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
March 24, 2023 • 33 min
Matt is joined by the chair of the motion picture group at Lionsgate, Joe Drake, to talk about how the 'John Wick' series came to be and the future of the franchise, how hard is it for a non-major studio to compete with other studios in the theatrical business, making originals vs. franchises, and how an independent movie studio survives in 2023. They also discuss a potential sale of Lionsgate and what is next for the company. Matt...
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March 23, 2023 • 30 min
Matt is joined by Puck contributor and analyst at Parrot Analytics Julia Alexander to talk about Paramount selling the BET, a rare instance in which a media conglomerate sells an entire network and streaming service. They discuss why Paramount is selling BET, rumored potential suitors like Tyler Perry and Diddy, and the argument for small streamers to be in the hands of independent owners instead of major media conglomerates. Matt ...
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March 20, 2023 • 33 min
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss whether we are starting to see signs of decline in the franchise entertainment model. After the poor box-office showing of 'Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania' and a slow start to Season 3 of 'The Mandalorian,' they speculate about whether the bankable franchise model of spinoffs, sequels, prequels, and universes is still as safe a bet as it once was. Matt finishes the show with a ...
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March 16, 2023 • 28 min
Matt and Craig celebrate The Town’s one-year anniversary by looking back at Matt’s predictions and highlighting his best and worst takes after a wild year in Hollywood. They break down his strongest box-office hits and largest misses, as well as his takes from 2022 that aged the best and worst, including Netflix’s future after the Great Netflix Correction, 'SNL' cutbacks, Bob Iger potentially buying the Phoenix Suns, HBO Max’s new ...
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March 15, 2023 • 33 min
Matt is joined by co-founder, president, and managing partner of M88 Phil Sun to talk about how to build a movie star career, how to evaluate projects for your client, the decision for his client Michael B. Jordan to direct 'Creed III', what is next for his career and the Creed universe, why he decided to leave WME and start his own managing film, and the growing influence of diverse audiences in entertainment.
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March 13, 2023 • 33 min
Matt is joined by Deadline senior reporter Justin Kroll to discuss which young actors benefited the most from awards season buzz and saw the biggest career “bumps” from Oscar nominations. Justin specializes in breaking casting news around town, and he helps Matt look ahead at the upcoming projects of each Oscar nominee and determine who is set up for the most success.
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March 9, 2023 • 35 min
Matt is joined by the CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Bill Kramer, to talk about his first year as CEO, the changes we will see on this year's broadcast, what they have learned from the Slap, how to bring more young people to the show, and convoluted Oscar campaign rules in light of the Andrea Riseborough nomination. Matt and Craig finish the show with a prediction about the opening weekend for ‘Scream VI' a...
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March 8, 2023 • 32 min
Matt is joined by Mosaic talent manager and Oscars enthusiast Michael Lasker to help parse through the chatter in Hollywood to find a gambling edge on the Oscars. Matt and Michael reveal why ‘Top Gun’ still has a shot at stealing Best Picture, who has the edge in a tight Best Actress race, historical trends for certain categories, and how a changing Academy could affect who wins and loses.
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March 6, 2023 • 32 min
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the recent dearth of hit TV shows and whether the current state of the streaming landscape marks the end of peak TV. Will we finally see a pullback in the number of TV shows produced each year? They discuss which streamers are likely to reduce their output and which will continue to push ahead, and they predict how far we could drop from last year's record 599 scripted U.S. televi...
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March 3, 2023 • 33 min
Matt is joined by New Yorker staff writer Michael Schulman to discuss his new book ‘Oscar Wars’ and the ploys and tactics behind Oscar campaigning. They highlight the most devious campaigns in Oscar history and break down this year’s most interesting campaigns, including the gamesmanship involved in Andrea Riseborough’s surprise nomination for Actress in a Leading Role and how these tactics have both changed and stayed the same sin...
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March 3, 2023 • 34 min
Matt is joined by Puck’s Dylan Byers to talk about Rupert Murdoch’s surprisingly candid testimony regarding Fox News’ relationship with the Trump election conspiracy and what this means for the future of Fox News. Later, Matt and Craig make a prediction about the opening weekend of the upcoming film ‘Creed III.’
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February 28, 2023 • 33 min
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss what a potential writers strike would look like for Hollywood, how the economics of streaming have hurt writers, what they want, whether or not the studios would want a strike, and how this would affect your favorite television shows and movies. Matt and Craig finish the show with a prediction about the future of ‘Yellowstone.’
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February 23, 2023 • 33 min
Matt is joined by Brandon Ross, partner at Lightshed Partners, to discuss the shifting balance of power for regional sports networks, where you can watch your favorite local teams when their games are not airing nationally. The current media landscape is shifting under the RSNs; consolidation and competition from streaming services are threatening the economic viability of their business. Can the local sports networks for the NBA, ...
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February 21, 2023 • 31 min
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to conduct the first box office draft on The Town. Matt and Lucas each draft five blockbusters set to be released in 2023 with the goal of making the most money possible against the production budget. We add a twist to the draft by allowing each person the chance to sink the other team by giving them a movie they believe will flop.
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February 16, 2023 • 32 min
Matt is joined by Axios senior media reporter and CNN media analyst Sara Fischer to discuss the current state of the deal market for entertainment companies and who she is watching for possible acquisitions or sales. Sara predicts what could happen to digital media companies like Vice, Disney’s acquisition possibilities, potential buyers for the WWE, Lionsgate spinning off Starz, YouTube’s valuable IP, NBCU, Warner Bros. Discovery,...
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February 14, 2023 • 35 min
Matt is joined by James B. Stewart and Rachel Abrams of The New York Times to discuss their new book, ‘Unscripted: The Epic Battle for a Media Empire and the Redstone Family Legacy.’ They discuss the inside machinations that put Sumner Redstone’s daughter, Shari, on top at Paramount, how she took on Les Moonves, and how the Redstone empire fell behind Netflix and the other digital-focused entertainment companies.
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February 13, 2023 • 32 min
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Bob Iger’s first earnings report as new CEO of Disney, including a first look at his strategy to turn the company around. They talk about his decision to split the company into three silos (entertainment, parks, and ESPN) and his openness to off-loading Hulu. They predict whether or not Disney will sell Hulu and ESPN and, if so, to whom.
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February 9, 2023 • 32 min
Matt is joined by writer director Aline Brosh McKenna, writer of hits like ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ and ‘27 Dresses,’ to talk about why the comedy/rom-com genre is in a weird place right now, why movies of this genre are not in theaters anymore, whether a rom-com can still break new movie stars, the state of the business for writers in Hollywood, and her new Netflix movie ‘Your Place or Mine’ with Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutche...
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February 8, 2023 • 33 min
Matt is joined by New York Magazine features writer Reeves Wiedeman to discuss his latest piece, about the complicated state of documentaries right now. Reeves talks about how the true crime genre and the celebrity-produced documentary space have dominated the market for buyers, leaving little room for more traditional works of art and journalism to poke through. They discuss the ease with which these glorified reality TV or public...
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February 6, 2023 • 33 min
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the latest casualty of the streaming wars, Showtime, which was effectively killed last week when its owner, Paramount Global, rebranded the network to Paramount+ with Showtime. The network is drastically changing its linear strategy and has announced a slate of 'Yellowstone'-like spin-off shows of its biggest Showtime hits, like 'Billions' and 'Dexter.' Matt and Lucas dissect if t...
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