Paramount’s UFC Knockout and Amazon’s Podcast Flameout

Matt is joined by Mark Roesler, founder and chairman of CMG Worldwide, to discuss how AI has added a new twist to how the rights of dead famous people are being exploited. They discuss how incredibly valuable these rights are and how new technology is changing the way name, image, and likeness are being enabled to resurrect dead stars. They highlight a few recent examples, including James Earl Jones in the new ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ film, as well as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. in a commercial for a new brand of gin. Mark explains how these deceased celebrities are protected in the age of AI and who is making the decision to exploit these rights (02:33). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ and ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ (26:20). 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: Mark Roesler Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

18 Dec 202432min

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss why Warner Bros. Discovery is planning to separate its TV networks unit from movies and streaming and what this could signal for the company moving forward. Later they discuss ABC News’ decision to settle Donald Trump’s defamation lawsuit for $15 million and whether Disney will operate any differently under the Trump administration (02:55). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the sports bundle Venu (26:24). 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

16 Dec 202432min

Matt is joined by the Entertainment Strategy Guy to help find out which TV shows were the most important to their streaming service in 2024 before revealing which movies actually performed well on streaming and which largely disappointed. He runs through the biggest movie releases of the year on streaming and reveals just how successful or disappointing they were (01:26). Matt and Craig finish the show by tasting the famous Tom Cruise coconut bundt cake (26:56). 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: Entertainment Strategy Guy Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

13 Dec 202433min

Matt is joined by the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming exec, to sort through the mirky waters of streaming data and find out which streaming tv shows were actually hits, which were major flops, which were underrated successes, and which were bigger bombs than anyone thought (02:57) Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Kraven the Hunter’ (29:10). 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: Entertainment Strategy Guy Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

13 Dec 202436min

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to recap the year in streaming and nominate their clear winners and losers as well as some under-the-radar services that deserve more love or criticism (01:59). Matt finishes the show by recapping the Best Picture nominations for the 2025 Golden Globes and predicting who he thinks will take home the top award for Best Motion Picture–Drama and Best Motion Picture–Musical or Comedy (26:16). 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: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

9 Dec 202432min

Matt is joined by LightShed Media analyst Rich Greenfield to talk about SpinCo, Comcast’s new spinoff company of cable and digital networks, and look at potential ramifications of the spinoff. They also discuss the implications this has on other media companies like Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, and Disney, then get into the coming game of musical chairs in the TV network business (02:26). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the second annual NBA Cup tournament (27:16). 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: Rich Greenfield Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

7 Dec 202433min

Matt is joined by filmmakers Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar to talk about their unique payment model behind their latest film, ‘Sing Sing.' They discuss how they managed to pay everyone on set, from lead actor to production assistant, the exact same amount of money while offering everyone who worked on the film equity in the film and still make everyone happy (02:17). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the potential for a Best Picture nomination for a particular film. Matt also reveals that he has finally got his hands on the famous Tom Cruise coconut cake (24:55). 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: Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

6 Dec 202432min

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to recap a busy month at the box office, including a record-setting Thanksgiving weekend for ‘Moana 2’ after strong showings for ‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator II.’ They dig into Disney's dominant year at the box office and look ahead to its 2025 slate to see if its hot streak can continue. 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

2 Dec 202432min