How the Metaverse Could Transform the Entertainment Industry

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. 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: Pouya Shahbazian Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

10 Mars 35min

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). 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: Brian Fuhrer Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

7 Mars 30min

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). 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: Hernan Lopez Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

5 Mars 32min

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

4 Mars 40min

Matt is joined by WME senior partner Robert Newman to talk about how much an Academy Award win still matters. Robert represents several accomplished auteur filmmakers and can speak to the impact an Oscar win could have on an up-and-coming director, how it influences their next project, and whether that cache has dwindled. Later he shares a few opinions on how to improve the Academy Awards (02:31). Matt finishes the show with a ratings prediction for the 97th Academy Awards (30:09). 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: Robert Newman Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

28 Feb 38min

Matt is joined by Mosaic talent manager and Oscar enthusiast Michael Lasker to parse through the award season chatter and find a gambling edge on the Academy Awards. Matt and Michael discuss the wide-open races in the top categories—including Best Picture—as well as how many Oscars ‘Emilia Perez’ might win following Karla Sofía Gascón’s Twitter controversy, Adrien Brody vs. Timothée Chalamet, and the potential upset chances for Fernanda Torres and Jeremy Strong (02:32). 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: Michael Lasker Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

27 Feb 37min

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to react to the shocking announcement that Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson—the controllers of the James Bond brand—have sold their creative control to Amazon. They discuss why this move was necessary for Amazon, why Barbara and Michael did this deal now, and how this will affect the James Bond franchise moving forward (02:53). Matt and Lucas finish the show by announcing the winner of the 2024 Box Office Draft (26:10). 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

24 Feb 32min

Matt is joined by Chris Rice, cofounder and co-CEO of Fifth Season, and producer of Apple+’s ‘Severance,' to discuss what happens when a TV show goes over budget and how to manage, who ends up footing the bill, reasons for overages, setting the budget for seasons of TV, and the current state of financing and producing independent television (02:55). Matt finishes the episode with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘The Monkey’ (28:02). 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: Chris Rice Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

20 Feb 34min