The Town with Matthew Belloni

Live from Los Angeles, Matt is joined by writer and producer David E. Kelley ('Margo’s Got Money Troubles,' 'Big Little Lies,' 'L.A. Law') to talk about the difference between producing television for a streamer vs. a traditional legacy studio, writing about OnlyFans in his new show, what makes a good TV executive, whether he has ever used AI, and more. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: David E. Kelley Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Industry voters visit StarzFYC.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Disney pushback against the Trump administration by challenging the FCC’s investigation of 'The View,' saying it infringes on the First Amendment and free speech. They debate what this strong political stance means for Disney under new CEO Josh D’Amaro, and dig into Disney’s first earnings call under D’Amaro highlighting what he did and didn’t say in his mission statement (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the government's investigation of the NFL’s antitrust exemptions (24:15). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Industry voters visit StarzFYC.com. Book a new kind of stay at HolidayInn.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by litigator Michael Gottlieb to unpack the latest news in the Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni battle, who actually won, why the saga isn't over yet, if there is any regret for how things have unfolded, how much Ryan Reynolds was involved, and the lessons from this case. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Michael Gottlieb Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Industry voters visit StarzFYC.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Kareem Rahma, host and producer of SubwayTakes and Keep the Meter Running, to discuss transitioning from behind the scenes to an on-screen talent later in his career, the success of SubwayTakes, building a real business on social, the blurred lines between online shows and traditional late-night television, and more (00:00). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ (28:27). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Kareem Rahma Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Industry voters visit StarzFYC.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Netflix agreeing to release Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia: The Magician's Nephew’, in theaters worldwide with a traditional window of theatrical exclusivity for the first time ever. They examine why Netflix blinked on theaters now, and if this is a one-off or a sign of future softening of their stance on theaters (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the ongoing Jimmy Kimmel-Donald Trump feud (25:35). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Industry voters visit StarzFYC.com. Book a new kind of stay at HolidayInn.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s almost May, which means summer blockbuster season has officially begun. Matt welcomes back Puck’s Scott Mendelson to run through the most highly anticipated films of the summer, ranking each one by their box office potential and assigning confidence scores for each film. Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Adam Fogelson Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Lionsgate film chair Adam Fogelson to talk about the success of ‘Michael,’ the challenges of making the movie, why they took a chance on the film when many other studios passed, whether there will be a sequel and if it will engage with the allegations against Michael Jackson, Lionsgate’s recent hot streak, how they compete with major studios, and more (00:00). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ (40:35). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Adam Fogelson Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw to briefly discuss Matt’s experience at the White House Correspondents' Dinner before diving into the latest struggles for Peacock after a first-quarter loss of $432M despite increasing its subscriber base by 22 percent. They dig into why the streamer is struggling despite its association with a very successful movie studio, its strong reality TV slate, and its valuable NFL rights, and discuss the overall paradox of the streaming business in 2026 (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Netflix's new Los Angeles headquarters (25:23). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Semafor’s business and finance editor Liz Hoffman to discuss Wall Street's view of the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, this morning's WBD shareholder vote to approve the $110B deal, the non-binding rejection of David Zaslav’s exorbitant pay package, how the board will respond, and Netflix’s reputation after its push to acquire Warner Bros (00:32). Then, Matt and Craig recap the ‘Michael’ premiere, discuss the sordid backstory of making the movie, and give their opening weekend box office prediction (25:50). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Liz Hoffman Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com. Half Man is now streaming on HBO Max. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Live from CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Matt is joined by producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Emma Thomas and Cinema United CEO Michael O’Leary to discuss the petition to block Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros., the impact of PVOD and SVOD on the theatrical industry, the benefits of working with a major studio, the Ryan Coogler ‘Sinners’ deal, and what scares them the most about the state of the industry right now. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Jerry Bruckheimer, Emma Thomas, Michael O’Leary Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com. Half Man premieres April 23rd on HBO Max. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the state of the various high-profile antitrust cases in Hollywood, particularly how skeptical the states are of the Tegna-Nexstar and Live Nation–Ticketmaster mergers. Is this a new twist in how big media mergers are going to be treated? If so, what does this mean for Paramount–Warner Bros. (00:00)? Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the Academy Awards and AI (28:21). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Matt Pevic Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by The Ringer’s Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins from ‘The Big Picture’ to recap their trip to CinemaCon in Las Vegas and rank the presentations from the major movie studios. They discuss the trailers and footage the wowed people the most, announcements that fell flat, who brought the most star power, David Ellison’s surprise appearance and commitment to movie theaters, and much more. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Live from CinemaCon at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Matt is joined by 'The Mandalorian and Grogu' director Jon Favreau to discuss bringing a streaming property to the big screen, the future of the 'Star Wars' universe, why the perception of AI needs to change, how to improve movie theaters, and how new technology is transforming filmmaking. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Jon Favreau Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the business behind Justin Bieber’s Coachella performance, Ye’s successful mini comeback in Los Angeles, and Bill Ackman’s $64B bid to buy UMG (02:29). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Hollywood’s letter opposing the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger (22:40). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Matt Pevic Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville to talk about his new film ‘Lorne’, what it was like having exclusive access to Lorne Michaels and the behind-the-scenes moments from 'SNL' for multiple years, what surprised him about Lorne, what he thinks the future of 'SNL' looks like, and more (02:42). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘You, Me & Tuscany’ (34:37). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Morgan Neville Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jon Jones, and Matt Pevic Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com Hacks: Every Thursday at 9pm on HBO Max. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Cinema United President and CEO Michael O’Leary to discuss their new filmmakers council including Jerry Bruckheimer, Emma Thomas, and Ryan Coogler, what this council plans to accomplish, the promising start at the 2026 box office, if we are seeing a shift in the types of movies that are getting made, and how they plan to improve the moviegoing experience (02:32). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the release dates of 'Dune: Part Three' and ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ (28:57). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Michael O’Leary Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jon Jones, and Matt Pevic Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com Hacks returns April 9 on HBO Max. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by labor lawyer, journalist, and author Jonathan Handel to break down how the WGA reached a tentative deal with the AMPTP earlier than expected and what was won—including significant health care increases and AI protections—as well as a surprising agreement to a four-year deal instead of three years. They discuss if this deal is ultimately a win for the WGA and if this will lead to labor peace across other guilds (2:30). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about late-night talk shows (28:57). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Jonathan Handel Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Matt Pevic Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by film producer Todd Garner to discuss if movies are actually getting longer. Todd provides a study of over 3,600 films from 1980-2025 to reveal which genres have gotten longer over the years, and by how much. They discuss a surprising trend among action films, why auteur-driven films are getting longer, and the increase in the percentage of movies over two and a half hours. Todd provides his expertise as an experienced producer and executive in Hollywood to help outline what the movie length discussions are like among studios, how they differ from streamers, and if this is a problem for movie theaters (2:42). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for A24’s new film ‘The Drama’ (27:10). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Matt Pevic Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Jason Richman, UTA partner and cohead of media rights, to talk about the recent success of high-profile book adaptations at the box office ('Project Hail Mary,' 'Wuthering Heights,' 'The Housemaid'), why the long-standing Hollywood strategy of adapting books into films went away and is now back, the rise of female-focused authors, why this is leading to more power for book rights holders, what genres are most popular, and more (00:00). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ (27:23). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Jason Richman Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss why Netflix has raised its prices twice in the past 18 months and the growing prominence of ad tiers on streaming services. They also talk about Opening Day baseball airing on Netflix, the surging MLB ratings, and who might be the biggest buyer for baseball rights in 2028 (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the new HBO 'Harry Potter' series (25:20). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Clyburn family searches for connection in Montana's Madison Valley. The Madison, New Series now streaming - only on Paramount+ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices