The Town with Matthew Belloni

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the most pressing questions as we begin a new year in Hollywood, including the drama around Disney’s proxy battle, Bob Iger’s continued search for a successor, the looming NBA rights deal and the fate of local sports, and Oppenheimer’s dominance at the Golden Globes and what the rest of awards season will hold. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s...

Matt is joined by Brooks Barnes from The New York Times to discuss the long and messy path of the Golden Globes as we gear up for the 81st Golden Globe Awards on Sunday. Matt and Brooks discuss why this show can’t seem to die even though it's been mired in controversy, how it has been reformed under new ownership, whether people even want to celebrate Hollywood anymore, and why the Globes will pro...

Matt is joined by Deadline senior reporter Justin Kroll to discuss the young movie stars on the rise and fall after a chaotic movie year in Hollywood. They highlight the movies that catapulted young actors into stardom, as well as some of the more puzzling casting decisions that potentially hurt someone's career. Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the 2024 box office in January and Feb...

In Part 2 of the exclusive Townie Awards, Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw select their Winner of the Year in Hollywood, and give out a number of additional awards, including Executive Fail of the Year, Low-Key Flex, Movie Marketing Miss of the Year, The “Did I Say That Out Loud” Award for Worst Quote, the Mea Culpa I Was Wrong Award, as well as the Suck It Haters I Was Right Award, and more. For a...

It’s podcasting's most exclusive event of the year: The second annual Townie Awards! This is a show made up of awards created by us, based on our own interpretations of the craziest year in Hollywood, maybe ever? In Part 1, Matt is joined by Lucas Shaw, the Amy Poehler to his Tina Fey, to give out the first round of awards, including Most Destructive Behind-the-Scenes Drama, Publicist Fail of the...

Matt is joined by LightShed Partners media analyst Rich Greenfield to break down the latest reports of a meeting between Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav and Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish in New York City to discuss a possible merger. Matt and Rich discuss what a deal would look like between these two legacy companies, how this would affect the streaming and cable networks for both of the...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the biggest disasters of 2023 after a chaotic and frustrating year in Hollywood. With the labor shutdowns being the clear answer for the biggest debacle, Matt and Lucas look beyond the strikes to nominate what they believe have been the most calamitous misfires in the industry this year. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsl...

Matt is joined by film producer and founder/CEO of Illumination, Chris Meledandri, to discuss a very weird year for theatrical animation, which featured a billion-dollar hit in ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ and big misses with originals like ‘Wish’ and ‘Strange World’. Chris helps explain the business of feature animation, why original animated movies have been struggling, and how Illumination dif...

Matt is joined by Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Netflix's newest expansion into data transparency, called “What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report,” a biannual report covering six months of streaming habits on the platform across more the 18,000 shows and movies between January-June 2023. Matt and Lucas dive into the data and ask Ted about Netflix’s shift i...

Matt is joined by Ted Hope, a producer and former cohead of movies at Amazon Studios, to discuss streaming's negative impact on the movie business. Ted provides his perspective to explain how global streaming platforms have damaged the independent film business, how predatory pricing has corrupted the market, how the incentives of streamers have changed, and what should be done to fix this. Matt f...

Matt is joined by Axios senior correspondent Sara Fischer to dissect the biggest deals of 2023, and what we can expect in 2024. They discuss why private equity may dominate the deal market next year, the possibility of a major merger, and predict what 2024 will hold for Paramount Global, Warner Bros. Discovery, Comcast, theater chains, NBA rights, and more. Matt finishes the show by giving a predi...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Ashley Carman to discuss the state of the podcast industry and its struggle to reach profitability despite its growth. They talk about the murky metrics for success, the era of companies going “all in” on celebrity podcasts, the comedy podcaster boom, Spotify vs. Apple vs. YouTube, and the rise of the video podcast. Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the f...

Matt is joined by Julia Alexander—the director of strategy at Parrot Analytics and a streaming wars expert—to discuss the year's most strategic and powerful moves made by streamers to try to gain an advantage over their rivals, and which worked the best. Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the 2024 Oscars. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Heari...

Matt is joined by longtime casting director Denise Chamian to provide her perspective on some of the industry’s most pressing topics, including Hollywood’s lack of young movie stars, AI replacing actors, the effectiveness of the SAG-AFTRA strike, as well as misconceptions about the casting process and how it has changed. She also reveals a few secrets about the casting for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Paramount Global’s struggle to survive in the age of streaming, whether owner Shari Redstone will be forced to sell the family business, and, if so, whom she will sell it to. Matt finishes the show by giving an update on the 2023 box office draft between him and Lucas. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m He...

Matt is joined by Vox senior correspondent and 'Recode Media' host Peter Kafka to discuss the new era of tech and Hollywood, including the long-term place of Apple and Amazon in the entertainment industry, the rise of advertising in streaming, YouTube's and TikTok’s power, the complicated relationship between big tech and sports, big tech’s foray into the media ecosystem, how it will affect the tr...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss some of the unexpected winners and losers in the wake of the strikes, highlighting those who suffered from collateral damage or perhaps benefited from fortuitous timing during Hollywood's extended shutdown. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here. Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify...

Matt is joined by Justine Bateman—writer, director, producer, former actress, and SAG-AFTRA negotiation committee consultant on the use of AI—to discuss the protections established against the use of AI in the new SAG-AFTRA deal. She voices criticisms of the AI portion of the contract, and highlights potential loopholes that could significantly affect working actors and permanently alter the futur...

Matt is joined by journalist and former chief media correspondent for CNN Brian Stelter to discuss the unique business behind Fox and its relationship with Hollywood moving forward in post-Rupert era, including how it continues to generate billions in profits every year, their lucrative deal with the NFL, and their ad-supported TV service, Tubi. Matt finishes the show with a prediction on Tom Brad...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss one year of Bob Iger 2.0 and his latest comments surrounding the company's fourth quarter earnings report, including more aggressive cost-cutting measures, quantity vs. quality criticism of the film and TV division, and their promising streaming subscriber gains. Matt finishes the show with a prediction on the fate of Warner Bros. Discovery’s unr...

On Wednesday night, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP reached a tentative deal on a three-year contract valued at over $1 billion, ending the longest strike in the union’s history at 118 days. Matt is joined by the national executive director and chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, to give more details on what the actors won in their new deal. They discuss the provisions for consent and...

Matt is joined by New York Times’ Kyle Buchanan to discuss the upended awards season in the wake of the actors strike, how it has stripped actors of participating in all of the usual promotional activities, and how much disruption on the campaign trail actually matters this Oscars season. They talk about who is suffering the most, who has been given a boost, and how things will shake after the str...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss how the non-Netflix streaming services can survive in a Netflix-dominated world. They discuss Warner Bros. Discovery's licensing of a large collection of DC films to Netflix and whether sending A-list content to Netflix is sustainable for the other streamers. Matt finishes the show with a prediction on where Jon Stewart will land a new show. For...

Matt is joined by entrepreneur, media personality, and former Bravo star Bethenny Frankel to discuss the abusive and oppressive working conditions on reality shows, the mistreatment of their participants, and why she is pushing for the unionization of reality TV. She discusses why a union is the best way to protect reality TV stars, the forces preventing this from happening, and how she sees her r...

Matt is joined by former NBC and Fox executive Preston Beckman to discuss if the TV revival is a viable option for TV networks nowadays. Do networks see pre-branded properties like 'Frasier' as more important than ever, or are they a vestige of a past era on its last leg? They also discuss the art of pilot recastings, if 'Friends' will ever be revived, the state of the binge model, and if TV sched...