The Town with Matthew Belloni
Puck founding partner Matthew Belloni takes you inside Hollywood, using exclusive reporting and insight to explain the backstories on everything from Marvel movies to streaming wars. Multiple times each week, Matt will touch on what is getting made and why, who is winning and losing, and what people in show business are actually talking about.
Episodes
July 26, 2024 • 29 mins
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Warner Bros. Discovery’s lawsuit against the NBA after the NBA rejected WBD’s matching offer for a package of broadcasting rights. They look at the argument for both sides, and determine who has the best case.
For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here.
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Host: Matt Belloni
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Mark as Played
July 24, 2024 • 36 mins
Matt is joined by Mark Lazarus, NBCUniversal Media Group chairman, to discuss the business behind broadcasting the Olympics, how these Games will feel different than the 2020 Olympics, what they learned from streaming an NFL playoff game on Peacock, Al Michaels’s AI broadcasting debut, and NBA rights (2:56). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ (28:22).
For a 20 percent di...
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July 22, 2024 • 32 mins
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Netflix’s strong second-quarter earnings, and how the company’s strong numbers might weaken in the next few years partially because of their underwhelming advertising revenue. They then ask a larger question: Is the race for streaming now down to two finalists—Netflix and YouTube (2:43)? Matt finishes the show with a prediction for which city will win hosting duties of the 2027 Su...
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July 19, 2024 • 39 mins
Matt is joined by Jessica Reif Ehrlich, a senior media and entertainment analyst at BofA Securities, to discuss the floundering Warner Bros. Discovery and propose several drastic changes she believes are necessary to save the company (02:35). Then, The Ringer’s Bill Simmons joins the show with a new angle on the looming NBA rights deal involving Amazon and Warner Bros. Discovery (22:14). Finally, Matt makes an opening weekend box o...
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July 17, 2024 • 33 mins
Matt is joined by Luminate’s director of business development, Jimmy Doyle, to discuss the state of the 'Star Wars' franchise, its lack of theatrical movies, and what the troubling TV ratings signal for the brand. They talk about the 'Star Wars' properties that are working, the upcoming Mandalorian movie, and whether Disney should ultimately license its content to Netflix (02:43). In light of the recent Emmy nominations, Matt finis...
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July 15, 2024 • 32 mins
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s latest comments from the Sun Valley conference, during which he advocated for less regulation in Hollywood. They unpack his statement and speculate how the election results might affect the regulatory environment for media companies, which companies would benefit the most from M&A possibilities, and why a company like Netflix might not min...
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July 11, 2024 • 32 mins
Matt is joined by director Jon M. Chu to discuss how he made it in Hollywood, his career-altering move to pass on Netflix and bet on movie theaters with ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ balancing art and commerce, making films with AI, his upcoming film ‘Wicked,' and much more from his new book, ‘Viewfinder: A Memoir of Seeing and Being Seen’ (02:34). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for the Scarlett Johanss...
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July 9, 2024 • 32 mins
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to look at what the future holds for Paramount now that David Ellison has purchased the legacy media company from Shari Redstone. They discuss what will happen to Paramount's assets, including CBS, Pluto, Paramount+, as well as their movie strategy, and ultimately if a new, young, tech-focused CEO can not only keep Paramount alive, but help it flourish (02:22). Matt finishes the show with a ...
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July 8, 2024 • 39 mins
Matt is joined by Skydance CEO David Ellison and RedBird Capital's Gerry Cardinale to discuss Ellison’s acquisition of Shari Redstone’s family company and the merger of Paramount Global with Skydance Media. David and Gerry outline what the future holds for Paramount as a media company, including what they intend to do with Paramount+, their thoughts on the theatrical business, and how tech will help shape the future of storytelling...
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July 3, 2024 • 31 mins
Matt is joined by Puck’s John Ourand to break down the multibillion-dollar NFL ‘Sunday Ticket’ lawsuit when a jury in the U.S. District Court ordered the NFL to pay more than $4.7 billion in damages after the league violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service, DIRECTV. John explains how this bill could actually balloon to nearly $15 billion under antitrust law, how ...
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July 1, 2024 • 37 mins
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to look back on the first half of 2024 and highlight the stories they believe were most over- and undercovered, including the horror movie genre, new Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery bundle Venu, the ScarJo OpenAI fight, Pat McAfee and Norby Williamson, UMG vs. TikTok, and more.
For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click this link:...
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June 28, 2024 • 32 mins
Matt is joined by journalist, podcast host, and cofounder of Semafor, Ben Smith, to discuss how last night's dispiriting debate will affect CNN and the TV news landscape as we move towards the 2024 election. Will the debate revive CNN and give it the story it's been looking for? They also take a look at the broader state of TV news as we exit the cable news era and wonder how many of these waning news networks can survive in the st...
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June 26, 2024 • 32 mins
Matt is joined by longtime producer Mark Gill to break down the finances of Kevin Costner’s ‘Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 1.’ He explains how indie films of this scope and scale are financed, how much the movie needs to make for everyone to survive, and who has the most to lose. They also discuss another ambitious self-financed project, Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ (02:35). Matt finishes the show with an opening weeken...
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June 24, 2024 • 32 mins
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss if Hollywood is struggling as much as the media says it is. They run through a slew of issues, including traditional Hollywood’s battle with YouTube and TikTok, whether young people should abandon careers in TV and film and instead focus on social media, why Hollywood guilds and studios aren't going after AI together while major music labels are suing AI companies, the efficacy of...
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June 20, 2024 • 36 mins
Matt is joined by Scott Galloway, a professor of marketing at the NYU Stern School of Business, author, and podcast host, to look back on the fallout and consequences of the writers strike and discuss how the studios and guilds should be handling the AI infiltration in the entertainment industry. They also discuss the state of the theatrical business, Hollywood’s aging executives, and how the government is handling big tech (01:51)...
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June 18, 2024 • 32 mins
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Sony Pictures' acquisition of the Alamo Drafthouse movie theater chain, what this move says about Sony’s interest in theatrical moviegoing, whether this experiment was ultimately a smart move, and whether any other studios or streamers should be in the theater-buying business (02:54). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the future of casting animated movies (24:33).
Fo...
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June 14, 2024 • 28 mins
Matt is back with the second half of his conversation with Jon Stewart to discuss how Hollywood should handle the AI issue, how Viacom let John Oliver go to HBO, whom Stewart consulted before agreeing to come back to the show, whether Stewart might stay beyond his planned exit from ‘The Daily Show’ in November, and the media he is consuming these days (01:22).
For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What...
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June 13, 2024 • 34 mins
Matt is joined by Jon Stewart to discuss his return to ‘The Daily Show,’ why he and Apple were not a great fit, and how the media, political, and comedy landscape has changed in the nine years since he left ‘The Daily Show’ (02:38). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for the newest Pixar film, ‘Inside Out 2’ (26:44).
For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearin...
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June 12, 2024 • 36 mins
Matt and Lightshed media analyst Rich Greenfield react to Shari Redstone calling off the Paramount-Skydance deal at the eleventh hour after a sale seemed imminent. They discuss why Shari killed the deal, how one man is potentially responsible for convincing Shari to back out, what’s next for Paramount Global, and much more (03:08). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for the newest Pixar film, ‘Insi...
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June 11, 2024 • 32 mins
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Will Smith’s return to box office stardom after the success of ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ and if this marks the official return for Will Smith as one of Hollywood's most dependable theatrical movie stars. They then discuss which movie stars can reliably open an original movie in theaters, and whether directors are more bankable than actors (03:01). Matt finishes the show with a predi...
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