Tim Blake Nelson on balancing acting, directing, writing, and his novel ‘Superhero’
The Business
KCRW
4.5 • 697 Ratings
🗓️ 9 January 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Kim Masters talks with Tim Blake Nelson about his wide-ranging career in entertainment. Best known for his breakout role in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Nelson is also a director, screenwriter, and playwright, and he’s now out with a second novel, Superhero—a black comedy about the making of a big-budget comic-book film that follows executives, cast, and crew caught in the pressure cooker of a chaotic production. He also shares his perspective on the Warner Bros. sale and explains how his fascination with the entertainment business informed the book.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. has once again formally rejected Paramount’s latest offer, favoring a deal with Netflix. As the streamer moves closer to acquiring the legacy studio, theatrical exhibitors have taken their protest to Congress, warning the sale would have a “direct and irreversible negative impact on movie theaters around the world.” Masters and Matt Belloni break down the latest developments in the battle for Warner Bros.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From KCRW, I'm Kim Masters, and this is The Business. |
| 0:05.8 | Tim Blake Nelson is a very busy actor in films as Diverses, |
| 0:09.9 | O Brother Where Art Thou, and last year's Captain America, Brave New World. |
| 0:14.4 | He's also a director, screenwriter, playwright, and author. |
| 0:18.2 | He's now out with a second novel, Superhero, |
| 0:22.8 | a black comedy about the making of a movie that he says is definitely not a Marvel film. Even though he stays crazy busy, he says |
| 0:28.5 | all his endeavors serve one another. What you do in one area can nourish another. I don't think |
| 0:35.4 | that writing novels is going to be a distraction from acting |
| 0:40.3 | or writing plays or screenplays or directing movies. I think they make me better at each |
| 0:47.7 | constituent part. Nelson reflects on how his work with the Cohen brothers and how his breakout role |
| 0:52.9 | in O Brother Where Art thou, |
| 0:54.5 | led to countless screen credits over the next two decades. He also shares his perspective |
| 0:59.6 | on the Warner Brothers sale and explains how his fascination with the entertainment business |
| 1:04.2 | informed his latest novel. But first we banter. Stick around. It's the business from KCRW. |
| 1:12.2 | I am joined by my partner in banter. Matt Bellany. Hello, Matt. |
| 1:15.7 | Hi there. Happy 26. Yeah. Well, isn't it a curse to say, may you live in interesting times? |
| 1:20.6 | Because these times are very interesting. Let me just take a breath and run through the state of play with this Warner's thing. |
| 1:28.2 | Warner Brothers Discovery has now officially rejected the Paramount offer. |
| 1:32.3 | Again, says we like our deal with Netflix. |
| 1:34.8 | And they ran through a series of reasons. |
| 1:36.7 | They said, we think your financing is shaky. |
| 1:39.8 | This would be the biggest leverage buyout in history. |
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