326 episodes

Puck founding partner Matthew Belloni takes you inside Hollywood, using exclusive reporting and insight to explain the backstories on everything from Marvel movies to streaming wars. Multiple times each week, Matt will touch on what is getting made and why, who is winning and losing, and what people in show business are actually talking about.

The Town with Matthew Belloni The Ringer

    • Society & Culture

Puck founding partner Matthew Belloni takes you inside Hollywood, using exclusive reporting and insight to explain the backstories on everything from Marvel movies to streaming wars. Multiple times each week, Matt will touch on what is getting made and why, who is winning and losing, and what people in show business are actually talking about.

    Scarlett Johansson Vs. OpenAI: Does She Have a Case?

    Scarlett Johansson Vs. OpenAI: Does She Have a Case?

    Matt is joined by Greenberg Glusker partner and entertainment litigator Aaron Moss to discuss the situation between Scarlett Johansson and OpenAI (03:38). They discuss what rights were possibly implicated, talk about the different routes she can take if she decides to file a lawsuit, and compare previous similar cases to determine if she could win. Matt finishes the show by making a prediction on the future of the CW Network (26:01).

    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: Aaron Moss

    Producer: Jessie Lopez
    Theme Song: Devon Renaldo
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 32 min
    A War Is Coming Over Hollywood Pay

    A War Is Coming Over Hollywood Pay

    Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss why Netflix, Apple, and other streaming platforms are looking to change how they pay actors (03:25). After years of paying big up-front checks with no back end, streamers are looking to balance out their ballooning budgets by better aligning pay with performance. They debate why this change is happening now, how advertisements on these platforms could bring about more transparency, and whether this new model could actually work. Matt finishes the show with predictions on Kevin Costner’s ‘Horizon: An American Saga’ and Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ (24:36).

    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

    Producer: Jessie Lopez
    Theme Song: Devon Renaldo
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    • 32 min
    NFL on Netflix, and Big Tech’s TV Upfronts Takeover

    NFL on Netflix, and Big Tech’s TV Upfronts Takeover

    Matt is joined by media analyst Rich Greenfield to give out their biggest takeaways from the TV up-fronts, including Netlifx’s three-year deal with the NFL, YouTube’s impressive viewership data, Amazon’s slew of splashy announcements, and why this year might mark a turning point in media (02:20). Matt finishes the show with a discussion of the newest ‘Wicked’ trailer and the future of two-part movies (24:55).

    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: Rich Greenfield

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

    • 32 min
    Latinos See More Movies Than Anyone. Why Is Hollywood Ignoring Them?

    Latinos See More Movies Than Anyone. Why Is Hollywood Ignoring Them?

    Matt is joined by Camilo Becdach, a partner at McKinsey, to discuss how improving on-and off-screen representation of Latinos could generate billions of dollars in new revenue for the film industry. Latinos are the most avid filmgoers per capita in the United States, and Camilo argues that Hollywood is leaving $12-18 billion on the table every year by underrepresenting Latinos on and behind the screen. He also outlines the barriers at the executive level confronting Latinos in entertainment, and what the industry can do to fix this (02:39). Matt finishes the show with an opening-weekend box office prediction on the John Krasinski–directed animated film ‘IF,’ starring Ryan Reynolds (22:42).

    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: Camilo Becdach

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

    • 29 min
    Disney+ and Max Have Bundled, Who’s Next?

    Disney+ and Max Have Bundled, Who’s Next?

    Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the new bundle starting this summer that will combine Disney+, Hulu, and Max. They pick winners and losers of the deal, and wonder who might be the next to join in on the Great Re-Bundling (02:50). Matt finishes with a prediction about Netflix’s potential involvement with the NFL (25:01).

    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

    • 32 min
    Are Producers in Hollywood Nearing Extinction?

    Are Producers in Hollywood Nearing Extinction?

    Matt is joined by longtime producers Cathy Schulman and Lorenzo di Bonaventura to discuss the devaluation of producers in Hollywood, and their push for better rights under their new collective, Producers United. They outline why producers don’t have it as good as most might think, what a producer actually does, how they're getting squeezed financially, whether they will still be around in the future, and how what a producer does impacts the television and movies we all watch and enjoy. Matt finishes the show with an opening-weekend box office prediction for the new film ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.’

    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: Cathy Schulman and Lorenzo di Bonaventura

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

    • 36 min

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