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Every episode
The Town with Matthew Belloni
30 episodes
What Will It Take to End the Paramount–Warner Bros. Standoff?
Aug 17, 2026 · 40 min
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Paramount’s threat to leave California if it doesn’t get a settlement, the discourse’s effect on David Ellison’s ability to get a deal done, how an extended delay could negatively impact Hollywood, and what needs to happen to get this deal done (02:01). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about a new Disneyland attraction (31:57). Host: Matt Belloni Gust: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: D…
Where Have All the Action Heroes Gone? With 'John Wick' Producer Basil Iwanyk
Aug 13, 2026 · 38 min
Matt is joined by producer Basil Iwanyk (John Wick, The Town, Sicario, The Expendables) to discuss the struggling state of the action movie market in America, why most studios have abandoned the original action movie business, casting an action star, and more (02:28). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘The End of Oak Street’ (32:05). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Basil Iwanyk Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo…
Why Can’t We Build More IMAX Theaters? With CEO Rich Gelfond
Aug 12, 2026 · 40 min
Matt is joined by IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond to discuss the massive summer at the box office, 'The Odyssey' being the highest grossing IMAX movie of all time, IMAX being openly for sale, why there aren't more true 70mm IMAX theaters, if there will be more, Infinity Vision, the cost of shooting a movie entirely in IMAX, and more (02:12). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about whether or not Paramount would move its headquarters out of California (31:46). Host: Matt Belloni Gust: Rich Gelfond P…
Fox Stands Up to the NFL, a Big Change to TV Ownership, and Ellison Commits to 30 Movies
Aug 10, 2026 · 37 min
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss why Fox is refusing to renegotiate their media rights deal with the NFL until their current deal expires after the 2029 season, the impact of the FCC repealing the local television ownership cap, and David Ellison’s contractual pledge with theater owners to release at least 30 movies per year under WarnerMount (02:30). We finish the show by announcing a slate of live events for The Town this fall (31:18). Host: Matt Belloni Gust: Lucas Shaw Pro…
The Case for Disney Exiting the Streaming Wars
Aug 7, 2026 · 31 min
Matt is joined by Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall to make the case for why Disney should exit the streaming business and focus only on producing and licensing its content. Steven digs into why Disney is well-positioned to leave streaming, the strength of its IP, and what Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro had to say about Steven’s idea (02:24). Matt finishes the show with another weekend box office prediction for ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ (24:13). Host: Matt Belloni Gust: Steven Cahall Producers: Craig…
Can the Paramount-WBD Merger Survive a Trial, Midterms, and a $650 Million Clock?
Aug 5, 2026 · 37 min
Matt is joined by Puck’s Eriq Gardner to discuss the March 2027 trial date that has been set for the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery antitrust case and what it means for the likelihood of this merger going through. They highlight the $650 million per quarter ticking fee Paramount has to pay in the meantime, how the November midterm elections could play a factor, who has the best leverage, whether Netflix could end up back in the mix, David Ellison’s New York Times column, and the other major le…
Why Spider-Man Broke Records, and Why Peacock Partnered With YouTube
Aug 3, 2026 · 38 min
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to catch up with the biggest news around town, including a record-breaking opening weekend for 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' WarnerMount trial-date jockeying, and YouTube’s new deal with Peacock (02:24). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about a ‘Barbie’ sequel (31:03). Host: Matt Belloni Gust: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Nominated for 25 Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING COMEDY…
The Future Blockbusters Draft, Part 2
Jul 28, 2026 · 32 min
Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw finish The Town’s first Future Blockbusters Draft by filling the remaining five slots on their teams (01:12). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Future Blockbusters Draft: The Directors, Actors, and IP That Will Define the Next Decade
Jul 27, 2026 · 34 min
Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw put on their studio chief hats and conduct the first Future Blockbusters Draft. In Part 1, they draft five elements (director, actor, or IP) they believe will define the box office for the next 10 years (00:34). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the Paramount–Warner Bros. merger (24:18). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. St…
The Surprising Winners of the AI-Enabled Entertainment Economy
Jul 24, 2026 · 37 min
Matt is joined by Sean Diffley, head of media and entertainment as well as cable and telecom research at Morgan Stanley to discuss a new system for stock picking called the MS Media Matrix, which ranks publicly traded entertainment companies based on audience and engagement, their interactivity, urgency of the content, pricing power, IP, and AI positioning, and then compares these strengths and weaknesses to the companies’ relative share price. They discuss the importance of ownership within the…
Is Netflix Hurting YouTube by Poaching Talent?
Jul 21, 2026 · 36 min
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to debate whether Netflix or YouTube is winning the battle to dominate Hollywood. They move through the pros and cons of each platform, the new rules of engagement, whether podcasts are working on Netflix, whether YouTube should go after premium content, and more (02:26). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the future of WarnerMount after a judge ruled for a temporary restraining order on the deal (27:50). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw P…
Paramount's Strategy to Beat California, With Its Top Lawyer
Jul 20, 2026 · 45 min
Matt is joined by Makan Delrahim, chief legal officer at Paramount, who argues his case in favor of Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. He explains what they are willing to concede, why the state's case should fail, why this deal improves competition, whether Paramount would leave California, and the multiple ways this case could play out (02:42). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Makan Delrahim Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This ep…
The Numbers That Have Netflix Investors Spooked
Jul 17, 2026 · 34 min
(00:00) Matt is joined by Guggenheim Senior Managing Director Michael Morris to discuss Netflix’s latest data dump and quarterly earnings report and assess why the market has started to turn on the streamer. They dig into why Netflix decided to reduce their engagement report release from biannually to annually, why the stock price has dropped nearly 50 percent since October, the nagging question of engagement, the perception that growth is slowing, and if M&A is necessary to reaccelerate growth,…
The Data Scientists Quietly Powering Hollywood’s Greenlight Machine
Jul 17, 2026 · 37 min
Matt is joined by professor Violaine Roussel, a professor of sociology at Paris 8 University, to discuss her new book 'Data Driven Hollywood: The New Data Professionals in the Age of Streaming,' which polls 75 data scientists employed at streamers and studios to explain how modern studios use data to inform what they greenlight, what the data departments look like inside these streamers, how Netflix uses things like “taste clusters,” and how creative choices have been reinvented over the last 15…
The Case Against WarnerMount, with CA Attorney General Rob Bonta
Jul 14, 2026 · 41 min
Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw are joined by California Attorney General Rob Bonta to discuss California’s new lawsuit to block Paramount Skydance's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. They talk about what the lawsuit highlights and avoids, Paramount’s response, and the impact the acquisition would have on Hollywood (02:51). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the future of Disney live-action remakes after a weak opening weekend for 'Moana' (35:03). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas…
Is California's $750 Million Bet on Hollywood Working?
Jul 11, 2026 · 34 min
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, why Netflix decided to build a headquarters in New Jersey, and how to build on the current momentum…
Inside the Internet IP Gold Rush Sweeping Hollywood
Jul 9, 2026 · 37 min
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 2026 Emmys (29:18). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Scott Glassgold Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lope…
The Biggest Winners and Losers of 2026 So Far
Jul 7, 2026 · 44 min
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 episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com This episode is bro…
Why Attendance Tells a Better Story Than Box Office
Jul 2, 2026 · 36 min
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 are overindexing, and some surprising political affiliations of moviegoers (00:00). Matt finishes t…
Will the Comcast-NBCU Split Lead to Another Huge Hollywood Deal?
Jun 29, 2026 · 33 min
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, Jessie Lopez, and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo After false reports of Deborah's death, she an…
How Larry Ellison’s Trump Bromance Is Helping WarnerMount
Jun 26, 2026 · 35 min
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 box office prediction for ‘Supergirl’ (28:32). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Emily Glazer Producers: Cr…
Amazon Won’t Release Its Sam Altman Movie. Will Anyone?
Jun 22, 2026 · 33 min
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 and how it portrays Altman, whether any major studio will buy this movie, and how big tech has influ…
The Secret Industry That Makes Movies Go Viral
Jun 19, 2026 · 36 min
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 influenced by these tactics, how prevalent this is in media, how AI will play a role, and what to ex…
Have Platforms Unseated Content as King in Hollywood?
Jun 17, 2026 · 33 min
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 prediction for 'Toy Story 5' (27:33). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: John Mass Producers: Craig Horlbeck…
Fox Is Buying Roku for $22B. Is It Now a Streaming Power Player?
Jun 16, 2026 · 36 min
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 Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Matt Pevic Theme Song: Devon Renaldo In this darkly comedic ser…
Bonus Episode! Matt Risks His Life Eating Wings With Sean Evans of ‘Hot Ones.’
Jun 14, 2026 · 49 min
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The ‘Obsession’ Windfall and How Indie Hits Pay Out
Jun 12, 2026 · 41 min
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 show with a prediction about '24 Jump Street' (34:18). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Mynette Louie Produc…
The Gen Z Box Office Boom and What They Think of Spielberg, Marvel, and Star Wars
Jun 11, 2026 · 28 min
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 Day’ (21:36). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Kevin Goetz Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Matt…
Is the ‘60 Minutes’ Blowup a Threat to Ellison’s Empire?
Jun 9, 2026 · 36 min
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 merger (02:48). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about who will attend the UFC Freedom 250 e…
'Backrooms’ Director Kane Parsons on Bursting into Hollywood, Internet Fandom, and Old IP
Jun 4, 2026 · 37 min
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 ‘Masters of the Universe’ (30:18). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Kane Parsons Producers: Craig Horlbeck…
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