The Town with Matthew Belloni

Latest Episodes:

What Scares Hollywood’s Top Producers the Most About the State of Movies Apr 22, 2026

Show notes

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

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Half Man premieres April 23rd on HBO Max.

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Could Hollywood Actually De-Monopolize? Apr 20, 2026

Show notes

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

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Nolan, Spielberg, Ellison, Cruise(!), and the CinemaCon Studio Power Ranking Apr 18, 2026

Show notes

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

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Jon Favreau on the Future of Star Wars, AI, and New Filmmaking Technology Apr 17, 2026

Show notes

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

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The 3 Biggest Stories in Music: Bieber’s Payday, Ye’s Comeback, and $64B for Universal Music Group Apr 14, 2026

Show notes

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

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The ‘Lorne’ Director on Two Years of Exclusive ‘SNL’ Access Apr 09, 2026

Show notes

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

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Hacks: Every Thursday at 9pm on HBO Max.

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The A-List Filmmakers Evangelizing Movie Theaters Apr 08, 2026

Show notes

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.

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Does the Surprise Writers Guild Deal Mean Labor Peace in Hollywood? Apr 07, 2026

Show notes

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

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Are Movies Actually Getting Longer? We Found Out. Apr 03, 2026

Show notes

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

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Why Hollywood Needs Books More Than Ever Apr 01, 2026

Show notes

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

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