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The Ringer

The Town with Matthew Belloni

Live from Los Angeles, Matt is joined by director Chloe Zhao ('Hamnet') to discuss what she learned from Steven Spielberg producing her movie, how she developed her visual style, directing a Marvel movie, casting ‘Hamnet’, the COVID Oscars, and her plans to work in anime (00:41). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Zootopia 2’ (21:45). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Chloe Zhao Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo 
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Commercial Vs. Arthouse, Going Marvel, and Notes From Spielberg With ‘Hamnet’ Director Chloé Zhao

In part two, Matt and director James Cameron talk about how much ‘Avatar’ really costs to produce, whether he has plans for a fourth and fifth movie, his relationship with Disney and Bob Iger, what COVID and streaming did to the industry, who should buy Warner Bros. (and why it’s definitely not Netflix), why 3D never took off, the Sphere, aliens, his director hang-out sessions, and much more. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host: Matt Belloni Guest: James Cameron Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo 
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Part 2: James Cameron on ‘Avatar 4’ and ‘5,’ Movie Biz Fears, 3D, Netflix, and Aliens

Matt and director James Cameron sit down for a wide-ranging conversation on the misconceptions about the filmmaking of the 'Avatar' franchise, how it landed at Fox/Disney, why Jim prefers using performance capture technology, the cost of CGI, the threat of AI in Hollywood, his relationship with Elon Musk, whether Jim agrees that he is a “difficult” director, his deep-sea explorations, and more. For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host: Matt Belloni Guest: James Cameron Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo 
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Part 1: James Cameron on Avatar Misconceptions, AI’s Skynet Moment, and His Elon Musk Friendship

Matt is joined by Tom Freston, former CEO of Viacom and MTV Networks, to discuss why legacy companies missed the boat with YouTube in the early aughts, the similarities YouTube from the aughts shares with the AI boom of today, why MTV died, and whether it can be revived (02:13). Matt finishes the show with a prediction on the hottest story in town: Parmigiano Reggiano signing with UTA (25:57). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Tom Freston Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo 
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Did Hollywood Ever Have a Chance Against YouTube?

Matt is joined by Jonathan Kanter, a lawyer who served as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2021 to 2024, to look at the looming Warner Bros. Discovery sale from an antitrust perspective, highlight the biggest antitrust issues for each potential bidder (Paramount, Comcast, Netflix), whether consolidation is necessary to compete with Big Tech, the government’s influence over this merger, and the perilous state of existence for media companies in 2025 (02:28). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Jonathan Kanter Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo 
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The Brewing Backlash to Hollywood Consolidation

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to investigate a historically bad fall season at the box office by highlighting which issues are actually real and which are insignificant. They look at larger industry-wide trends, like the shortening of theatrical windows and the rise of streaming, as well as smaller, more recent developments like releasing independent movies wide rather than platforming them. They discuss whether the "movie-star problem" excuse is overblown or legitimate, as well as if this could simply be explained by judging the actual quality of the films themselves (02:33). Matt finishes the show with an Academy Awards prediction after attending the premiere of Netflix’s ‘Jay Kelly’ (25:54). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo 
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The Fall Box Office Crisis: A Phase, a Fluke, or the Future?

Matt is joined by Rahul Purini, the president of Crunchyroll, to discuss the anime boom both globally and in America, the rise of global streaming services and its role in spreading anime and manga content, and what is it about the anime content itself that appeals to audiences (03:49). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘The Running Man’ and ‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t' (24:08). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Rahul Purini Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo 
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Why Anime Is Becoming Undeniable in Hollywood

Matt is joined by Tubi CEO Anjali Sud to discuss how Tubi reached profitability, its push to bring in original creators, the growth of ad-supported streaming, how the FAST landscape is evolving, and why everyone is competing with YouTube (01:55). Later, Matt discusses a few details about the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic, ‘Michael,’ and gives an early prediction for how the movie will perform and whether there will be a sequel (26:20). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Anjali Sud Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo 
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Tubi Takes on YouTube, and a Michael Jackson Movie Update

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the ongoing dispute between YouTube and Disney, which has resulted in the removal of ESPN and other Disney properties from YouTube TV for the past week. They break down why this dispute is different from others that have come before it, focusing on the leverage a tech company like Google has over traditional cable operators. Later, they touch on the recent Warner Bros. Discovery earnings report and give an update on the state of the company's sale (03:04). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Ryan Murphy’s newest TV show, ‘All’s Fair’ (22:08). For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo 
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YouTube vs. Disney: Who Needs Whom More?

Matt opens up the mailbag for another Town Hall and answers listener questions about Disney turning down a Steven Soderbergh–penned 'Star Wars' script, the possibility of Netflix and Comcast splitting Warner Bros. Discovery, whether Netflix will ever release movies in theaters, who the best home for Warner Bros. is from the perspective of the talent community, and what will happen to 'The Challenge' and other MTV properties under David Ellison. 

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠click here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Email us your thoughts! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠thetown@spotify.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 

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

Mailbag! 'Star Wars' and Soderbergh, the Best Home for Warner Bros., and Netflix vs. Theaters.

Matt is joined by Nielsen’s Brian Fuhrer to explain the mysterious world of ratings and how they actually work in 2025. They get into how Nielsen literally tracks viewing habits, how that has changed over the years, and how they now track out-of-home viewing. Then, they look at a surprising metric about the Oscars ratings, discuss how streaming is improving ratings among younger demos, and which shows are the most influential in terms of attracting a younger audience (03:00). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for the new Bong Joon-ho film, ‘Mickey 17’ (25:53).

For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, ‘What I’m Hearing ...,’ click here.
Email us your thoughts! thetown@spotify.com

Host: Matt Belloni
Guest: Brian Fuhrer

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

How the Hell Do Nielsen Ratings Actually Work?

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