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KCRW’s The Business hosted by Claude Brodesser-Akner is both a radio show and podcast dealing with the inner workings of the business of Hollywood.

Claude’s interviews with directors, screenwriters, advertising executives and actors/actresses are often fascinating, if not enlightening, especially if you share an interest in how films are created like I do.

In his interview with actor/director Jon Favreau entitled “No Special Effects, It’s Really Director Jon Favreau”, Jon reveals his love/hate relationship with CGI effects and why home brewed effects are still relevant and useful. His philosophy is that while computer generated imagery has its place (namely a toolbox of endless possibility) it can also cloud the visual aesthetic of a movie.

After releasing Finding Nemo — one of my all-time favorites, right up there with Toy Story — Pixar announced that they were working on a film about cars. When I first heard the news I think I might’ve been reading an issue of Wired and sat in disbelief.

While the talking animal shtick has worn out its welcome, there’s a certain safety net that accompanies an animated film of that nature. Especially considering that talking animals is a formula that has been used by several animation companies (Disney and Warner Brothers comes to mind) in the past and for the most part, if done correctly, appeals to a vast audience.

The following is a sponsored post, paid for by ReviewMe and it’s advertisers, a new service that rewards bloggers (in monetary form) for reviews.

I first read about ReviewMe on Techcrunch in an article that basically stated — matter-of-factly — that it would outshine PayperPost, a service that shares similarities in that a blogger is paid for reviews by advertisers seeking buzz about their product or service.

It’s a concept that has been long overdue, considering that bloggers have recently become the advertiser’s best friend in terms of being able to connect with various demographics instantaneously. Quite literally at the push of a button a blogger can publish a review and within a few seconds the article is read by hundreds and sometimes thousands of people.

It just so happens that the majority of television shows that I happen to embrace are typically well- written, witty and intelligent.

You can say that most of what’s on TV rarely includes one of these attributes let alone all three of them. What we have today, aside from the newly charted dramas, are the same old lifeless, unfunny sitcoms and reality shows.

While dramatic shows like Lost and the recent NBC hit Heroes have effectively captured the 1950’s serialized format (”Stay tuned next time to see what happens…”), they, like the the old serial dramas that they mimic are hard to follow if you don’t stay committed week to week.