The Town with Matthew Belloni

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the business behind Justin Bieber’s Coachella performance, Ye’s successful mini comeback in Los Angeles, and Bill Ackman’s $64B bid to buy UMG (02:29). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Hollywood’s letter opposing the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger (22:40).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw 

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Matt Pevic

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Matt is joined by documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville to talk about his new film ‘Lorne’, what it was like having exclusive access to Lorne Michaels and the behind-the-scenes moments from 'SNL' for multiple years, what surprised him about Lorne, what he thinks the future of 'SNL' looks like, and more (02:42). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘You, Me & Tuscany’ (34:37).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Morgan Neville

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jon Jones, and Matt Pevic

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

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Hacks: Every Thursday at 9pm on HBO Max.

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Matt is joined by Cinema United President and CEO Michael O’Leary to discuss their new filmmakers council including Jerry Bruckheimer, Emma Thomas, and Ryan Coogler, what this council plans to accomplish, the promising start at the 2026 box office, if we are seeing a shift in the types of movies that are getting made, and how they plan to improve the moviegoing experience (02:32). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the release dates of 'Dune: Part Three' and ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ (28:57).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Michael O’Leary

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jon Jones, and Matt Pevic

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

Hacks returns April 9 on HBO Max.

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Matt is joined by labor lawyer, journalist, and author Jonathan Handel to break down how the WGA reached a tentative deal with the AMPTP earlier than expected and what was won—including significant health care increases and AI protections—as well as a surprising agreement to a four-year deal instead of three years. They discuss if this deal is ultimately a win for the WGA and if this will lead to labor peace across other guilds (2:30). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about late-night talk shows (28:57).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Jonathan Handel

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Matt Pevic

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by film producer Todd Garner to discuss if movies are actually getting longer. Todd provides a study of over 3,600 films from 1980-2025 to reveal which genres have gotten longer over the years, and by how much. They discuss a surprising trend among action films, why auteur-driven films are getting longer, and the increase in the percentage of movies over two and a half hours. Todd provides his expertise as an experienced producer and executive in Hollywood to help outline what the movie length discussions are like among studios, how they differ from streamers, and if this is a problem for movie theaters (2:42). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for A24’s new film ‘The Drama’ (27:10).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw 

Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Matt Pevic

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices