The Town with Matthew Belloni

It’s podcasting’s most exclusive event of the year, the first annual Townie Awards. This is a show made up of awards created by us, based on our own interpretations of the weirdest year in Hollywood. In Part 1, Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to give out the Most Baffling Success Award, the Publicist Fail of the Year Award, the Jeff “Albanian Army” Bewkes Award for Quote I’ll Probably Regret, and much more.Host: Matt BelloniGuest: Lucas ShawProducer: Craig Horlbeck Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week YouTube closed on a multi-billion dollar deal to take over NFL ‘Sunday Ticket,’ marking the next major sign of sports television's inevitable transition to streaming. Matt is joined by Ben Mullin from 'The New York Times' to discuss why YouTube made this deal, why Apple failed, and what this means for the future of streaming sports.Host: Matt BelloniGuest: Ben MullinProducer: Craig HorlbeckTheme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Part 2 of our biggest debacles of the year conversation, Matt welcomes back Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to nominate the executive on the hot seat in 2023 and make the case for the biggest debacle of the year. Host: Matt BelloniGuest: Lucas Shaw Producer: Craig HorlbeckTheme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This entire year was arguably a debacle for most in Hollywood, the content bubble has seemingly burst, the streaming model may be broken, and companies are frantically trying to create a business model that works for everyone. To discuss those who have struggled most in 2022, Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw for Part 1 of a two-part conversation covering the biggest debacles in Hollywood, including the movie bomb of the year, the most maligned executive decisions, and the most underdiscussed disasters. Host: Matt BelloniGuest: Lucas Shaw Producer: Craig HorlbeckTheme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by the CEO of United Talent Agency (UTA) Jeremy Zimmer to discuss how the financial downturn of the streaming model has trickled down to talent agencies, why pivoting for back-end profit participation in streaming makes sense, the looming possibility of a writers' strike, and more.Host: Matt BelloniGuest: Jeremy ZimmerProducer: Craig HorlbeckTheme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by film producer Jon Landau to talk about his latest project ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and creating the most successful movie of all time with ‘Avatar.’ He talks about managing the sky-high expectations of the sequel, his dynamic with director James Cameron, the biggest challenge they faced during production, as well as the movie-going industry at large and what it should be doing to help the theatrical experience thrive.Host: Matt BelloniGuest: Jon LandauProducer: Craig HorlbeckTheme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the most successful power moves of the year in Hollywood. In what was widely considered a difficult year across the board in entertainment, who took the biggest swing and came out on top?Host: Matt BelloniGuest: Lucas ShawProducer: Craig HorlbeckTheme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by former president of ESPN John Skipper to talk about his thoughts on Bob Iger’s return, Disney’s next big move, whether it should spin off ESPN, the state of live event sports content, athlete-produced documentaries, and his plans in sports originals and beyond at his new content company, Meadowlark.Host: Matt BelloniGuest: John SkipperProducer: Craig HorlbeckTheme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by actor, producer, writer, and co-owner of Wrexham AFC Rob McElhenney to talk about the back story and business model of his documentary series ‘Welcome to Wrexham.’ Rob talks about how he pitched the show to the head of FX, how he bought the team with Ryan Reynolds, and the unique relationship between the business of the show and the business of the team.Host: Matt BelloniGuest: Rob McElhenneyProducer: Craig HorlbeckTheme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2022 has been a rough year for Hollywood—theater chains have struggled, mass layoffs are taking place, and stocks have plummeted. Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the companies that have struggled the most this year and determine which still should have room for optimism and which are permanently headed in the wrong direction.Host: Matt BelloniGuest: Lucas ShawProducer: Craig HorlbeckTheme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices