
The 'Star Wars' Ratings Problem and What To Do Next
Matt is joined by Luminate’s director of business development, Jimmy Doyle, to discuss the state of the 'Star Wars' franchise, its lack of theatrical movies, and what the troubling TV ratings signal for the brand. They talk about the 'Star Wars' properties that are working, the upcoming Mandalorian movie, and whether Disney should ultimately license its content to Netflix (02:43). In light of the recent Emmy nominations, Matt finishes the show with his prediction for Best Drama Series, Best Comedy Series, and Best Limited Series (23:13). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click this link: puck.news/thetown Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Jimmy Doyle Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
17 Heinä 202433min

Does Hollywood Need Deregulation?
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s latest comments from the Sun Valley conference, during which he advocated for less regulation in Hollywood. They unpack his statement and speculate how the election results might affect the regulatory environment for media companies, which companies would benefit the most from M&A possibilities, and why a company like Netflix might not mind consolidation (03:07). We finish the show with a mid-year check-in of the 2024 Box Office Draft (23:16). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click this link: puck.news/thetown Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
15 Heinä 202432min

Betting on Theaters, Embracing Tech, and ‘Wicked’ With Director Jon M. Chu
Matt is joined by director Jon M. Chu to discuss how he made it in Hollywood, his career-altering move to pass on Netflix and bet on movie theaters with ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’ balancing art and commerce, making films with AI, his upcoming film ‘Wicked,' and much more from his new book, ‘Viewfinder: A Memoir of Seeing and Being Seen’ (02:34). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for the Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum film, ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ (25:24). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click this link: puck.news/thetown Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Jon. M Chu Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
11 Heinä 202432min

Burning Questions About the Future of Paramount
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to look at what the future holds for Paramount now that David Ellison has purchased the legacy media company from Shari Redstone. They discuss what will happen to Paramount's assets, including CBS, Pluto, Paramount+, as well as their movie strategy, and ultimately if a new, young, tech-focused CEO can not only keep Paramount alive, but help it flourish (02:22). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the upcoming criminal trial of Alec Baldwin in the ‘Rust’ case (25:57). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click this link: puck.news/thetown Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
9 Heinä 202432min

Skydance’s David Ellison on His Plans for Paramount
Matt is joined by Skydance CEO David Ellison and RedBird Capital's Gerry Cardinale to discuss Ellison’s acquisition of Shari Redstone’s family company and the merger of Paramount Global with Skydance Media. David and Gerry outline what the future holds for Paramount as a media company, including what they intend to do with Paramount+, their thoughts on the theatrical business, and how tech will help shape the future of storytelling (03:11). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the 2024 Summer Olympics (32:40). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click this link: puck.news/thetown Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guests: David Ellison and Gerry Cardinale Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
8 Heinä 202439min

The NFL's $15B Sunday Ticket Problem
Matt is joined by Puck’s John Ourand to break down the multibillion-dollar NFL ‘Sunday Ticket’ lawsuit when a jury in the U.S. District Court ordered the NFL to pay more than $4.7 billion in damages after the league violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service, DIRECTV. John explains how this bill could actually balloon to nearly $15 billion under antitrust law, how this will impact Sunday Ticket’s new distributor, YouTube, and whether this could impact the greater sports media rights landscape (03:30). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Despicable Me 4’ (24:26). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click this link: puck.news/thetown Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: John Ourand Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
3 Heinä 202431min

The Biggest Over- and Underreactions of the First Half of 2024
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to look back on the first half of 2024 and highlight the stories they believe were most over- and undercovered, including the horror movie genre, new Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery bundle Venu, the ScarJo OpenAI fight, Pat McAfee and Norby Williamson, UMG vs. TikTok, and more. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click this link: puck.news/thetown Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
1 Heinä 202437min

Will the Debate Debacle Revive TV News?
Matt is joined by journalist, podcast host, and cofounder of Semafor, Ben Smith, to discuss how last night's dispiriting debate will affect CNN and the TV news landscape as we move towards the 2024 election. Will the debate revive CNN and give it the story it's been looking for? They also take a look at the broader state of TV news as we exit the cable news era and wonder how many of these waning news networks can survive in the streaming era (03:12). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ (26:00). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click this link: puck.news/thetown Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Ben Smith Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
28 Kesä 202432min