downs of making Free Guy and why he still wants studios to

greenlight big movies that aren't part of a franchise, even if he isn't sure there'll

be enough theaters to show them in. But first, we banter. Stick around. It's the business

from KCRW.

I am joined by my associate and banter.

Matt Bellany.

Hello, Matt.

Hi there.

So last week's show, we talked all about Scarlett Johansson and her fight against Disney

for putting Black Widow on Disney Plus for 30 bucks a pop.

And then Disney coming back with this very inflammatory statement saying that Scarlett Johansson isn't sensitive to COVID.

And I wrote a story and people were like, wow, this was a huge blunder for PR-wise.

You know, Bob Eiger never would have gotten involved in a thing like

...