The Town with Matthew Belloni

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