The Town with Matthew Belloni

Is California's $750 Million Bet on Hollywood Working?

Matt is joined by Colleen Bell, the director of the California Film Commission, to check in on the state of film and TV production in California following the cap increase to $750M about a year ago. They discuss the increase in shoot days in California, how the new program works, whether a federal credit is coming, whether the new Los Angeles mayor and California governor will affect this program, why Netflix decided to build a headquarters in New Jersey, and how to build on the current momentum (03:03). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Moana’ (27:33). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Colleen Bell Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Matt Pevic Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at http://join.amcplus.com This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Inside the Internet IP Gold Rush Sweeping Hollywood

Matt is joined by producer Scott Glassgold to discuss internet IP and the short-story boom that has taken over Hollywood after major successes in ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’, whether this is a micro or macro trend, how these internet stories are developed for the big screen, and whether studios have learned the right lessons from this year (02:22). Matt finishes the show with a prediction for the 2026 Emmys (29:18). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Scott Glassgold Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Matt Pevic Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at http://join.amcplus.com This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Biggest Winners and Losers of 2026 So Far

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to select their winners and losers in the entertainment industry so far this year, from actors with surprise hits, studio heads with embarrassing flops, CEOs of struggling companies, and producers that made huge swings that paid off. Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Why Attendance Tells a Better Story Than Box Office

Matt is joined by Steve Buck, chief strategy officer at EntTelligence to discuss how many people are actually going to the movies and clarify the difference between admission versus box office. Steve reveals whether rising box office grosses are matched by actual attendance, if ticket price increases and premium large format screens are actually juicing box office totals, the demos and genres that are overindexing, and some surprising political affiliations of moviegoers (00:00). Matt finishes the show with an opening weekend box office prediction for ‘Minions & Monsters' (29:52). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Steve Buck Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify 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

Will the Comcast-NBCU Split Lead to Another Huge Hollywood Deal?

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss the news that NBCUniversal is splitting off from Comcast into a standalone company, the details of the deal, why this is happening now, and whether this opens the floodgates for more M&A (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Sony’s $100M investment in Cosm (26:45). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Lucas Shaw Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo After false reports of Deborah's death, she and Ava return to Vegas. Watch now. The Ringer is committed to responsible trading. Please visit https://fanduel.com/predicts to learn more about the resources and helpline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices