The Town with Matthew Belloni

In Part 2 of our biggest debacles of the year conversation, Matt welcomes back Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to nominate the executive on the hot seat in 2023 and make the case for the biggest debacle of the year.   Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw   Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This entire year was arguably a debacle for most in Hollywood, the content bubble has seemingly burst, the streaming model may be broken, and companies are frantically trying to create a business model that works for everyone. To discuss those who have struggled most in 2022, Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw for Part 1 of a two-part conversation covering the biggest debacles in Hollywood,...

Matt is joined by the CEO of United Talent Agency (UTA) Jeremy Zimmer to discuss how the financial downturn of the streaming model has trickled down to talent agencies, why pivoting for back-end profit participation in streaming makes sense, the looming possibility of a writers' strike, and more. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Jeremy Zimmer Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more...

Matt is joined by film producer Jon Landau to talk about his latest project ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and creating the most successful movie of all time with ‘Avatar.’ He talks about managing the sky-high expectations of the sequel, his dynamic with director James Cameron, the biggest challenge they faced during production, as well as the movie-going industry at large and what it should be doing...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the most successful power moves of the year in Hollywood. In what was widely considered a difficult year across the board in entertainment, who took the biggest swing and came out on top? Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by former president of ESPN John Skipper to talk about his thoughts on Bob Iger’s return, Disney’s next big move, whether it should spin off ESPN, the state of live event sports content, athlete-produced documentaries, and his plans in sports originals and beyond at his new content company, Meadowlark. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: John Skipper Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon...

Matt is joined by actor, producer, writer, and co-owner of Wrexham AFC Rob McElhenney to talk about the back story and business model of his documentary series ‘Welcome to Wrexham.’ Rob talks about how he pitched the show to the head of FX, how he bought the team with Ryan Reynolds, and the unique relationship between the business of the show and the business of the team. Host: Matt Belloni Guest:...

2022 has been a rough year for Hollywood—theater chains have struggled, mass layoffs are taking place, and stocks have plummeted. Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the companies that have struggled the most this year and determine which still should have room for optimism and which are permanently headed in the wrong direction. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producer: Craig...

Matt is joined by Julia Alexander from Parrot Analytics to assess how each streamer performed in 2022. Did ‘Andor’ move the needle for Disney+? Why is Wall Street still down on Netflix despite a record-setting year for the company? Who officially won the ‘House of the Dragon’ vs. ‘The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power’ battle? Do Paramount+ and Peacock have reason for optimism? Host: Matt Bell...

Matt is joined by Amy Winter, the head of programming at Lifetime, to discuss the explosion of holiday movies over the past decade, why Christmas movies specifically are more popular than ever, and the keys to making a successful Christmas movie. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Amy Winter Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoi...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the biggest problems on Disney’s plate in the Bob Iger Era, Part 2, including the recent box office slump, particularly in the animation department, the stalling subscriber growth at Disney+, the future of Hulu, whether or not fans are experiencing Marvel and 'Star Wars' fatigue, the conundrum of live sports on the internet, and Disney parks incr...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to dive deep into the chaos of trying to buy tickets to Taylor Swift’s newly announced Era’s Tour. They discuss who is to blame for the Ticketmaster meltdown, detail the process of setting ticket prices for concerts, and speculate on how Taylor Swift could shake up the live-concert ticket system. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producer: Craig Horlbeck...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to break down the return of Bob Iger as CEO of Disney once again. They talk about whether Disney needed to make this move or whether this was a knee-jerk reaction after a disappointing earnings report, how this is a risky move for Iger and his legacy, the new succession plan, and what the next few years of Disney will look like. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lu...

With awards season ramping up, Matt is joined by The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg to discuss his forecast for the upcoming Oscars, including front-runners for best picture, best actor, and best actress, as well as which movies and actors could sneak their way into a nomination. They also talk about the world of Oscar voting, what typically influences votes, and if popular movies should be i...

Matt is joined by Marvel’s executive of production and development and ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ producer Nate Moore to discuss what makes Marvel so special. Nate talks about the development process when making a Marvel film, the level of familiarity with the IP required to produce and direct a Marvel movie, how they decide between making a TV show or a movie, the unconventional filmmaker h...

Imagine you are the head of a new film studio with an unlimited budget. Who are the movie directors you would pay the most money to sign for the next 20 years? Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw put on their studio-head hats to each draft a team of directors for the next two decades in Hollywood. The goal is commercial success—who will make the most money? Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Produce...

Welcome back to Town Hall! Matt and Craig answer listener questions about CNN’s lackluster election-night ratings, the host problem with 'SNL,’ Disney’s stock price and Apple’s position to potentially make an offer, the Hallmark movie appeal to major streamers, the Hollywood-China situation, Ryan Murphy’s latest success at Netflix and whether another big deal is in his future, and which streaming...

Matt is joined by Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian to discuss the pseudoscience of movie tracking and how box office projections are made before anyone has seen a movie. They discuss the tracking around movies like 'Black Panther: Wakanda Forever' and 'Avatar: The Way of Water.' Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Paul Dergarabedian Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn mo...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the price increases across multiple streaming platforms, the addition of ad-supported tiers, waning stock prices, and how layoffs and budget cuts in media might affect what you see on screen. Email us your questions, thoughts, and ideas at thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo...

Since its launch nearly 50 years ago, HBO has revolutionized and disrupted the television ecosystem, but for the past 15 years it has been challenged by a new disruptor, Netflix. Matt is joined by Felix Gillette from Bloomberg News and John Koblin from The New York Times to discuss their new book, ‘It's Not TV: The Spectacular Rise, Revolution and Future of HBO,’ and the ongoing battle between Net...

In 2010, the 10 movies nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars ran on average 1:52. By 2019, that average bloated to 2:20. And it’s not just the prestige movies. In 2021, the top 10 performers at the box office averaged 2:11. Matt is joined by film producer David Friendly to break down this issue, why it’s happening, and whether this is the new normal. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: David Friendly Pro...

Taylor Swift’s new album is taking the pop music world by storm—what’s new? But each year fewer and fewer new pop stars are cracking the top 10 according to Billboard. Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the fracturing of the pop music landscape, TikTok’s influence of music discovery, the role of the music label, and the dilution of monoculture in music. Email us your questions, co...

Matt is joined by president and CEO of streaming at Paramount Global and cofounder of Pluto TV Tom Ryan to talk about the free, ad-supported streaming television market. They discuss people’s tolerance for ads these days, the growing competition in the ad-supported streaming space, whether Pluto will merge into Paramount+, how the ad model changes the content offering, and where the world of SVOD...

Matt is joined by The Hollywood Reporter’s Boris Kit to discuss Warner Bros. naming director James Gunn and Peter Safran as the new leaders of the DC cinematic universe. Email us questions, comments, and ideas to thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Boris Kit Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to preview the biggest bets in media and entertainment coming in the remainder of 2022 and rank which project carries the most risk to each company. Email us your questions, thoughts, and ideas at thetown@spotify.com. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoice...