Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to look at the upcoming theatrical slate for each of the major movie studios and determine which movie matters the most for the strategy of each company (02:17). Matt finishes the show with a prediction on where the newly available Jason Bourne franchise will land next (25:40).

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Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Matt is joined by Puck’s Julia Alexander to discuss Apple’s current strategy in Hollywood—or lack thereof—the popularity of ‘Severance,’ a jump in Apple TV+ subscribers, and why now is an important time for Apple Studios to decide who it wants to be (03:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the director of the next James Bond film (28:03).

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here.

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Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Julia Alexander

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Matt is joined by Axios senior media reporter and CNN analyst Sara Fischer to talk about the unexpected uncertainty in Hollywood under Donald Trump 2.0, and how the current administration's actions could affect every corner of the entertainment business (02:12). Matt finishes the show with two opening weekend box office predictions for ‘Snow White’ and ‘Alto Knights’ (24:40).

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Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Sara Fischer

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the hottest narratives around town and give their optimistic and pessimistic views of each. These narratives include: Hollywood is catering its content to Trump’s audience, movies like ‘Mickey 17’ leaving theaters so quickly are killing theatrical films (01:41), Warner Bros. is doomed as a movie studio, and Apple TV+ is quietly becoming a hitmaker (15:35).

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here.

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Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Matt is joined by entertainment lawyer and litigator Bryan Freedman to discuss the key legal issues surrounding actor Justin Baldoni’s lawsuits against ‘It Ends With Us’ costar Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds, her PR team, and ‘The New York Times,’ as well as Blake Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni. Matt questions Bryan about the non-disparaging agreement between Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively, the issue of regulating behavior on set, and the growing influence social media has in the PR world (03:12).

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Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Bryan Freedman

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to parse Netflix’s latest data dump and look at what is and is not working for the streamer. Big-budget live-action movies, sitcoms, reality shows, crime documentaries, foreign films and TV all contribute to Netflix’s enormous slate of content, but which of them are working the most? Is Netflix in need of a Taylor Sheridan-like universe? Do they need $200M live-action movies? How much do they need live events like the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight? Should they get into podcasting? (02:56). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Amazon’s commitment to release 12-14 movies in theaters in 2026 (23:54).

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Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Matt is joined by Pouya Shahbazian to discuss his company, Staircase Studios AI, a film, television, and gaming studio centered on an AI workflow that he claims revolutionizes the process of studio filmmaking. He explains how they plan to deliver “near-major-studio” levels of quality at budgets under $500,000, what their “talent-driven approach” actually looks like, and why this advancement in moviemaking technology should be embraced (02:38). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the future of Meghan Markle’s television show on Netflix (28:21).

Watch a scene from 'The Woman with Red Hair' here.

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Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Pouya Shahbazian

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Matt is joined by Nielsen’s Brian Fuhrer to explain the mysterious world of ratings and how they actually work in 2025. They get into how Nielsen literally tracks viewing habits, how that has changed over the years, and how they now track out-of-home viewing. Then, they look at a surprising metric about the Oscars ratings, discuss how streaming is improving ratings among younger demos, and which shows are the most influential in terms of attracting a younger audience (03:00). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for the new Bong Joon-ho film, ‘Mickey 17’ (25:53).

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Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Brian Fuhrer

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Matt is joined by Hernan Lopez, the founder of Owl & Co and Wondery, to discuss how the narrative is rapidly shifting in the direct-to-consumer landscape now that streaming is, mostly, profitable! Hernan explains why YouTube dwarfs Netflix in consumption but Netflix dwarfs YouTube in revenue, why people are watching YouTube on TV screens more than ever, and what this means for the streaming juggernauts moving forward (02:43). Matt finishes the show with a lightning round of predictions about next year's Academy Awards (23:16).

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Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Hernan Lopez

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to react to last night's Academy Awards, what it was like inside the building, and list their under-the-radar winners and losers from Hollywood's biggest night (02:09). Then, Matt and Lucas are joined by NEON CEO Tom Quinn to discuss their big night winning five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, for the film ‘Anora’ (20:54). Tom talks about how they campaign their movies on such a small budget, how much a win impacts the film economically, and why indie films are succeeding more at the Oscars.

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here.

Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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