The Town with Matthew Belloni

Matt is joined by Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw to discuss Paramount settling its lawsuit with a group of states led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, paving the way for Paramount Skydance to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. They dig into the details of the deal, including the concessions (or lack thereof) made by Paramount, who really had leverage in this negotiation, David Ellison’s next move, how the industry is reacting, other winners and losers of the settlement, and more (00:00). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Zach Baron, GQ's senior special projects editor and host of new show ‘One More Question,’ to discuss the modern celebrity press tour, the art of celebrity profiles, interviewing Tom Cruise, what celebs want out of the media in 2026, and the state of access journalism (02:22). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for Zach Cregger’s new film ‘Resident Evil’ (33:40). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Zach Baron Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to recap the 2026 Emmys and give their takes on the biggest narratives coming ou)t of the show, including Apple’s big night with 'Widow’s Bay,' its ascent in the prestige TV genre over the past few years, its competition with HBO, Netflix’s recent struggles to make a splash, Disney’s quiet year, and the new power ranking of TV streamers (01:51). Matt finishes the show by recapping his trip to TIFF and predicting which movie will win the People’s Choice Award (29:28). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo SAP GROW. AI cloud ERP for any size business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Live from TIFF, Matt is joined by the president of Searchlight Pictures, Matthew Greenfield along with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss how to run a specialty film division in 2026, what it's like being a part of the Disney machine, how to know if a movie is theatrical, how they compare themselves to their competitors, and how they choose sequels to greenlight (00:00). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Matthew Greenfield, Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Oliver Berben, CEO of Constantin Film, to discuss the upcoming ‘Resident Evil’ film, how Zach Cregger got involved, how Constantin gained control of the IP, the international film business, franchise management, Constantin’s involvement in Marvel, and how European companies stay relevant in America (01:47). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Practical Magic 2’ (30:44). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Oliver Berben Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez Theme Song: Devon Renaldo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices