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
November 20, 2025 • 31 mins
Matt is joined by Tom Freston, former CEO of Viacom and MTV Networks, to discuss why legacy companies missed the boat with YouTube in the early aughts, the similarities YouTube from the aughts shares with the AI boom of today, why MTV died, and whether it can be revived (02:13). Matt finishes the show with a prediction on the hottest story in town: Parmigiano Reggiano signing with UTA (25:57). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s H...
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November 19, 2025 • 37 mins
Matt is joined by Jonathan Kanter, a lawyer who served as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2021 to 2024, to look at the looming Warner Bros. Discovery sale from an antitrust perspective, highlight the biggest antitrust issues for each potential bidder (Paramount, Comcast, Netflix), whether consolidation is necessary to compete with Big Tech, the government’s influence over...
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November 17, 2025 • 33 mins
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to investigate a historically bad fall season at the box office by highlighting which issues are actually real and which are insignificant. They look at larger industry-wide trends, like the shortening of theatrical windows and the rise of streaming, as well as smaller, more recent developments like releasing independent movies wide rather than platforming them. They discuss whether the "mov...
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November 13, 2025 • 31 mins
Matt is joined by Rahul Purini, the president of Crunchyroll, to discuss the anime boom both globally and in America, the rise of global streaming services and its role in spreading anime and manga content, and what is it about the anime content itself that appeals to audiences (03:49). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘The Running Man’ and ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t' (24:08). For a 20 ...
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November 12, 2025 • 36 mins
Matt is joined by Tubi CEO Anjali Sud to discuss how Tubi reached profitability, its push to bring in original creators, the growth of ad-supported streaming, how the FAST landscape is evolving, and why everyone is competing with YouTube (01:55). Later, Matt discusses a few details about the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic, ‘Michael,’ and gives an early prediction for how the movie will perform and whether there will be a sequel (2...
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November 10, 2025 • 30 mins
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the ongoing dispute between YouTube and Disney, which has resulted in the removal of ESPN and other Disney properties from YouTube TV for the past week. They break down why this dispute is different from others that have come before it, focusing on the leverage a tech company like Google has over traditional cable operators. Later, they touch on the recent Warner Bros. Discovery e...
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November 5, 2025 • 31 mins
Matt opens up the mailbag for another Town Hall and answers listener questions about Disney turning down a Steven Soderbergh–penned 'Star Wars' script, the possibility of Netflix and Comcast splitting Warner Bros. Discovery, whether Netflix will ever release movies in theaters, who the best home for Warner Bros. is from the perspective of the talent community, and what will happen to 'The Challenge' and other MTV properties under D...
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November 3, 2025 • 41 mins
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to draft which movie franchises they would most want to start a movie studio with in 2025. They each select five franchises, as well as one TV franchise, and make the case for why they are best suited to succeed over the next 10-20 years.
For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here...
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October 30, 2025 • 35 mins
Matt is joined by Andrew Ross Sorkin ('Squawk Box,' The New York Times) to discuss how the tech boom has affected Hollywood and what new power players like David Ellison really want with the media industry. They also discuss the potential impact of the AI bubble bursting, whether the Middle East will ever make a big splash in Hollywood, and whether there is a case for consolidation in media (02:11). Matt finishes the show with a pr...
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October 29, 2025 • 32 mins
Matt is joined by Teddy Schwarzman, the founder of Black Bear Pictures, to discuss the challenges and strategies behind an independent production company launching its own distribution division. They talk about the risk of making big bets on small movies in theaters, how the industry has evolved, and whether Teddy sees A24 and Neon as competitors (02:46). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for Yorg...
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October 27, 2025 • 32 mins
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Matt’s report that Taylor Sheridan will be leaving Paramount to join NBCU starting in 2029. They break down the details of the deal, whether this should be considered savvy or desperate for NBCU and Peacock, how big of a risk this is, and whether this portends a larger splash coming from NBCU (02:40). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the future of Jon Stewart and 'Th...
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October 23, 2025 • 35 mins
Matt is joined by film data analyst Stephen Follows to dig into one of Hollywood’s most ridiculous phenomenons, the film festival standing ovation. Stephen gathered over 500 reported standing ovations across five of the world’s biggest film festivals to see whether the length of applause tells us anything meaningful about a film’s future (02:26). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the 25 shows eligible for Best Podcast ...
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October 22, 2025 • 36 mins
Matt is joined by Peter Supino, a managing director and senior analyst at Wolfe Research, to unpack the deal market for Warner Bros. Discovery, running through each potential bidder, who makes the most sense, and what a merger would look like in each scenario (03:13). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’ (30:45). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywoo...
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October 20, 2025 • 35 mins
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Netflix diving into the podcast business by striking a deal to stream a group of original podcasts from Spotify and The Ringer. They break down what this signals for the future of Netflix, the likelihood that people will watch podcasts on Netflix, and what’s in it for Spotify. Later, they touch on AMC and Netflix agreeing to rerelease ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ in theaters from October ...
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October 16, 2025 • 35 mins
Matt is joined by Edward Saatchi, the CEO of a startup called Fable, to discuss his new product, Showrunner, which is backed by Amazon and bills itself as the “Netflix of AI.” The app allows users to create their own licensed versions of their favorite TV shows using AI. Edward explains why he feels this is the proper way to use AI in Hollywood, how the app will make money and pay artists, the guardrails to ensure this is used prop...
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October 14, 2025 • 41 mins
Matt is joined by Apple senior vice president of services Eddy Cue to discuss all things Apple in Hollywood, including the latest momentum for the studio after big hits like ‘Severance,’ ‘The Studio,’ and ‘F1’; the business model of the streaming service; whether the company would ever bolster its library by acquiring a studio; its interest in sports rights; its commitment to releasing movies theatrically; and whether Apple is seri...
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October 13, 2025 • 32 mins
Live from Bloomberg’s Screentime event in L.A., Matt and Lucas Shaw make the case to buy or sell various entities across the entertainment industry, including the Rock, Comcast, Louis C.K., the Sora 2 freak-out, Glen Powell, Marvel, and more!
For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here. Email us your thoughts! ...
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October 10, 2025 • 25 mins
In Part 2 of Matt’s conversation with WME executive chairman and TKO CEO Ari Emanuel and TKO president Mark Shapiro, they discuss how the NFL's next rights negotiations will influence the entertainment industry, how the UFC ended up with Paramount and why it almost went to Netflix, and Ari’s relationship with the Rock, David Ellison, and Donald Trump (01:35). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What ...
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October 9, 2025 • 31 mins
Matt is joined by WME and TKOs Ari Emanuel and Mark Shapiro to discuss their new company, Mari. They talk about why they are betting on live experiences, the possibility of the four-day work week changing the way we live, the state of the talent business, and how we should be thinking about AI in Hollywood (03:33). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the possibility of Netflix buying Warner Bros. (23:12).
For a 20 ...
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October 7, 2025 • 32 mins
Matt is joined by Semafor cofounder Ben Smith to discuss what to expect from CBS News in the David Ellison and Bari Weiss era. Ellison, the new owner of Paramount, has tasked 41-year-old Weiss to run its news division and also acquired her company The Free Press for $150 million. Matt and Ben talk about why David Ellison brought Weiss in, how she could influence CBS News, and what power a broadcast news brand even has in 2025 (03:3...
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