The Town with Matthew Belloni

Live from UCLA, Matt is joined by actor, writer, and director Bill Hader to discuss his upcoming feature film directorial debut, ‘They Know’; why he made the movie independently; taking studio notes on ‘Barry’; finding the line between comedy and horror; why a Stefon movie never happened; going back to ‘SNL’; and more (01:33). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Bill Hader Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo FYC: FX’s Adults visit https://fxnetworks.com/fyc Peacock’s THE GOOD DAUGHTER stars Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss how the sweeping election results will affect the entertainment business at the local and federal levels, including if a federal film tax incentive is more or less likely to pass, how a new California governor and Los Angeles mayor will impact film production at the local level, and if Congress will look to investigate recent mergers like Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery (02:15). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about DC Studios following the recent exit of James Gunn and Peter Safran as co-CEOs (27:24). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo FYC: FX’s Adults visit https://fxnetworks.com/fyc Get tickets now: https://cliffboothfilm.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Live from New York, Matt is joined by producer Jason Blum to discuss the explosion of young talent in the horror space; how YouTube has changed the path to success for young filmmakers; Curry Barker’s new movie, ‘Anything but Ghosts’; how to stay current and maintain good taste as you age; and the future of Blumhouse Atomic (02:15), before they finish the show with a lightning round of questions (28:20). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Jason Blum Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo FYC: FX’s Adults visit https://fxnetworks.com/fyc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Puck’s Julia Alexander to discuss why Netflix should stop trying to compete with YouTube, the real numbers behind their competition, why YouTube’s engagement dominance shouldn’t be compared to other streaming services, and what traditional Hollywood can and should do to combat YouTube (02:37). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘The Cat in the Hat’ and ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ (31:58). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Julia Alexander Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo FYC: FX’s Adults visit https://fxnetworks.com/fyc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to revisit their executive power poll and determine the new top players in Hollywood (01:45). Lucas sticks around for The Call Sheet for an update on the 2026 box office draft (28:03). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo FYC: FX’s Adults visit https://fxnetworks.com/fyc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Town College Film School is back with a visit to LMU, where Matt sits down with filmmaker Zach Cregger ('Barbarian’, ‘Weapons’, ‘Resident Evil') to discuss his transition from comedy to horror, whether he prefers IP or original material, his philosophy on screenwriting, the benefits of working with smaller budgets, pitching Jennifer Lawrence on his new film, the difference between good and bad studio execs, and more (02:11). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Zach Cregger Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by legendary showrunner Chuck Lorre to discuss his new memoir ‘Sitcom’, the heyday of network television, the decline of the general sitcom and if it can be revived, working with difficult people, how to build a perfect writers room, replacing Charlie Sheen with Ashton Kutcher on ‘Two and a Half Men’, working with Les Moonves, leaving Scientology (02:50). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Universal Studios (31:55). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Chuck Lorre Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss why Elon Musk invested $1 billion in the new Skydance mega studio, if the new Hollywood superpower is a threat to Netflix, and if any streamer has a shot competing against YouTube (02:47). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the World Series ratings (18:42). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Town College Film School is back with a visit to USC, where Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw are joined by writers-producers-directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller ('Project Hail Mary', 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse', '21 Jump Street') to discuss making ‘Project Hail Mary’, how they work together as a director duo, why the 'Spider-Verse' movies take so long to make, the difference between good and bad studio executives, getting fired from ‘Solo’, their thoughts on the state of 'Star Wars', and more (01:57). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Phil Lord and Chris Miller Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Jason Brenek, CEO of Fathom Entertainment, to discuss why the creators of the new big-budget animated film 'Wildwood’ are bypassing a traditional studio to distribute and market the film with Fathom Entertainment instead. They get into the growing popularity of going to the theater for things other than first-run movies, like rereleases, digital creator–led projects, and sports viewing, and what the advantages are of skipping a traditional movie studio to distribute your idea independently. (00:43) Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Jason Brenek Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the big executive shakeup at Netflix, which included the firings of chief content officer Bela Bajaria and head of film Dan Lin. They break down why this happened now, what to expect from new chief content officer Peter Rice, how will this affect Netflix content going forward, and more (02:53). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the new hit documentary ‘You Can See Everything’ (30:20). