The Town with Matthew Belloni

Matt is joined by Colleen Bell, the director of the California Film Commission, to check in on the state of film and TV production in California following the cap increase to $750M about a year ago. They discuss the increase in shoot days in California, how the new program works, whether a federal credit is coming, whether the new Los Angeles mayor and California governor will affect this program,...

Matt is joined by producer Scott Glassgold to discuss internet IP and the short-story boom that has taken over Hollywood after major successes in ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’, whether this is a micro or macro trend, how these internet stories are developed for the big screen, and whether studios have learned the right lessons from this year (02:22). Matt finishes the show with a prediction for the...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to select their winners and losers in the entertainment industry so far this year, from actors with surprise hits, studio heads with embarrassing flops, CEOs of struggling companies, and producers that made huge swings that paid off. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This ep...

Matt is joined by Steve Buck, chief strategy officer at EntTelligence to discuss how many people are actually going to the movies and clarify the difference between admission versus box office. Steve reveals whether rising box office grosses are matched by actual attendance, if ticket price increases and premium large format screens are actually juicing box office totals, the demos and genres that...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the news that NBCUniversal is splitting off from Comcast into a standalone company, the details of the deal, why this is happening now, and whether this opens the floodgates for more M&A (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Sony’s $100M investment in Cosm (26:45). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck,...

Matt is joined by WSJ reporter Emily Glazer to discuss her fascinating new piece highlighting Larry Ellison’s private friendship with Donald Trump and the impact it had on the Paramount M&A saga. Emily explains why Larry and Donald seem to get along so well, why Larry is bankrolling the WarnerMount deal, and how we got here in the first place (00:00). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend...

Matt is joined by Keach Hagey, a journalist at The Wall Street Journal and author of 'The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future,' to discuss Amazon abandoning Luca Guadagnino’s movie ‘Artificial’ and looking to sell it to another studio to distribute. They talk about why Amazon made this movie in the first place, its relationship with OpenAI, their thoughts on the script...

Matt is joined by journalist Lane Brown from New York Magazine to discuss his latest article digging into the insidious world of online clipping and narrative campaigning. Lane explains how virality and popularity are manufactured and engineered to resemble the improvised enthusiasm of human strangers, the companies behind these simulated trends, which movies, shows, bands, and viral moments were...

Matt is joined by John Mass, president of Content Partners, to discuss the massive value of owning distribution in modern Hollywood in comparison to years past, when content seemed to be the most important piece of the pie. They talk about why becoming the gatekeeper in Hollywood is so important in 2026, Fox acquiring Roku, and more (2:55). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Fox’s $22 billion acquisition of Roku, why this happened, how connected TV devices are the secret gatekeepers to streaming, how this will affect the consumer, and what this says about the larger deal landscape in Hollywood (2:11). We finish the show with an update on the 2026 Box Office Draft (28:30). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producer...

Live from Hollywood, Matt turns the tables on 'Hot Ones' host Sean Evans. Matt eats hot wings and risks his intestinal fortitude while interviewing Sean at the 'Hot Ones' FYC event. Yes, he tries Da Bomb. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Sean Evans Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Matt Pevic Theme Song: Devon Renaldo In this darkly comedic series, a love triangle ends in death. Watch now. Lea...

Matt is joined by film producer Mynette Louie, a cohead of creative producing and assistant professor at Columbia University, to explain how the money is distributed when an indie film is a big hit. They use Curry Barker’s ‘Obsession’ as an example to discuss how the financial waterfall flows, who profits the most and the least, and the state of indie film distribution (03:14). Matt finishes the s...

Matt is joined by founder and CEO of Screen Engine/ASI, Kevin Goetz, to talk about his new survey of Gen Z moviegoers to explain the Gen Z box office boom, how Hollywood can better appeal to the new wave of moviegoers, as well as their opinions on major stars, directors, and legacy IP (01:54). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for Steven Spielberg’s ‘Disclosure D...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the ongoing disruption at ‘60 Minutes,’ most recently the hiring of Nick Bilton as EP, and the firing of correspondent Scott Pelley. They dig into what the plan to "modernize '60 Minutes'” actually means, what this says about David Ellison’s leadership, if this threatens the Ellison media empire, and ultimately if this could stop the WarnerMount...

Matt is joined by Kane Parsons, the 20-year-old director of ‘Backrooms,’ to discuss becoming the youngest filmmaker to open a movie no. 1 at the box office, his experience transitioning from YouTube to the big screen, what he wants to do with his newfound success, how he uses the internet, and more (01:56). Matt finishes the show with opening weekend box office predictions for ‘Scary Movie 6’ and...

Matt is joined by RSL Media Founder Nikki Hexum to discuss her non-profit founded with actress Cate Blanchett that aims to protect artists against AI by requiring a consent framework for name, image, and likeness. Nikki outlines the infrastructure of her company, why this is necessary, how this era of AI is similar to the Napster era from the early 2000s, and why an AI company would participate in...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss what movie studios should learn from the remarkable weekend at the box office, whether this is really like the '70s all over again in Hollywood, the unique timing as 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' struggles at the box office, and more (02:01). Matt finishes the show with a prediction for the 2026 NBA Finals ratings (27:58). Host: Matt Belloni Guest:...

Matt is joined by Peter Chernin, founder of North Road and the Chernin Group, to discuss the production of the new horror film ‘Backrooms,’ the biggest problems in Hollywood, whether the content recession is ending, his thoughts on where digital media is going, and why the life of a studio head isn't as fun as it used to be (00:00). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office predict...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss who might buy IMAX after news broke last week that it is exploring a sale, and they get into the details behind how IMAX works as a business. They also discuss Netflix putting David Fincher’s new movie, ‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth,’ in theaters with an exclusive two-week run in IMAX and whether this is just another Netflix movie theater stunt...

Matt is joined by Puck’s political journalist Peter Hamby to discuss the gubernatorial and mayoral races in California and Los Angeles and how it might impact the future of Hollywood (02:34). They discuss why Hollywood has become a winning political issue for both races, the state production tax incentives that could reshape the entertainment industry in L.A., Spencer Pratt’s popularity in Hollywo...

Matt is joined by Hernan Lopez, founder of Owl and Co. and Wondery, to talk about the rise of vertical video, how it ballooned to a $100B/year business, the staggering success of Reels, and which companies in Hollywood are best suited to benefit the most from this trend (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about next season's cast of 'Saturday Night Live' (26:50). Host: Matt Belloni G...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to conduct this first ever Hollywood Jealousy Draft, where each of the five major entertainment companies (Disney, Comcast, WarnerMount, Netflix, and Amazon) can steal any asset from any of their competitors for free. Matt and Lucas cosplay as all-powerful CEOs and make their selections for what they believe are the most valuable assets in Hollywood (00:06)...

Matt is joined by Rich Greenfield from LightShed Partners to recap this year's TV upfronts, highlighting the best, the worst, and everything in between from TV’s most glamorous week (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a box office prediction for this weekend (32:15). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Rich Greenfield Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Industry voters visit S...

Live from Los Angeles, Matt is joined by writer and producer David E. Kelley ('Margo’s Got Money Troubles,' 'Big Little Lies,' 'L.A. Law') to talk about the difference between producing television for a streamer vs. a traditional legacy studio, writing about OnlyFans in his new show, what makes a good TV executive, whether he has ever used AI, and more. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: David E. Kelley Pr...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Disney pushback against the Trump administration by challenging the FCC’s investigation of 'The View,' saying it infringes on the First Amendment and free speech. They debate what this strong political stance means for Disney under new CEO Josh D’Amaro, and dig into Disney’s first earnings call under D’Amaro highlighting what he did and didn’t sa...