The Town with Matthew Belloni

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Paramount’s threat to leave California if it doesn’t get a settlement, the discourse’s effect on David Ellison’s ability to get a deal done, how an extended delay could negatively impact Hollywood, and what needs to happen to get this deal done (02:01). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about a new Disneyland attraction (31:57).

Host: Matt Belloni

Gust: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Nominated for 26 Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES.

For more information visit Hulu.com/FYC

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Matt is joined by producer Basil Iwanyk (John Wick, The Town, Sicario, The Expendables) to discuss the struggling state of the action movie market in America, why most studios have abandoned the original action movie business, casting an action star, and more (02:28). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘The End of Oak Street’ (32:05).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Basil Iwanyk

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Nominated for 25 Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES.

Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show. For Your Emmy Consideration in Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded).

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Matt is joined by IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond to discuss the massive summer at the box office, 'The Odyssey' being the highest grossing IMAX movie of all time, IMAX being openly for sale, why there aren't more true 70mm IMAX theaters, if there will be more, Infinity Vision, the cost of shooting a movie entirely in IMAX, and more (02:12). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about whether or not Paramount would move its headquarters out of California (31:46).

Host: Matt Belloni

Gust: Rich Gelfond

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Nominated for 25 Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES.

For more information visit Hulu.com/FYC

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Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss why Fox is refusing to renegotiate their media rights deal with the NFL until their current deal expires after the 2029 season, the impact of the FCC repealing the local television ownership cap, and David Ellison’s contractual pledge with theater owners to release at least 30 movies per year under WarnerMount (02:30). We finish the show by announcing a slate of live events for The Town this fall (31:18).

Host: Matt Belloni

Gust: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Get your tickets to ELECTION introduced by Matt Belloni on Friday, August 21st here: https://www.americancinematheque.com/now-showing/the-town-presents-election-08-21-2026/

Nominated for 25 Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES.

The Dog Stars only in theaters and IMAX August 28.

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Matt is joined by Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall to make the case for why Disney should exit the streaming business and focus only on producing and licensing its content. Steven digs into why Disney is well-positioned to leave streaming, the strength of its IP, and what Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro had to say about Steven’s idea (02:24). Matt finishes the show with another weekend box office prediction for ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ (24:13).

Host: Matt Belloni

Gust: Steven Cahall

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Nominated for 25 Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES.

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify

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Matt is joined by Puck’s Eriq Gardner to discuss the March 2027 trial date that has been set for the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery antitrust case and what it means for the likelihood of this merger going through. They highlight the $650 million per quarter ticking fee Paramount has to pay in the meantime, how the November midterm elections could play a factor, who has the best leverage, whether Netflix could end up back in the mix, David Ellison’s New York Times column, and the other major legal issues at play (02:03). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Season 4 of 'Ted Lasso' (30:08).

Host: Matt Belloni

Gust: Eriq Gardner

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Nominated for 25 Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES.

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify

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Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to catch up with the biggest news around town, including a record-breaking opening weekend for 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' WarnerMount trial-date jockeying, and YouTube’s new deal with Peacock (02:24). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about a ‘Barbie’ sequel (31:03).

Host: Matt Belloni

Gust: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Nominated for 25 Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES.

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Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw finish The Town’s first Future Blockbusters Draft by filling the remaining five slots on their teams (01:12).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify

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Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw put on their studio chief hats and conduct the first Future Blockbusters Draft. In Part 1, they draft five elements (director, actor, or IP) they believe will define the box office for the next 10 years (00:34). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the Paramount–Warner Bros. merger (24:18).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify

Tickets available at americancinematheque.com

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Matt is joined by Sean Diffley, head of media and entertainment as well as cable and telecom research at Morgan Stanley to discuss a new system for stock picking called the MS Media Matrix, which ranks publicly traded entertainment companies based on audience and engagement, their interactivity, urgency of the content, pricing power, IP, and AI positioning, and then compares these strengths and weaknesses to the companies’ relative share price. They discuss the importance of ownership within these companies, AI's role in content creation and the future of leisure time, and AI's impact on content consumption (02:56). Matt finishes the show with a prediction on what will be the second weekend drop of ‘The Odyssey’ (30:33).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Sean Diffley

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify

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