The Town with Matthew Belloni

Matt is joined by Rolling Stone’s Tatiana Siegel to discuss her latest article, which outlines the bizarre story of online bots fueling the Zack Synder rerelease of ‘Justice League’ and the turmoil it caused within Warner Bros. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Tatiana Siegel Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the release of Netflix's $200 million action movie ‘The Gray Man’ this past weekend, Matt is joined by Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw to discuss Netflix's movie strategy, the perception that it makes mock blockbusters, its marketing choices, and what it needs to do to be competitive. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choic...

Matt is joined by LightShed’s Rich Greenfield to discuss the misperceptions of Netflix, Apple, and Hulu in the streaming ecosystem. They discuss the Netflix password crackdown, Netflix choosing Microsoft as its partner for its advertising tier, Hulu’s future with Disney, and Apple’s chances of joining the streaming elites. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Rich Greenfield Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme So...

Matt is joined by television critic Inkoo Kang from the Washington Post to break down this year's Emmy nominations, including the most notable shows and actors left off the ballot, surprising nominees, biggest question marks, predictions for Emmy night, and what this says about the current state of the television industry. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Inkoo Kang Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: D...

Matt is joined by New Yorker writer Ken Auletta to discuss his new book, ‘Hollywood Ending: Harvey Weinstein and the Culture of Silence,’ a biography detailing Weinstein’s rise to dominance in the film industry, his web of collusion, and his scramble to protect himself. Ken details the long and difficult process of writing and covering this story over the past two decades. Host: Matt Belloni Guest...

There are many rumors about who celebrities really are when the cameras are off. Tabloids, manicured interviews, and public appearances often shape the perception of our favorite stars. But we don’t always know who they really are in real life. Is Matt Damon really that nice? What about Tom Hanks? Today, Matt and his former colleague at The Hollywood Reporter Lacey Rose draw from past interactions...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the annual Sun Valley conference, dubbed a “summer camp for billionaires,” where chief executives and board chairmen gather for private conversations that often lead to major deals across the tech and media landscape. Matt and Lucas discuss their experience attending Sun Valley conference in the past and prognosticate over which conversations cou...

Matt is joined by author and journalist James Andrew Miller to discuss the ramifications of CAA's acquisition of ICM, including the consolidation of top-level talent agencies, why ICM decided to sell, how this will affect the future of content, and more. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: James Andrew Miller Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastc...

Matt is joined by producer, founder, and chief executive of Blumhouse Productions, Jason Blum, to discuss the evolution of economics in the entertainment industry in the age of streaming. Later, Matt runs Jason through a lightning round of questions about various topics in Hollywood. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Jason Blum Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad ch...

As we near the halfway point of 2022, Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw host the first-ever Half-Year Hollywood Awards. They give out awards for the winner and loser of the past six months, Biggest Publicist Fail, Head-scratcher Deal, Most Annoying Trend, predict who will win the next six months, and more. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn...

Matt is joined by theme park journalist and podcast host Carlye Wisel to talk about the Disney Parks ecosystem, what's new post-pandemic, how they are making all this money, and the future of this important part of the entertainment industry. Then, Matt gives a prediction about the upcoming movie ‘Elvis.’ Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Carlye Wisel Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Lea...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss how the pandemic has affected movies, live TV, streaming, and music. They break down the disappointing opening weekend for Pixar’s ‘Lightyear’ and how it may foretell the future of moviegoing, a dip in TV viewership across the country, the future of showrunner megadeals, and the music boom of the 2020s. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Produc...

CNN is facing a major makeover at the hands of its new leaders David Zaslav and Chris Licht, but it could mean trouble for old correspondents. Matt brings on Puck writer and CNN expert Dylan Byers to break down Licht’s new strategy and its potential for success. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Dylan Byers Producer: Devon Manze Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoi...

Matt is joined by Julia Alexander of Parrot Analytics to discuss the record-breaking opening week for ‘Stranger Things,' the series' competition with 'Obi-Wan Kenobi,' and the most valuable properties in streaming. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Julia Alexander Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Devon Manze Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by CNBC’s Alex Sherman to discuss the surprising firing of Disney entertainment executive Peter Rice. They discuss what Disney is saying about it, what does this say about the future of Disney, and much more. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Alex Sherman Producer: Craig Horlbeck Associate Producer: Isaiah Blakely Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoi...

Matt is joined by John Ourand from Sports Business Journal to discuss the unexpectedly low ratings after the first two games of the NBA Finals as well as the future of sports in streaming, including Disney’s commitment to ESPN, a potential buyer for the network, and more. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: John Ourand Host: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit po...

Matt is joined by The Hollywood Reporter’s Rebecca Keegan to discuss the indie hit ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ and why it resonated with audiences. Later, they talk about A24’s unique cachet in Hollywood, its innovation in marketing and brand awareness, and whether it will eventually be acquired. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Rebecca Keegan Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Le...

In our first ever Town Hall, Matt and Craig field questions from the audience, covering topics about Disney’s ‘Star Wars’ movie struggles, Amazon’s expensive bet on its ‘Lord of the Rings’ series, the process behind green-lighting and renewing shows and why HBO is so good at it, Tom Cruise’s potential nine-figure payday from ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ and the business behind how actors and writers get p...

Matt is joined by Puck’s Eriq Gardner to react to the verdict in the Amber Heard–Johnny Depp defamation trial, as well as what's next for Depp and Heard and the significance of this trial going forward. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Eriq Gardner Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ the sequel to the 1986 blockbuster, set the record for biggest opening over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Matt is joined by Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw to discuss if this is a sign of older audiences finally returning to theaters or if this is just a flash in the pan. Then they ponder if Tom Cruise is Hollywood's last remaining movie star. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw P...

It’s Memorial Day weekend, which means it is officially summer blockbuster season. Matt is joined by Forbes’ Scott Mendelson to run through each of the most highly anticipated blockbusters of the summer and assign their confidence in the movie exceeding expectations at the box office. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Scott Mendelson Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your...

In the Season 47 finale, ‘Saturday Night Live’ said goodbye to cast members Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant, Pete Davidson, and Kyle Mooney. Matt is joined by journalist, author, and longtime ‘SNL’ expert James Andrew Miller to talk about what’s next for the show, cast members working on outside projects, the diversity of the cast and writers room, Lorne’s successor, and the looming 50-year anniversary...

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss which Hollywood-focused trends are theoretical buys or sells in the stock market of Hollywood. 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 Funny or Die CEO Mike Farah and chief creative officer Joe Farrell to talk about the state of comedy in Hollywood, why there are less and less hit comedy movies in theaters, social media’s impact, making comedy in today's culture, and a movie studio’s incentive to take risks on a comedy without a star. Host Matt Belloni Guest: Mike Farah and Joe Farrell Producer: Craig Horlbeck T...

Matt is joined by Puck national correspondent Eriq Gardner to react to the conclusion of Amber Heard’s testimony in the Johnny Depp defamation trial. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Eriq Gardner Producer: Craig Horlbeck Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices