The Town with Matthew Belloni

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to compete in the very first executive draft. Matt and Lucas will each select who they believe is the best in the business in each of these four categories: CEO, Studio Chief, Rising Star, and Specialist. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here. Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Ma...

Matt is joined by Matt Stoller, the research director for the American Economic Liberties Project and the writer of the monopoly-focused newsletter 'Big,' to discuss the evolution of Hollywood’s markets, how vertical integration has poisoned the industry, and why we need to de-consolidate the studio streamers to rescue the entertainment business. Matt finishes the show by giving a box office openi...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss whether the recent stretch of superhero flops is a sign of things to come or simply a blip on the radar. Four of the last six Marvel films have underperformed, DC’s ‘The Flash’ just bombed, and Marvel has pushed back the release date of its next line of Avengers films. So is it officially time to hit the panic button on the superhero genre? For a...

Matt is joined by The Hollywood Reporter’s Rebecca Keegan to discuss Pixar’s recent cold streak, who’s to blame, and if it can be rectified. They talk about whether their pandemic misfires has caused permanent damage, why their movies cost so much more than every other animation studio, and how leadership and the creative process has changed over the years. Matt finishes the show with two predicti...

Matt is joined by veteran film marketing executive Terry Press to discuss the upcoming movie ‘The Flash’ and how studios promote and release a movie with a controversial star attached. They discuss how Warner Bros. has handled the Ezra Miller situation in the lead-up to opening weekend, the decision to have them attend the premiere, and if any of this could affect box office numbers. They also tal...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the growing issue of data transparency in the streaming era, whether streaming rankings— like the Netflix top 10 lists—are manipulated in the absence of credible data, and whether we will ever see how many people are actually watching these shows. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here...

Matt is joined by John Lopez, a writer, producer, and member of the AI working group in the WGA, to explain what the guild actually thinks about AI, misperceptions about AI’s ability to write scripts, and why this will be one of the key issues in Hollywood for years to come. Matt finishes the show with a box office prediction for the opening weekend of ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.’ For a 20...

Matt is joined by Puck’s Dylan Byers to discuss the details behind Chris Licht’s fallout with CNN, why this happened now, how this reflects on Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zazlov, and what needs to be done to save CNN. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here. Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Dylan...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to parse through the first half of an eventful 2023 and highlight the under-discussed winners and losers across the industry so far. Matt finishes the show by giving a prediction about the future of CNN CEO Chris Licht. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here. Email us your thoughts! thetown@spoti...

Matt is joined by film producer and television executive Gail Berman ('Elvis,' 'Wednesday') to discuss the writers strike from the studios' perspective, using her experience as a former film studio and television network head to touch on what the studios might be thinking about this labor dispute. Matt finishes the show with a prediction for the opening weekend of ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Ve...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw, who attended the Cannes Film Festival in France, to discuss the significance of the festival within the industry, the indie film market, if streaming services are still interested in premiering their projects at Cannes, the optics of David Zaslav’s party, and more. Lucas and Matt also give an update on their box office draft. For a 20 percent discount on M...

Matt is joined by theme park journalist Scott Gustin as they discuss all the latest news surrounding the Disney parks, as well as Universal Studios. They dive into the changes made by former CEO Bob Chapek when the parks reopened during the pandemic, why the immersive Galactic Star Cruiser (a.k.a. the 'Star Wars' hotel and experience) is shutting down, how the international Disney parks are doing,...

Matt is joined by Ronald Gladden, the star of Amazon Freevee’s new hit series ‘Jury Duty,’ as well as the director of the show, Jake Szymanski. They go through the process of creating the show, how Jake managed to direct the actors on set without breaking the illusion, Ronald’s thoughts after learning it was all a show, whether this type of show could be replicated, and more. Matt finishes the sho...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to analyze this year’s TV upfront presentations. They discuss Netflix’s upfront debut and its advertisement strategy, how it felt watching the presentations in the middle of a writers strike, the Disney+ purge, and more. Lucas finishes the show by making a prediction on Peyton Manning’s company, Omaha Productions. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywo...

Matt is joined by Endeavor executive vice presidents Hillary Mandel and Karen Brodkin to discuss the potentially groundbreaking TV deal they brokered for the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury: Moving forward, their games will be broadcast for free on over-the-air channels while also available to stream online on a direct-to-consumer service. They discuss how this deal affects the viewer and why it...

Matt is joined by Wall Street Journal reporter Erich Schwartzel to discuss the current state of Hollywood’s relationship with China and how the Chinese government feels about Hollywood releases. Erich breaks down how China’s movie infrastructure has changed over the years, how the Chinese box office affects which movies get made in America, the precarious projections of ‘Fast X’ in China, TikTok’s...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to check in on Bob Iger six months after his return to Disney, to see what’s working and what isn’t. They discuss Disney’s decrease in subscriber numbers and subsequent stock decline, bringing Hulu into Disney+, his lack of a succession plan, and the still uncertain future of the streaming model. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newslet...

Matt is joined by writer, producer, and showrunner Mike Schur ('Parks and Recreation,' 'The Good Place,' 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine'), to discuss the life of the modern TV writer and how it has changed over the years. Mike brings his perspective on the ongoing writers strike and discusses how his experience as a writer was very different from that of an up-and-coming writer in 2023. Matt finishes the sho...

Matt is joined by journalist and cofounder of Semafor, Ben Smith, to talk about his new book ‘Traffic’ and the rise and fall of the biggest digital media companies of the past 15 years. Matt and Ben discuss their careers in digital media, look back on the media's transition to digital, the role of Hollywood in the evolution of media coverage, the role of Facebook and other social media platforms,...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the most popular narratives that emerged after week 1 of the writers strike, including who is winning the social media war and if it matters, huge paydays for media CEOs despite layoffs and and cost cutting across the industry, the stalemate over AI, the messy situation for writer-producers, and more. Matt finishes the show with a prediction on K...

It’s May, which means it is officially summer blockbuster season. Matt welcomes back The Wrap’s Scott Mendelson to run through each of the most highly anticipated blockbusters of the summer and assign their confidence level in each movie’s likelihood of exceeding expectations at the box office. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here Ema...

Matt is joined by writer, TV host, and WGA negotiation committee member Adam Conover to break down what it has been like in the negotiation room from the WGA perspective over the last few months leading up to the strike. They discuss how far apart both sides sit, the most hotly contested issues—including data transparency, mini rooms, and AI—and the broad spectrum of consequences that could accomp...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the looming WGA strike on the day of its negotiation deadline, and how a likely strike will affect the industry. They break down what the writers are fighting for, why this is a terrible time for most studios to negotiate a deal, which studios are best suited to endure a prolonged strike, and whether a strike could actually benefit the industry l...

Matt is joined by Ray Subers, the senior vice president of theatrical strategy at National Research Group, to discuss an eye-opening study making the rounds among industry executives that highlights a troubling reality for Hollywood: The supply of new movie stars is declining alongside the box office. They talk about the importance of casting, which stars are most likely to get someone to see a mo...

Matt is joined by Ben Winston, executive producer of 'The Late Late Show With James Corden' and the 2023 Grammys, to talk about the end of Corden’s show—which concludes its eight-year run this week—and Winston makes his case for why the late show format should still exist as we transition into the digital age of television. They discuss misperceptions about how his show makes money for Paramount G...