Kleber Mendonça Filho on ‘The Secret Agent’ and taking a stand
The Business
KCRW
4.5 • 699 Ratings
🗓️ 27 February 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, Kim sits down with Brazilian writer-director Kleber Mendonça Filho to discuss his Oscar-nominated political thriller The Secret Agent. A former film critic, Mendonça explains why he still reads every review of his work. He also reflects on the backlash that followed his 2016 Cannes red carpet protest against Brazil’s leadership and the fallout that complicated the Oscar hopes for Aquarius. Plus, a special guest drops in for a brief chat.
Meanwhile, in an unexpected turn of events, Netflix has dropped out of the Warner Bros. bidding war, leaving Paramount as the winner. Masters and Matt Belloni dive into the streamer’s decision to bow out, what could lie ahead for Warner Bros. and its news networks, and the legal hoops Paramount may expect with the Department of Justice.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From KCRW, I'm Kim Masters, and this is The Business. |
| 0:09.0 | Brazilian writer-director Claibre Mendoza Filio has never hesitated to tackle politics in his home country. |
| 0:15.6 | His Oscar-nominated film, The Secret Agent, takes aim at Brazil's 1970s dictatorship, and all these years later, |
| 0:22.9 | the backlash was still swift. |
| 0:24.9 | There have been many negative reactions coming from the far right, but that's expected. |
| 0:31.0 | I'm actually surprised that they went to see the film. |
| 0:34.3 | One of them even saw it twice, and he keeps saying that he hates it, which I find |
| 0:39.4 | kind of funny. Go a third time. A former film critic himself, Mendoza explains why he reads |
| 0:45.3 | every review of his work. He also reflects on the political fallout that followed his 2016 |
| 0:50.9 | protest at Cannes against Brazil's right wing, a controversy that could explain why Brazil |
| 0:56.3 | didn't submit his film Aquarius for Oscar consideration that year. Plus, we have a surprise |
| 1:01.9 | visitor. But first, we banter. Stick around. It's the business from KCRW. |
| 1:17.1 | I am joined by my partner in banter, Matt Bellany, and we are doing a late emergency banter because after we recorded a whole banter talking about who was going to end up with Warner's, |
| 1:21.9 | and by the way, Matt, I can see it up front that you were right, that you said it would be |
| 1:24.9 | paramount. And just as I was sitting at a lunch yesterday, hearing an argument why you would be right, |
| 1:31.4 | you've actually got to be right because, as you know, Netflix dropped out of the bidding for |
| 1:36.1 | warners. |
| 1:36.8 | I will say that it was rough on Netflix. |
| 1:40.0 | I thought they might hang in longer, but their stock was getting punished. |
| 1:43.7 | There were attacks from the right on Susan Wright on their board of directors. I thought they might hang in longer, but their stock was getting punished. |
| 1:49.2 | There were attacks from the right on Susan Wright on their board of directors, which never would have happened if they weren't in this fight with the Ellison's for Warner Brothers. |
| 1:54.0 | And I think they must have concluded it's just not worth it. |
... |
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