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by head of business affairs at UTA Rich Shuter and producer Cathy Schulman to discuss why the government needs to reinstate the Fin-Syn rules (Financial Interest and Syndication Rules), the pressures the current era of vertical integration and consolidation has put on Hollywood, and what a new law giving ownership back to producers could do to return Hollywood to the '70s, '80s, and '90s (03:30). Matt finishes the show with opening weekend box office predictions for ‘Street Fighter,’ 'Whalefall,' and ‘You Can See Everything’ (29:42). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Rich Shuter, Cathy Schulman Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Kyle Buchanan, former New York Times journalist and host of The Kyle Buchanan Show, to discuss the biggest narratives heading into awards season this year. They discuss if 'The Odyssey' is already a lock to win Best Picture, if Inde Navarrette can win Best Actress, if 'Dune: Part Three' can break into the Best Picture race, and if 'Digger' and Tom Cruise can gain awards momentum. They also examine the growing groundswell for 'Artificial,' the most interesting campaigns, A24’s impressive slate, and if the new Nathan Fielder documentary can make history as the first documentary to be nominated for Best Picture (02:32). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the marketing strategy around Greta Gerwig’s new film 'Narnia: The Magician's Nephew' (30:16). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Kyle Buchanan Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Live from the BFI London Film Festival, Matt is joined by director Danny Boyle to talk about his new film, ‘Ink’, depicting Rupert Murdoch, his influence on news and journalism, why he used AI in his film, almost directing a James Bond movie, and the future of the 28 Years Later franchise (00:46). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Danny Boyle Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. The Social Reckoning, now playing in theaters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Rich Greenfield from LightShed Partners to discuss the complicated financials behind Hollywood's new media behemoth, Skydance, how the company will be heavily influenced by being nearly $80 billion in debt, how the NFL, movie studios, cable channels, and more will be affected, and if there is a chance this megadeal comes crashing down (02:57). Matt finishes the show with opening weekend box office predictions for ‘The Social Reckoning’ and ‘Other Mommy’ (33:56). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Rich Greenfield Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. The Social Reckoning is in theatres October ninth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Live from Bloomberg’s Screentime event in Hollywood, Matt and Lucas Shaw make the case to buy or sell various entities across the entertainment industry, including Johnny Depp, Curry Barker, Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks Animation, Alex Cooper, MrBeast, the World Cup, and more (01:28). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. The Social Reckoning is in theatres October ninth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Saul Goldberg, producer, investor, and former agent, to discuss how the creator economy has taken on a new importance in Hollywood, and how traditional entertainment players are making the transition over to director to consumer, if creators even needed agents and professional production companies, where the money is being made, and more (02:58). Matt finishes the show with opening weekend box office predictions for ‘Digger’ and ‘Verity’ (31:18). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Saul Goldberg Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit https://fanduel.com/playwithaplan to learn more about the resources and helplines. The Social Reckoning is in theatres October ninth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Ari Emanuel—executive chair and CEO of TKO, executive chair of WME Group, and founder and principal investor of Mari—to discuss his new memoir, 'Roll the Calls'; why he didn’t mention CAA’s Bryan Lourd in the book; his relationship with Patrick Whitesell, David Ellison, and Donald Trump; Elon Musk; and the current state of Hollywood. Plus, a lightning round about failures, paydays, and worms (02:19). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Ari Emanuel Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Stefano Sanchez, and Steve Ahlman Theme Song: Devon Renaldo SAP GROW. AI cloud ERP for any size business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to look ahead at what WarnerMount will look like now that the merger is likely to go through. They discuss the biggest questions surrounding the new megacompany, including who will run their multiple movie studios, how involved David Ellison will be creatively, what's going to happen to CNN and CBS, what role will Elon Musk play, how quickly will they announce layoffs and other synergies, and how they will integrate Paramount+ and HBO MAX (01:46). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the new name of the combined Paramount Skydance Warner Bros. company (28:51). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Stefano Sanchez, and Steve Ahlman Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Social Reckoning is in theatres October ninth. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by California Congresswoman Laura Friedman to discuss the new bipartisan federal tax incentive bill she helped author that was just introduced today in both houses of Congress. Congresswoman Friedman outlines exactly what is in the bill, what isn't, if a vote could happen this year, Jon Voight’s role, and how this bill could transform filmmaking in the United States (01:55). Matt finishes the show with a ratings prediction for the season premiere of 'SNL' (29:58). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Laura Friedman Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices