The Town with Matthew Belloni

Live from Bloomberg’s Screentime event in Hollywood, Matt and Lucas Shaw make the case to buy or sell various entities across the entertainment industry, including Johnny Depp, Curry Barker, Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks Animation, Alex Cooper, MrBeast, the World Cup, and more (01:28).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines.

The Social Reckoning is in theatres October ninth.

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Matt is joined by Saul Goldberg, producer, investor, and former agent, to discuss how the creator economy has taken on a new importance in Hollywood, and how traditional entertainment players are making the transition over to director to consumer, if creators even needed agents and professional production companies, where the money is being made, and more (02:58). Matt finishes the show with opening weekend box office predictions for ‘Digger’ and ‘Verity’ (31:18).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Saul Goldberg

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines.

The Social Reckoning is in theatres October ninth.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Ari Emanuel—executive chair and CEO of TKO, executive chair of WME Group, and founder and principal investor of Mari—to discuss his new memoir, 'Roll the Calls'; why he didn’t mention CAA’s Bryan Lourd in the book; his relationship with Patrick Whitesell, David Ellison, and Donald Trump; Elon Musk; and the current state of Hollywood. Plus, a lightning round about failures, paydays, and worms (02:19).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Ari Emanuel

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Stefano Sanchez, and Steve Ahlman

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to look ahead at what WarnerMount will look like now that the merger is likely to go through. They discuss the biggest questions surrounding the new megacompany, including who will run their multiple movie studios, how involved David Ellison will be creatively, what's going to happen to CNN and CBS, what role will Elon Musk play, how quickly will they announce layoffs and other synergies, and how they will integrate Paramount+ and HBO MAX (01:46). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the new name of the combined Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. company (28:51).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Stefano Sanchez, and Steve Ahlman

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

The Social Reckoning is in theatres October ninth.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by California Congresswoman Laura Friedman to discuss the new bipartisan federal tax incentive bill she helped author that was just introduced today in both houses of Congress. Congresswoman Friedman outlines exactly what is in the bill, what isn't, if a vote could happen this year, Jon Voight’s role, and how this bill could transform filmmaking in the United States (01:55). Matt finishes the show with a ratings prediction for the season premiere of 'SNL' (29:58).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Laura Friedman

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Matt is joined by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Jeffrey’s latest essay insisting that Hollywood embrace AI, similarities to CGI animation in the '90s and 2000s, the importance of consent and compensation, and why this could create more jobs and opportunities for storytellers (02:23). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Heart of the Beast,’ 'Forgotten Island,’ and ‘Primetime’ (33:10).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw, Jeffrey Katzenberg

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

SAP GROW. AI cloud ERP for any size business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw to discuss Paramount settling its lawsuit with a group of states led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, paving the way for Paramount Skydance to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. They dig into the details of the deal, including the concessions (or lack thereof) made by Paramount, who really had leverage in this negotiation, David Ellison’s next move, how the industry is reacting, other winners and losers of the settlement, and more (00:00).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Matt is joined by Zach Baron, GQ's senior special projects editor and host of new show ‘One More Question,’ to discuss the modern celebrity press tour, the art of celebrity profiles, interviewing Tom Cruise, what celebs want out of the media in 2026, and the state of access journalism (02:22). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for Zach Cregger’s new film ‘Resident Evil’ (33:40).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Zach Baron

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to recap the 2026 Emmys and give their takes on the biggest narratives coming ou)t of the show, including Apple’s big night with 'Widow’s Bay,' its ascent in the prestige TV genre over the past few years, its competition with HBO, Netflix’s recent struggles to make a splash, Disney’s quiet year, and the new power ranking of TV streamers (01:51). Matt finishes the show by recapping his trip to TIFF and predicting which movie will win the People’s Choice Award (29:28).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

SAP GROW. AI cloud ERP for any size business.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Live from TIFF, Matt is joined by the president of Searchlight Pictures, Matthew Greenfield along with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss how to run a specialty film division in 2026, what it's like being a part of the Disney machine, how to know if a movie is theatrical, how they compare themselves to their competitors, and how they choose sequels to greenlight (00:00).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Matthew Greenfield, Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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